Photo Essay - Part 1 Essay Critique

Slater's cigarette store Photo Essay - Step 1 - Looking at Essays

In this assignment you will create your own photo essay. To help prepare you for this you should review some other photo essays and prepare a report for the class.

Select a photo essay from the Time.com web site.

Select one essay and be prepared to review it for our class. You will show us the essay and speak to these points:
  1. Did the photographer use staged photos, candid photos or both?
  2. Color or B&W? Did it make a difference? What factors contributed to the selection of one over the other?
  3. Find examples of good framing and composition and point them out. How close does the subject feel in the photo?
  4. Find examples of good use of color and light. Do you see backlighting? Were the photos taken early or late in the day?
  5. How is narration and text used to support the essay?
  6. Do the photos in the essay stand alone or do they need to be seen as a part of the whole?
  7. Describe your reaction to the essay. Do all photo essays illicit a reaction in the viewer?
This will be a public presentation for the rest of the class. You will recieve two grades for this lesson, one for presenting and one for participating (being an active listener.)