INTRODUCTION
TO PHOTO
JOURNALISM
Course objectives
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Course overview
This course kick- starts the career of those
who want to venture into photojournalism.
This course is intended for potential
editors,
designers,
and
other
communicators who need to appreciate
photographs in order to use them
intelligently in their work. The class also
should interest students who want to
improve their "visual literacy" while
learning some of the history and principles
of photojournalism. It will not include the
comprehensive task of taking picture but it
will prepare you to start using camera as a
professional journalist. However, you will
be required to carry out simple photo
shooting exercise around the campus.
To review the history and present
day reality of the photojournalism
profession.
To spot and analyse outstanding
photographs and the photographers
who have played significant roles
in shaping photojournalism as
a career.
 To be able to determine what
makes a photograph
newsworthy and examine the
technical and aesthetic values
that make a photograph
"good" photojournalism
 To coin out and produce
relevant and intelligent photo
captions
 To understand a bit of photocropping and scaling of
photographs.
 To be able to match photos
with stories and headlines.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students should
be able to:
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produce images that tell stories for
newspapers, magazines, books and
the Internet.
appreciate the content, aesthetic
beauty and usefulness of
photographs in relation to news
making.
Write and produce intelligent
captions for their photos.
Identify a “good” photo and the
elements that make a good photo
Carry out appreciable amount of
photo-cropping and scaling of
photographs.
Introduction to Photojournalism course. Delivery schedule designed by Dr Joseph Obe. All Rights Reserved.
Enquiries: [email protected]:@josephobe.com. Web:www.josephobe.com
Page 1
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Develop an understanding of the
legal and ethical issues
photojournalists often face
Possess the ability to use a digital
camera and accessories to expose
and create quality photographic
prints.
Gain confidence in your ability to
take photographs in public
situations.
Course contents
Module 3: Layout Project
Module 1: Fundamentals of
Photojournalism
Topic 1: Selecting photos that tell the story
Topic 2: Sizing images
Topic 1:
What is Photojournalism?
Topic 3: Page design,
Topic 2:
Difference between
photojournalism and photography
Topic 4: Graphic dominance, display type
Topic 3:
Basic elements of
photojournalism: objectivity, fairness,
professionalism, ethics.
Grading Criteria
Topic 4:
History of photojournalism
Topic 5:
Ethics and legal issues in
photojournalism
Quiz/exam on history, principles and
definition of photojournalism
- 40%
Photojournalism Portfolio
(5 assignments)
- 30%
Module 2: Caption Writing
Term paper/Short essays
- 20%
Topic 1: Discussions on good and bad
examples of caption
Attendance and participation
- 10%
Topic 2: Exercises on caption writing
The course will be delivered through:
Topic 3: Writing interesting and
informative captions
Topic 4: Case studies of award winning
photo journalists
Delivery Method
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Lectures and power point
presentation
Video presentation
Live practical Assignments
Case studies of photojournalism
and their work.
Introduction to Photojournalism course. Delivery schedule designed by Dr Joseph Obe. All Rights Reserved.
Enquiries: [email protected]:@josephobe.com. Web:www.josephobe.com
Page 2
class discussions. Students may miss three
class sessions with accepted apology
without penalty. Student who misses four
or more classes will receive 0% for
attendance and participation when I
calculate your final grade.
Communication and Support to
students
Ground Rules/Class Policies
Late work
This class shall not tolerate any form of
lateness of submission of assignment or
work product, except under extenuating
circumstances. Late work will lose 10% of
its value daily. In effect, an assignment
due for submission at 23:59 hour on
Thursday may be worth 100 points. On
Friday, it will be worth only 90 points, and
so forth.
Academic dishonesty, cheating,
plagiarism
It is a crime to indulge in any form of
plagiarism. Plagiarism includes trying to
pass off someone else's writing as your
own. Students caught with plagiarism shall
receive an automatic failed grade for the
course. Similarly, a student caught
cheating on an exam will fail the course
automatically.
It is my joy to support and help students on
academic matters outside the normal
classroom time. Students can make
appointment through email request and I
will confirm within 24 hours. The best
way to contact me is through email or
social media contacts. Unfortunately, I do
not give out my personal mobile phone
number to students but you can speak to
me through office telephone (if available).
If you are having problems with this
course, please feel free to discuss them
with me during the contact hours. Don't
wait until you are in deep trouble before
you ask for help. However, all visits are by
approved appointments only. Students can
email me on: [email protected]
Required texts
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Attendance and Punctuality in class is
compulsory
Carlebach, Michael L. American
Photojournalism Comes of
Age. Washington, D.C.:
Smithsonian, 1997.
Bernard, Bruce, ed. Century: One
Hundred Years of Human
Progress...1899-1999. Phaidon
Press, Inc., 1999.
Recommended books (not required)
No form of lateness is allowed. Under no
circumstances will students be allowed to
join the class more than 15 minutes late. It
is mandatory for students to participate in

Lewis, Greg. Photojournalism:
Content & Technique, 2nd ed.
Introduction to Photojournalism course. Delivery schedule designed by Dr Joseph Obe. All Rights Reserved.
Enquiries: [email protected]:@josephobe.com. Web:www.josephobe.com
Page 3
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Madison, WI: Brown &
Benchmark, 1995.
Harrower, Tim. The Newspaper
Designer's Handbook, 4th ed.
Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 1998.
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Recommended materials
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Photojournalism Portfolio
A steel ruler with both inches.
A digital camera* (that of the
Bridge series will be preferable but
not compulsory at this stage).
*Students who desire to pursue a
career in photojournalism are strongly
advised to buy a bridge series
professional camera at once.
Useful web sites
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http://www.poy.org/ A great
site! Single photos and picture
stories from the NPPA/ University
of Missouri Pictures of the Year
competition.
http://metalab.unc.edu/nppa/
National Press Photographers
Association. Be sure to check out
the Digital Gallery.
http://www.dirckhalstead.org/ An
on-line photojournalism
magazine. Great site!
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/dagh
tml/daghome.html Daguerreotype
collection from the Library of
Congress
http://rs6.loc.gov/cwphome.html
Civil War Photos from Library of
Congress
http://lcweb.loc.gov/spcoll/174.htm
l New York World-Telegram and
Sun photo collection
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http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fsow
home.html FSA photos from
1930s
http://www.kodak.com/aboutKoda
k/kodakHistory/kodakHistory.shtm
l A history of Kodak, surprisingly
interesting for an ad.
http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/site/exhibi
tions/stereo/intro.html The
Keystone-Mast stereograph
collection. Fascinating! but you
need a pair of red/blue 3D glasses
to see the 3D effect.
http://www.kbnet.co.uk/rleggat/pho
to/ A history of photography from
a British perspective
http://www.hearstcorp.com/ah8.ht
ml A history of Hearst
Lewis Hine
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http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.
uk/IRhine.htm This site features his
child labor pictures, for which he is
most famous today.
http://gopher.nypl.org/research/chs
s/spe/art/photo/hinex/workport/wor
k1.html This site can be reached
through a link in No. 1. It features
less well-known portraits of
workers.
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/
spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/empire.
html This page features Hine’s
documentation of contruction of
the Empire State Building.
http://www.historyplace.com/unite
dstates/childlabor/index.html This
site is a gold mine of Hine’s child
labor photos. It takes a while to
load because of the large number of
photos, but it’s worth the wait. The
Introduction to Photojournalism course. Delivery schedule designed by Dr Joseph Obe. All Rights Reserved.
Enquiries: [email protected]:@josephobe.com. Web:www.josephobe.com
Page 4
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photographer's original caption
notes accompany the pictures.
images from Salgado's coverage of
Terra: Brazil's Landless Movement
Dorothea Lange
Henri Cartier-Bresson
http://www.filmpicker.com/greats/l
ange.htm Contains a concise
biography and quotations from the
photographer as well as links to
books about Lange.
http://www.museumca.org/global/a
rt/collections_dorothea_lange.html
More biographical material and a
selection of her better-known
photographs
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W. Eugene Smith
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http://www.filmpicker.com/greats/s
mith.htm Brief biography,
quotations and samples from his
work.
http://www.doubletakemagazine.or
g/issues/12/smith/index.html Previ
ously unpublished images from
Smith's Pittsburgh project
http://www.pathfinder.com/photo/g
allery/arts/smith/smith.htm A small
sampling of Smith's most famous
photos
http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~gormley
/master.html A small selection of
his best-known photos
http://encarta.msn.com/index/conci
seindex/50/05011000.htm Brief
biographical sketch.
http://www.caffeeuropa.it/caffemed
ia/Bresson/foto_f.html Wide
selection of photos from many
countries. Captions are in Italian.
http://www.etsetb.upc.es//carne/07
97/cartier/carti1.htm Nice site with
his classic photos, works from his
Mexican Diaries and photos from
the U. S.
Online photojournalism
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http://dirkhalstead.org/contents.htm
l Home of The Digital Journalist, a
wonderful site featuring work by
some of today's best
Sebastião Salgado
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http://www.filmpicker.com/greats/s
algado.htm Brief biography,
quotations and samples of work.
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/p
rofessional/features/legendsV3Q5/l
egendsIndex.shtml Go see this fine
site before it goes away. Photos,
Quick-time movie, biography.
http://www.nytimes.com/specials/s
algado/home/ Fine display of
photojournalists.
Introduction to Photojournalism course. Delivery schedule designed by Dr Joseph Obe. All Rights Reserved.
Enquiries: [email protected]:@josephobe.com. Web:www.josephobe.com
Page 5