Monday, February 27, 2012

Feature photography documents slices of life


   It’s  week 8 of 16, or hump week, and we’re right on schedule.
   Last week the students were given their first shooting assignment: features. They have to shoot one “weather rover,” which is basically driving around and finding something interesting that depicts people dealing with Mother Nature’s elements. They also have to shoot an event and produce a single feature-type image from that event.  
   Feature photography is documenting our everyday slices of life. Features are spontaneous, candid moments. It's the act of freezing shutter speeds of time. It's “a visual dessert to subscribers who digest a daily diet of accident, fire, political, and economic news,” according to Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach.
   Feature photography is timeless, although it can tell a story about specific time.  Weather art is a great example of this. During every change of season photojournalists are dispatched by their editors to shoot the first snowfall, the first budding flowers, the first hot day of summer, and the first round of falling leaves.
   Feature photography is the one category that encourages photojournalists to rove around aimlessly for hours looking for people doing something. It's called roving (at least that's what we Blade photographers call it) for this reason. It's also called wild art if the photo is without a story.
   The rover can be shot anywhere, but the event photo must be shot on campus. After all, photojournalists cover their community, and Owens is their community.
   I can’t wait for them to begin posting their photos on their blogs. At this point, they have had lots to say, but nothing to show. That’s about to change.

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