Deadlines
Pitches for your photo essays will be due Monday, September 13.
Photo essays will be due on Monday, October 4.
Assignment #1: Photo Essay
Your first major assignment of the semester will be a photo essay. This could be a character-driven human interest story, or an event that is very visual in nature, or it could provide a local angle on an ongoing story. If stuck, ask yourself: What events are coming up that would make for cool photos? What are the big international, national or regional issues that have been making news of late? Obviously, we’re a bit limited at the moment because of the pandemic, so please make sure your ideas involve stories you can photograph safely.
Examples: Follow someone with an interesting/visual job for a “day in the life.” Photograph the informal J’ouvert and West Indian Day celebrations that people are throwing despite the official parades being canceled. Document the work that a neighborhood mutual aid association is doing. Cover a protest or vigil. Photograph a food festival like the Queens Night Market.
Social Distancing Reporting Guidelines
A major caveat: While intimacy generally makes for more powerful images, be safe and use your judgment. Some of us will have access to stories and moments that others might not, whether due to age or gender or race, and some of us might be at risk attempting to cover kinds of stories that others would have no issues with.
Post your pitches here on the class blog. Give a couple of paragraphs telling us who/what your photo essays will be covering, and why it is interesting or timely or relevant. Confirm that you actually have access to the story you want to do. And finally, tell us what kind of visuals you anticipate. Do yourself a favor and pitch a story that is visually interesting rather than trying to force an interesting but not-super-visual story to work for this assignment.