Midterm Assignment: Social Issue Photo Essay

What is a Photo Essay?

The goal with a photo essay is to use a series of images to invoke an emotional response in the viewer. This is achieved through using photography to tell a story and present them with captions or full written text, such as an article that may appear in a website or print publication. Images can be presented sequentially or non-sequentially, the goal is to connect your images with a story and draw out an emotion from the viewer... such as anger, joy, fear, excitement, etc. For your mid-term project you will create a photo essay about a social cause or issue of your choice, with a script to be read during presentation. The number of social issues that could be covered are numerous, find one that resonates with you to create a deeper connection with the story.

An editorial photo sequence for an article about Earth Day.

Photo Essay's to Explore for Inspiration:

Collective Lens: Photography for Social Change

Gallery- Children of Russian Oligarchs

Gallery- Where children sleep

Gallery- People with Passions

Assignment Details:

Choose Your Assignment Topic:

• Explore social causes in your school or community, get approval from instructor before proceeding
• Choose one to research and illustrate with a photo essay, look for information regarding cause and effects of your issue, solutions, complications... look for the story in your issue.

Plan Your Photo Shoot and Execute:

• Whether you are staging shots or capturing them spontaneously, try to pre-visualize the images you need to illustrate your story
• Shoot many images and edit down to the 10 best. Shoot multiple images of each subject/scene so you don't have to re-shoot or potentially lose a shot because of lighting, angle, crop, etc.

Presenting:

• Write a a 5-7 minute narrative script that can be read as your images a presented in a slideshow
• Present to class on Thursday the 7th or earlier

History of Photography Assignment

Assignment: History Of Photography Presentation

Students, your new assignment is a research and presentation project focusing on the history of photography and it's role in world history. You will create a slideshow presentation with written notes and give a 5 minute presentation about photography and it's role in history, from technological advances, to social issues and how the camera has become a tool for change in public perception. 

This is an illustration of a camera obscura from the 17th century. Origin: unknown, possibly Italian -  Library of Congress.

In class we will begin with a fun exercise by creating our own camera by hand and create a gallery of images with it (hopefully). The camera obscura (shown above) is an optical device that lead to the development of photography. Light from an external scene passes through a small pinhole and hits a surface reproducing the the scene upside down. The image can be projected onto paper and an image can be traced. Did you know you can visit a giant camera obscura in San Francisco?

This is a photograph of child laborers working in a mine from 1910. Images like these were taken by Lewis Hines for the National Child Labor Committee and helped to change public perception about child labor which assisted in enacting laws to protect children from exploitation, such as the Child Labor Amendment in 1924. Image source: Shorpy.com

History of Photography Assignment Details:

For this project you are asked to research using library as well as online resources to identify key moments in history that are relevant to photography. Focus on technology, uses, historical events and social causes that were affected by the use of photography. Identify 2 or 3 important photographers through history and discuss why their work is important. Create a google slide show, share it with your instructor and be prepared to present to the class the following week.

Tasks:

1. Produce a slideshow with 20 images that cover a timeline of events in the history of photography and be prepared to give a 5 minute presentation.
2. Cover everything from the earliest uses to technological advances and how photography has been used for social change, mentioning important photographers throughout history as well.
3. Include 2 of your own photographs and discuss how they are historically relevant and identify how they fit into a cultural context.
4. Write 2-3 sentences of information for each slide and use those notes during your 5 minute presentation.

Have fun!

- Mr.W