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Chapter 9 Action and Event Photography
Today, magazines continue to use numerous
photos on a specific topic, but use them primarily
as illustrations for written articles. Newspapers
sometimes run short picture stories consisting of
several shots relating to an event or topic, but they
are not as comprehensive as the pure magazine
form of the mid-1900s.
School Event and Yearbook
For the student photographer,
photojournalism opportunities usually involve
shooting for the school newspaper or yearbook.
In some schools, the newspaper and yearbook
are a specific class (often in the English or
Fine Arts departments); in others, they are an
extracurricular activity relying on volunteers.
School activities, such as assemblies or
concerts, provide a wealth of subject matter. For
such events, a good strategy is to shoot a variety
of types of shots: wide-angle overall views of
the activity, medium shots of groups within the
larger activity, and close-up shots of individuals
taking part, Figure 9-30.
Yearbook photography often involves
group portraits of various clubs or classes.
When shooting such posed groups, a tripod is
recommended. This allows you to set up the shot
and frame it, then make any adjustments, such
as moving people around in the group to avoid
hiding faces, before shooting. Using a tripod
also permits you to make a number of exposures
and high-interest subjects, such as decorated
houses, children on an Easter egg hunt, grinning
jack-o-lanterns, or Independence Day fireworks,
Figure 9-28.
Picture Stories
A picture story consists of feature-type
photos that carry out a theme. In purest form, a
picture story, sometimes called a photo essay, relies
on the photos and their accompanying captions to
“tell the tale.” While there may be an introductory
paragraph or two, the emphasis is obviously on
the pictures. The heyday of the pure picture story
was the middle years of the twentieth century,
when large format magazines (LIFE and LOOK
were the most prominent) were devoted to that
form, Figure 9-29.
Figure 9-28. Shooting multiple fireworks bursts is often
done by using the camera’s “B” (bulb) setting to hold the
shutter open and covering the lens with a card or hand
between bursts.
Figure 9-29. Pictorial magazines such as LIFE filled
each issue with dramatic photographs, usually in the
form of picture stories. This story shows shipwreck
survivors being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.