INTRODUCTION TO FREELANCE PHOTO JOURNALISM - LEVEL 2 COURSE

During the course students will examine two key elements:

• The practice of freelance journalism and the skills of gathering news
• Combining photography and writing to produce reports and articles for publication

The course is split into the following 2 Sections containing 7 Units:

Section 1: Introduction to Freelance Journalism

This gives you an overview of the basic skills needed to be a freelance journalist. This section of the course will cover the following topics:

Unit One –Introduction to Freelance Journalism

The following topics are covered: What is news?; The elements of news; News in the community; and Community newspapers.

Unit Two –What Makes a Good Freelance Journalist

The following topics are covered: What makes a good Freelance Journalist?; and The function of a Freelance Journalist.

Unit Three –Gathering the News

The following topics are covered: The beat system; and Sources and tools.

Unit Four –Interviewing

The following topics are covered: Preparing mechanically for interviews; Developing note-taking skills; Picking the interview location; Conduct pre-interview research; Conduct the interview; and Conduct the post-interview.

Section 2: Introduction to Photo Journalism

This gives you again the basic skills to needed to combine photography and writing together into a good combined package of skills.

Unit Five –Understanding Photo Journalism

The following topics are covered: Taking photographs for publication; Two visual considerations; Depth of field; Isolating a subject; Lenses and perspectives; Composition; The principles of composition; Action in still photographs; and Stopping action.

Unit Six –Obtain the Record Cutline Information

The following topics are covered: Who gathers cutline information?; How to record the information; What to record; Match up the information with the photograph; When to record the information; Sports photography hints; and Filing cutline information.

Unit Seven – Writing a Photographic Cutline

The following topics are covered: Introduction; The four-part cutline; and Equipment available.