Photo Essaya set or series of photographs that are intended

to tell a story or evoke a series of emotions in the viewer

takes the same story telling techniques as a normal essay, translated into visual images

shows a more complete story than is possible with one image

range from purely photographic to photographs with captions, small notes or full text essays

often address a certain issue or attempt to capture the character of places and events

Types of photo essays to consider:

Time Sequence• showing a sequence of photos to chronicle an event • often like looking at a series of still images from a movie• examples include linear events such as cliff diving, fire

fighting, a bird hatching, life from birth to death, etc.

Location• seek to capture the feel of a location through

glimpses of people and places within a set location• can be compact such as a school or garden, or vast

such as a country

Idea• images have a common thread of one theme or idea• topics such as hope, love, or work, or themes such as

close-ups, abstracts, or food

Event• cover a specific happening,

such as a building fire or a wedding• should show the major

parts critical to the event

Student Exemplars

In Your Sketchbook:Brainstorm your own list of themes and subjects you could photograph to tell a story with only pictures. Consider – emotion, humor, story, subject matter, style, etc. INCLUDE 5 DIFFERENT IDEAS!

Choose your best idea, then plan your essay by generating a detailed list of photos you would need to take in order to capture the essence of your story. INCLUDE AT LEAST 20 DIFFERENT PHOTOS YOU COULD TAKE!

Plan a potential arrangement of the photos into one composition…your plan may change after you take your photos, but it’s good to consider first.

Next:Shoot a series of new pictures (40 image contact sheet minimum) specifically for this assignment that focus on telling your chosen story.

Meet with Mrs. Duckworth after you have made a contact sheet to explain direction of story, which images you will use, and how you will arrange them to create your final photographic essay.

Create your own final Photo Essay by compiling your photographs using Photoshop. Your final project must have a minimum of 5 photos.

Due Dates:Sketchbooks: 20 points (10% of final exam grade) Thursday, June 2nd

Contact Sheet*: 40 points (40% of final exam grade) Monday, June 6th

Final Photo Essay**: 100 points (50% of final exam grade)Friday, June 10th

** We will have a critique during our last class on Monday, 1/25. Be prepared to submit your final piece prior to that time. **

NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. WORK NOT TURNED IN BY DUE DATE WILL BE CALCULATED AS A ZERO GRADE.

THIS IS GRADED LIKE A FINAL EXAM AND THIS PROJECT IS WORTH 20% OF YOUR OVERALL GRADE.