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N
ew year, new courses, new
students. It’s a story that
plays out in classrooms
across the country every
August and September. And while
every journalism teacher has
to navigate different situations,
demographics, cultures, all have
the same goals — establishing
expectations and preparing
their students to exceed them.
Those expectations come with
knowing the foundation skills of
researching, reporting, writing,
critical thinking and visual
storytelling.
All the skills are critical to
training well-rounded journalists,
but visual storytelling and
composition often take priority
for a number of reasons. Not
having the luxury of recreating
or re-capturing moments,
photojournalists have to be up-to-
speed quickly. Our students often
come in at the extremes of the
photographer spectrum. From the
“I-love-taking-photos-novices” to
the “filter-loving-foodie-finstas,” it’s
our job to evaluate their skills and
send them out into the field.
For evaluating skill sets and
differentiating instruction
for a Goldilocks-range of
photographers, here are some tips
for starting off the school year: reviews or photo lessons. Make
this part of the first week of
school and continue the exercise
routinely throughout the year.
1. Show and tell. 2. Tell a story.
Developing voice as a writer is an
intimate exercise in review and
reflection, but developing a style
and vision as a photographer
is a performance art. Sharing
photos, getting a reaction and
asking for feedback helps a
photographer see what works,
what doesn’t or why a risk pays
off. This is also an excellent
opportunity to train students
how to give and take constructive
criticism. Toastmasters’
“feedback sandwich” is popular:
positive+improvement+positive.
Advisers can focus on the
strengths of the image: what is
eye-catching, what is obvious.
Then, look at the areas that need
improving — technical quality,
use of light or strong center of
interest. Last, reiterate a positive
comment, such as a composition
rule they may not have noticed or
how you connect to the image.
Use show and tell as teachable
moments and introduce brief
Beyond a technical evaluation,
students need to be assessed
on their ability to recognize a
storytelling moment. A popular
journalism icebreaker is having
students share a recent photo
from their camera roll and
share the moment beyond the
image. Evaluating their ability
to summarize the who, what,
when, where, why, how and then
connect to the emotions in the
photo are important to knowing
where to begin the learning
process.
3. “The best
camera is the
one you have
with you.”
Encourage
students to take photos every day
to take advantage of unexpected