Were you gonna caption that?

via JProf

Captions are sometimes hard to construct, but they are very important. Photographers do not always have to write the captions for their pictures (although they should do so whenever they get the chance). They should always gather the information needed for a caption , including the names (spelled correctly) of the people visible in their photos.

Photo-Graphic Memory

via JProf

Daniel Okrent, the public editor of the New York Times, has written an excellent piece based on the decision by Times editors to run a picture of a grieving mother among a number of dead babies killed by the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The photo is graphic and difficult to look at. It is like many such photos that have burned themselves into our psyches.

Photoshop handouts

via JProf

One of the most important pieces of software in the journalism world these days is Photoshop. It is the premier photo editing tool, and no journalist or student of journalism -- whether working in print or on the web -- can do without it. JPROF.com offers three handouts that will help students get a quick start with Photoshop:

Beginning Photoshop (PDF)

Preparing images for the web (PDF)

Photoshop guidelines (PDF)
 
Photoshop is a deep program with many options and possibilities. Students can spend many hours learning its intracacies. These handouts will help you get them started.

Investigative reporting at its best

What does it take to investigate a national icon - a man who has been awarded and lauded across the world? The extraordinary determination and doggedness of Mr. Mojeed can only be admired:
http://saharareporters.com/news-page/nigerian-journalist-honored-exposing-philip-emegwali

Seeing ain't believing

via JProf

Changing a photograph in a way that alters its meaning -- even if only incidentally -- is not a good thing for journalists or journalism. We have been reading about this sort of thing far too much these days, and unfortunately, we will probably continue to hear about such behavior. But in an article in Slate ("Don't Believe What You See in the Papers"), Jim Lewis has some valuable perspective on how we view photography. A photograph has power because we believe it; we think that if we had been standing beside the photographer when it was taken, we would have seen the same thing. That's not true, and Lewis does a good job of reminding us of that fact. Lewis also links to a "rogue's gallery" of digital manipulation put together by Dartmouth's Haney Farid that reminds us that this sort of thing happens on a regular basis.