Photojournalism and Bias

Going Home

 

 

Photo by: Ed Clark The LIFE Picture Collection
Image source: Link 

 

    After looking at this picture with no context from the article I think that this picture is about the death of someone who is important to them, everyone in the pic looked sad and very emotional especially the man in the foreground. From how this picture is framed the death affected him more than others. It also looks like he wore the uniform and is playing music to show appreciation for the person who passed. This image can also interpret many different things outside of what I have stated above it can also look like a protest or a way to show justice in the protest.  this image can be both depending on how you interpret it. As stated in this video that was provided to us by Professor Nordell " a story has many truths at many levels and it needs to be teased out on earth seen and dissected and analyzed from different levels but there is a more ". I think that picture can be interpreted differently from who is looking at the picture. Everyone has a different self-ethic and culture that aligns with their belief. Even in photojournalism even if you have to tell the truth the ethics of the photojournalist might make a picture look or tell a certain story.

Photographic, Artistic, and Compositional Principles to Use When Assessing Photographs

*  Rule of thirds: The placement of the man in the foreground is on the top and bottom right of the cross-section. He is placed to be the picture's main subject while the other spaces tell information about the picture. The rule of thirds also creates a good balance in the picture giving the viewer clues to the main subject and making the viewer's eyes wander around the picture. 

* Contrast Appropriate: There is a lot of contrast in this picture, where there are light areas there are

also dark areas present in the picture. The focus on the man in the foreground uses dark colors while
the light areas behind him make him stand out more than the other people. The people in the

background are dominantly light colors and the bank ground behind them is darker also making them

stand out more from the background.

* Subject's Expression: The emotions that are being captured in this picture are amazing, with one

glance at the picture you can tell what emotion is being expressed. The man in the foreground expresses

his emotions through his facial expression while the people in the background express their emotions

with body language. How the people in the picture express their emotion make it easier for the viewer to

see what emotions the image is trying to present to them.

Truth

Photo By: Malike Sidibe

Image Source: Link

    I think that an image can be true depending on the honesty and transparency of the photographer but I want to take this "Truth" into like speaking the truth without needing an explanation. I have chosen this picture because in a protest people are going to stand up for what they believe in. They are going to pick the side that best aligns with their ethic and will stand up for it if justice isn't served in their beliefs. The protest I picked for this assignment is Black Lives Matter. People come together to protest and give justice to people of color who have been mistreated for centuries, with the death of  George Floyd people group up and protest to get justice for his and his community. This event is similar to this article which talks about a protest for women's rights. I also think it is the photojournalist's job to take these pictures of the protest and make sure that they present the truth, especially for an event like this, where it could influence people and how they see the protest and fake news or misinformation can change people mind significantly as shown by this article where Laura Mallonee started that "Photos play a key role in making fake news stories go viral by bolstering the emotional tenor of the lie"

        Photographic, Artistic, and Compositional Principles to Use When Assessing Photographs

* Use of Lines: The line of the street that is parallel to each other in this picture keep the viewer's eyes in the direction of the people who are approaching the protest with the help of the straight lines of the building with lines going against each other making the picture look interesting. The lines in this image go against each other making your eyes go to the people and the sign in their hands which is also square and have lines like the street and the building. Overall this picture has lines that go together and sginst each other containing the viewer's eyes to the people.

*Depth of field: This image has a clear depth of field. Where you can recognize the contrast between the

background and the foreground. Even though there are a lot of people you can tell who is further from

the camera and who is closer to the camera. This picture has a deep depth of field where the details

of the picture are all in focus.

*Exposure time: This picture has a short exposure time because it is impossible to make sure that no

one is moving to make sure that the picture is sharp. the photographer uses a short exposure time because

you can take a moving shot and make sure that everything is sharp. You can recognize this by looking

throughout the picture to find an unfocus place that is not present in this picture.

    Not true

Photo By: Unknown

Image source: Link 

    I have chosen this picture because everyone nowadays has social media and it is important to present the information with no bias because people will see the post and will just believe it without doing any other research. I think that it is important to show honesty and transparency with the pictures and the caption of the event. it is stated in the code of ethics that you have to be honest and I think that it is very important with how the world is evolving with social media and how quickly rumors spread. It is also important to look at the news with trusted sources like Good NewsNetwork and Yellow Journalism before believing things you see online. it is also important to do a search after seeing something so that you are educated on the topic before speaking about it.

        Photographic, Artistic, and Compositional Principles to Use When Assessing Photographs

*KEEP IT SIMPLE: this picture is simple in the sense that people are sitting in a line and there is

nothing busy or taking away attention from the main subject. This picture also has a simple color

scheme going on making it easy to understand what's going on. everything about this picture is easy to

understand in the sense of the image not being too busy with people, color, or composition. using a

straight line and simple colors

*In or out of focus: This image uses focus as the main point of the image. where the man close to you

is the only man who is in focus while the people behind him slowly go out of focus. This picture has

a shallow depth of field making the background get blurry as it goes on making sure that the foreground

is the main subject of the picture. This picture also has a srtong lighting coming from the back

enhancing the blurry effect even more and lighting the main subject from the back making him stand

out more

*Background compliments or detracts: The background compliments the main subject. The

background compliments the main subject by it being blurry making the main subject pop out more. It

also compliments the lighting which helps the main subject standout. The background is not

distracting the main subject which is why it compliments the main subject.

from composition