PHTO 202: Photojournalism

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Winter 2021
Credits: 3
Total Contact Hours: 108
Lecture Hours : 36
Lab Hours: 72
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 72
Strongly Recommended: PHTO 101.
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

This course introduces students to the theory and practice of photojournalism. Students learn the fundamentals of camera operation while photographing current events both on and off campus. The ethics of photojournalism is explored through study of the top press organization’s code of ethics and through critique of real world ethical violations. Photographers will learn the skill of caption writing, as well as, an industry standard digital workflow. In addition to class assignments students have the opportunity to collaborate with a reporter from a Citrus College publication. Material fee. 36 lecture hours, 54 lab hours.

Course Objectives

  • Express the emotion of a story through a single digital photograph
  • Caption photographs and submit them for publication
  • Develop concepts for photo illustration
  • Identify current technical, legal, and ethical practices employed by photojournalists
  • Demonstrate a high degree of proficiency in simulated practical press photography conditions
  • Solve problems of planning, photographing, writing and editing a picture story
  • Provide balanced unbiased photo reporting
  • Transmit an image electronically utilizing current technologies
  • Understand basic social media, newspaper, magazine, web, television and video production workflow
  • Create a portfolio that will adequately represent you as a freelance photographer
  • Learn how to negotiate press access to events and scenes, interfacing with public information officers/PR personnel

Major Course Content

  1. Expanding on the role of photography in the communication field
  2. Photojournalism Code of Ethics: NPPA, AP
  3. Working with Reporters           
  4. Meet Editors in Chief of school publications
  5. Auto Focus Modes, Drive Modes
  6. ISO
  7. Image size/File Types
  8. Depth of Field: Aperture, Focal Length & Camera to Subject Distance, Aperture priority exposure mode
  9. The Journalistic Portrait
  10. Caption writing
  11. Setting up LR, LR preferences, Your image catalog, Import Module, Metadata, Keywords, Copyright, Saving your catalog LR library module

  12. Restricted Photo Journalism workflow image adjustments includes: color or black and white, density, contrast, color balance, cropping, sharpening

  13. Henri Cartier Bresson’s “Decisive Moment”

  14. Action, Motion, Shutter speed, Shutter priority exposure mode

  15. Magnum shooting approaches, The Legendary Photo Agency

  16. Sports As News

  17. Manual exposure mode

  18. Where to find news, creating your own assignments

  19. Photo Agency, Photographic composition

  20. Introduction to flash
  21. Reportage: The Photo Story
  22. FSA “Documenting the Face of America”

Lab Content

  1. Digital Printing
  2. Digital Editing
  3. Caption writing
  4. Oral Class Critiques
  5. Presentation/Exhibit of Print

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

Los Angeles and New York Times Newspaper.

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Write a three to five page research paper on a professional photojournalist.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Students will need to photograph a public demonstration or social event outside of school. Select the images that best tell the story.
Based on an interview of two or more classmates conceptualize a journalistic portrait for each subject. Your interview will help you to get to know your subjects, as well as, provide key information for your image caption. Show examples of both long and short depth of field.
Photograph examples of stop, pan and blur imagery using Henri Cartier Bresson's "Decisive Moment" approach.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Lab, Online Education Lecture, Online Education Lab