Syllabus

JOUR370 – Photojournalism

Section 101 – Spring 2018

Thursdays 2-4:45 p.m.

Room: 1101 – Knight Hall

Credits: 3

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Jaclyn Borowski is the photo and production editor at Inside Lacrosse where her daily responsibilities include a mix of photo, video and design. She was previously the staff photographer at the Baltimore Business Journal. A graduate of the University of Maryland journalism program and former photo editor at The Diamondback, her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and on news sites around the world.

Email: jaclynborowski@gmail.com Phone: 805.559.7222 (cell)

OFFICE HOURS:

I live and work in Baltimore so I won’t have regular offices hours on campus. If you need to meet, I’ll be available before and after class and am always available by email and phone. Feel free to text or call me.

ABOUT THE COURSE:

JOUR370 covers the basics of shooting, editing and storytelling with still photos taken with 35mm digital cameras. We’ll cover field techniques, shooting, capturing, editing and sharing photos. We’ll also discuss ethics, history, safe practices and the latest trends. Students will learn about different kinds of shots, how to use natural light, the basics and ethics of photo shooting and editing, how to capture events, people and other newsworthy situations. Students will also learn how to put together a “photo story”. Students are encouraged to carry their camera with them at all times. You never know when something newsworthy may happen.

PREREQUISITES:

JOUR320 or JOUR360. Credit only granted for JOUR 368P, JOUR370 or JOUR670.

LEARNING OUTCOMES EXPECTED:

–      Develop a visual vocabulary: Understanding and employment of terms and techniques such as rule of thirds, perspective, layering, etc., will be integral to submitted course work and in-class critiques

–      Demonstrate intermediate skills in use of DSLR digital cameras

–      Learn to control camera and lens, use creative technical adjustments to produce desired effects: Use of aperture, shutter speed and ISO must be integral to your work. That is, you will be shooting in manual mode throughout the semester and must carefully assess the scene to create an image using all three controls. To do this, you will need to fully understand the settings and capabilities of your camera and lens(es)

–      Understand the qualities and uses of natural light: Mastery of journalistic photography also necessitates mastery of natural or available light. Whether it’s outdoor, indoor or a mix of the two (i.e. using a window), the more aware you are of light, the better you can use it

–      Learn how to frame and compose subjects: Every subject is different, so you will need to develop your approach to capturing subjects in different ways that highlight their unique attributes. Whether it’s a portrait, a feature image or an action shot, your composition needs a creative approach

–      Expand photo editing skills using Photoshop and Adobe Bridge: Understanding the capabilities and ethical limitations of editing software will be important, especially as we work in camera RAW

–      Use of your photo blog and social media to share images and engage followers: You will create your own photo blog, which will be used to submit all assignments. You should also use social media to share and promote your work and develop your individual brand. Social media is an important part of the job of modern journalists, especially multimedia journalists. Visuals are heavily emphasized on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and it will be essential to your career to have an active, continuing presence. This is especially important as newspapers move more and more toward the freelance model

–      Conceive and produce a photo story/essay: Just as a single photo can tell a story, a series of photos can tell a story in a different way. The final project will be a complex photo essay, making use of imagery and text to tell a story

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

Along with certain rights, students have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Adhering to a high ethical standard is of special importance in journalism, where reliability and credibility are the cornerstones of the field. Therefore, the college has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy on academic dishonesty. Any abridgment of academic integrity standards in a College of Journalism course will be referred to the university’s Student Honor Council and the college’s deans. To insure this is understood, all students are asked to sign an academic integrity pledge at the beginning of the semester that will cover all assignments in this course. Students found to have violated the university’s honor code may face sanctions, including a grade of XF for the course, suspension or expulsion from the university.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Students with a specific disability (permanent or temporary, physical or learning) needing special accommodation during the semester should meet with the instructor immediately after the first class. Students may be asked to provide the instructor accommodation forms given to them after testing by the Disability Support Service on campus, 301-405-0813.

Please refer to The University's Office of Undergraduate Studies for links to course related polices: http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html

INCLEMENT WEATHER:

If the university closes due to foul weather (hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, blizzards, snowstorms) or other emergencies and class must be canceled, students will be advised of assignment adjustments by the instructor. We will use email to make these notifications. Please check with the university’s home page if in doubt about whether or not classes have been canceled on campus.

ATTENDANCE:

Since we only meet once a week, attendance is mandatory. If you have a family emergency, illness, or class falls on a religious holiday, please let me know in advance and we will make sure you’re able to make up the work. More information on absences and religious holidays can be found here: https://faculty.umd.edu/teach/attend_student.html

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT:

You must provide:

– 35mm Digital Camera

– Memory Card

– Cables or card reader to transfer photos to a computer

Software: 
The entire Adobe Master Collection is available to all University of Maryland students, free of charge, at terpware.umd.edu. Download and install it on your personal laptops. In this class, we’ll use Adobe Audition for audio editing, Photoshop for photography and Premiere Pro for video. 
What we go over in class will not be enough to teach you the software. You MUST take time outside of class to practice or you won’t be able to complete the required assignments. Consider working with the software as part of the required reading and studying since there is little actual reading required for this course. 
Note: Feel free to email me with questions about software when you’re having an issue or can’t figure something out. But before you email me, utilize Google, online forums and YouTube videos. There are videos online that will walk you through almost anything you need to know for the software you’re working with. Take advantage of it. 


GRADING:

Each section (roughly each week) will consist of an in-class assignment and out of class assignment, which will be graded separately. In-class assignments are typically worth 10 points, while homework assignments are graded out of 40 points. The midterm exam is worth 100 points, the final exam is worth 200 points and participation is worth 50 points for a total of 1000 points over the course of the semester.

Grading Rubric:

Adherence to assignment specifics 25%

Understanding of assignment techniques 30%

Grasp of the creative process 30%

Attention to details 15%

Scale:

A = 900-1000 (900-929 = A-; 930-979 = A; 980-1000 = A+)  

B = 800-899 (800-829 = B-; 830-879 = B; 880-899 = B+)


C = 700-799 (700-729 = C-; 730-779 = C; 780-799 = C+)


D = 600-699 (600-629 = D-; 630-679 = D; 680-699 = D+)

F = 0-599

NOTE: I do not round grades. If you think you’re going to be right on the edge, meet with me before the final week of class to discuss extra credit opportunities.

ASSIGNMENTS/EXAMS/DEADLINES

Assignments are due at the beginning of each class period (by 2 p.m.) unless otherwise noted by the instructor. Depending on the instructions given, assignments will either be submitted via ELMS, via email or through social media. All homework assignments will be posted to ELMS so check there if you have questions or are unsure how to submit any given assignment.

Deadlines are absolute, just like in the real world of journalism. Late assignments will receive 0 points until they are turned in. Late assignments (even 4 minutes late) are marked down 1 letter grade.

This class will have a midterm exam, but no final exam. The final project is the equivalent of a final exam.

ASSIGNMENT CONTENT:

-  Photographs should portray people, scenes and action as they are in real life. With the exception of basic editing and color correction, no photographs may be staged, directed, falsified, coerced or otherwise manipulated. 


-  Students may not focus on friends, roommates or family members for assignments unless they get permission from the instructor beforehand. 


TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE 


Jan. 25 – Week 1

–      Intro/Questionnaire

–      Social media/blog

–      Intro to Manual Photography

–      In-Class Assignment: Back to School (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Back to School (40 pts.) – Let’s see where everybody stands on photography. Tell the story of “Back to School at UMD” using photography. People must be your subjects. Vary wide, medium and tight shots and show me what you remember about the different photo elements

Feb. 1 – Week 2

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Aperture/ISO/Shutter Speed/White Balance/ Focus Modes/ Shooting Modes

–      Captions

–      Camera RAW/Photoshop

–      Composition/Elements of a Good Photo

–      Magic Hour/Golden Hour

–      In-Class Assignment: Chasing the Light (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Event Photography (40 pts.) – Cover an event shooting images only in Camera RAW. Pay particular attention to the composition of your images – individually compose each image in a way that highlights your understanding of the varied compositional techniques

Feb. 8 – Week 3

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Capturing the Moment

–      In-Class Assignment: Hidden Moments (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Event Photography Part II (40 pts.) – Cover an event in which you pay special attention to capturing individual moments. Images submitted should showcase your understanding that one second or a fraction thereof can be the different between a mediocre image and a good, or even great, one

Feb. 15 – Week 4

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Quality of Light

–      In-Class Assignment: Quality of Light (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Golden Hour (40 pts.) – Take a series of images in which your use of natural or artificial light is a deliberate element. You should not add light, but use available light. Try to include at least one shot taken at “golden hour”

Feb. 22 – Week 5

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Shutter Play

–      In-Class Assignment: Shutter Play (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Shutter Play (40 pts.) – Play with your shutter capturing motion/movement. Take images of people or objects in motion. You’ll need to use/rent a sturdy tripod

March 1 – Week 6

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Portraits

–      In-Class Assignment: Classmate Portrait (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Portraits (40 pts.) – Take portrait images of one subject or multiple subjects. Must include at least one traditional, environmental and candid portrait.

–      Extra credit opportunity: Self Portrait (not a selfie)

March 8 – Week 7

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Ethics in Photojournalism

–      In-Class Assignment: Weather (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Ethics (40 pts.) – You’ll be given three ethical situations involving photojournalism. Respond to each with how you would handle that situation using the ethical markers discussed in class

March 15 – Week 8

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Final Project

–      Guest Speaker Questions (10 pts.)

–      Midterm Exam (100 pts.)

–      Homework: Travel Photography (40 pts.) – Document your spring break as if you were shooting for a newspaper’s travel section. Focus on unique scenes, creative lighting and incorporating people into your images

March 22 – SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS

March 29 – Week 9

–      Guest Speaker

–      In-Class Assignment: Guest Speaker (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Photojournalist Interview (40 pts.) – Seek out a photojournalist and interview him/her about their work and career. Ask them to provide 10-15 of their favorite images and have them explain a little about each

April 5 – Week 10

–      Photojournalist Presentations

–      In-Class Assignment: Photojournalist Flattery (10 pts.) – They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Shoot a series of photos in the style of the photojournalist you profiled

–      Homework: Event Photography Part III (40 pts.) – Attend a large public event and cover it as a photojournalist. Try to capture as many aspects of the event as possible using wide, medium, tight shots and focusing on emotion. Must be an event at which you are not (and would not be) a participant

April 12 – Week 11

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Disasters/Tragedy/Protests/Riots/War

–      Street Photography

–      In-Class Assignment: Street Photography (10 pts.)

–      Homework: On the Streets (40 pts.) – Spend time looking for everyday situations in an urban setting, using composition, light and capturing moments

April 19 – Week 12

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      Video as a medium for photography

–      Premiere Pro

–      In-Class Assignment: Video Board (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Video (40 pts.) – create a video piece using images, interviews and natural sound

April 26 – Week 13

–      Presentations/Critiques

–      In-Class Assignment: Group Activity (10 pts.)

–      Homework: Portfolio (40 pts.) – Prepare a portfolio on your blog using your best images from the semester. Write about each image: why you selected it, what the background is and how it helped you learn about photography and photojournalism

May 3 – Week 14

–      Portfolio Presentations

–      Final Project Update

–      Homework: Final Project (200 pts.)

May 10 – Week 15

            – Final Project Presentations