What is a photo essay? A photo
essay is a composition of images through which you tell a story, share an
event, or make a point that stirs emotions or serves as a call to action for
your reader. Your task is to compose such a “narrative” using
photographs accompanied by written paragraphs carefully organized so a reader
can interpret their combined meaning. Pay close attention to the instructions
below as every one of them is pertinent and necessary to your production of a
successful photo essay.
Instructions: Follow the steps below . Ignoring steps will result in
lower grades. Use the list as a checklist as you work.
*You may submit the project as a PowerPoint or a Word
document.
1. Decide what you want to share or the point you want to make
through your composition of images. What do you want to say? What do
you want to say about it? Why might what you have to say matter to other
people? These questions will guide you in your choice of topic and in your
collection of images. Hint: Your objective must do more than
show others something or merely “inform” others about a topic.
Your goal should be to move others to think or act differently about your
topic. What new perspective or call to action are you sharing?
2. Hunt and Gather: Begin by assembling 20-25 images. The images can be ones
you’ve taken yourself or that you’ve acquired from other sources. Make sure
that you are not violating copyright laws when using images. Do not use stock
photos with watermarks on them. It’s not only illegal but it is tacky. Pexels.com and Pixabay.com offer
a wide selection of photographs that you can use freely and download in various
resolutions. You need not cite nor give attribution to use these images.Note:
You must use actual photographs. You cannot use memes or drawings. The
photographs should be large. Do not use thumbnail sized images. The photos
should be at least half a page if not larger.
3. Draft your photo essay.
1.
Study your collection of photographs. Curate ten to twelve images that
best serve your purpose. As you decide which images to use, ask,
“What idea do I want to share using these photographs?” What
story can I tell, and what will the point of the story be?
2.
Make notes as you study the images about their components and how they do
the work you need them to do i.e. how do the pictures depict what you want them
to depict?
3.
Arrange your images in the order you think will help you compose a
pictorial narrative related to your message or story. As you arrange them,
imagine each image as akin to a paragraph in an essay. What is your
introductory image? What logically comes next? Play with the arrangement until
you determine the best way to organize them.
4. Once you’ve currated and arranged your photographs, compose
written paragraphs about each image. You may write more than one
paragraph Each paragraph should include the following:
·
a general statement of what the image depicts (event/location/focus etc.)
·
an explanation of its purpose in your composition–what does it
“say,” as you interpret it?
·
further explanation of how the image conveys what
you are using it to convey. This is where you discuss specific elements of the
image such as light, objects, people, angles, positions, background,
foreground, etc. This is a very important aspect of the assignment. This is
where you’re really demonstrating your ability to think about parts in relation
to a whole–parts of an image in relation to the big picture, and a photo in
relationship to the entire photo essay you’re composing.
·
Don’t forget to state the “so what” about your image in
relationship to your thesis or misson for the project as a whole–what does
each image have to do with the “big picture” you’re creating through
the arrangement of the images.
Make sure your paragraphs have topic (first) sentences that make claims,
i.e., statements that need a defense or which prompt someone to say,
“Really? Why do you think that?” The rest of your paragraph will
answer that question. Do not just write a
sentence or two. That does not constitute a paragraph. Elaborate on the claim
you make in your first sentence of each paragraph. Refer to earlier weeks and
the information on essay writing.
5. Double check that you have made specific references to the
details in the photographs in each paragraph. Do not make only general
comments. Show your reader how to “see” your images as you see them.
Explain how they tell the story you are using them to
tell. What specific components or aspects of the image are relevant
to the idea you are sharing? Color? Subjects? Setting? Lighting? etc. Describe
the images in detail.
6. Test your structure. Read your topic sentences in the
order in which you have arranged them. Do they make sense in the order in which
they are arranged? Could you tell what the essay is about by reading the topic
sentences themselves as you’ve arranged them? If not, rewrite them and/or
reorganize the paragraphs and/or the images. Again, this is part of the
drafting stage. It may, in fact, be the hardest part of the composition of your
photo essay.
7. Compose a conclusion when you’re satisfied with your
composition of images and the accompanying text. Your conclusion should also be
attached to an image. Hint: As you write the conclusion,
imagine that a reader has asked the following question and that you’re
answering it: “Why does anything you showed in the images or said about
them matter to me? Why should I care?” What “take-away” do you
intend for your readers? If you’re writing about rural violence, for instance,
why should a city dweller care about what goes on in the
“middle-of-nowhere” America? This is the hard part!
8. Edit and proofread ruthlessly.
