Caption writing is tedious but important!

   Caption writing is a tedious process.  When a non-photojournalist thinks of a caption, they usually do not think of the paragraphs under the photos in their local newspaper. Caption writing is almost like a mathematic formula. Everything must be in order in the proper location, and it must be stylized correctly, as well. If this is not done, it affects the validity of the entire caption. The Associated Press Stylebook really helps you write tight, technical captions. The AP Stylebook is a worldwide standard that most journalists use in order to standardize their work.

   Captions need to be written correctly not just because it is the correct way to do things. If you write an incorrect caption, it affects your validity as a journalist, and people may not take you seriously in the future. Captions also let readers know what the photo is about, and who is in the photo. If you do not explain your photos, then the message will not be as effective. 

The First Amendment

   Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

   As a photojournalism student, the First Amendment is very important to me. When I am out shooting for a project or assignment, the First Amendment protects my right to shoot in public, and it protects my rights to run a newsworthy story. Unfortunately, there will be people, such as police, who try to usurp my First Amendment rights. Part of knowing your rights are also learning when to pick your battles. Suing the police at a later date is a lot better than getting arrested for no reason!

   If somebody tries to take away your First Amendment rights, you should probably end up taking legal action against them. Our First Amendment rights are the foundation upon which our country was founded, and without freedom of speech and freedom of the press, people would be able to get away with corruption. My job as a photojournalist is to bring the corruption to people’s eyes, and the First Amendment helps me do that.

The evolution of photography

   Photography has evolved a lot over the years. I knew shooting a photo used to take a long time to set up, since I have taken photography classes before. However, it must have been incredibly inconvenient for those photojournalists to document the news efficiently.
   These days we can literally document the news in a flash, but there were true inefficiencies back then. For example, it was tedious to re-load the flash bulbs. I found the section about the flash especially interesting. It reminded me of Jimmy Stewart’s character in Rear Window, where he had to continually put in new flash bulbs into his flash. It makes me appreciate the electronic flash now.
   The main point that I got from the history chapter in Photojournalism: The Professional’s Approach, though, is that photojournalism took a lot more work and effort back then. It is clear that technology is a true gift for us. It not only speeds up the process, but it increases the rate at which we can spread and receive information.