Tree Cutter

[OneArmedScissor125]

I've been trying to find ways to take more photojournalistic photos and couldn't pass up this opportunity. My dad was cutting tree branches because the tree was growing closer and closer to the house. I used the leaves in the foreground to frame my dad. I've added a little blur and saturation. Does this photo tell an interesting story? Is it too dark? Does it look like a photojournalistic type photo? Thanks for any comments.

Camera: Canon EOS D60
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 80 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV

[Major_Small]

I think the shot is a little dark. From your description, it sounds more like you were trying to set up a portrait than a journalism shot. The way I see it, the event captured is as, if not more, important than the people. Take a look at some of the more moving shots. The Kent massacre shot, the execution of the Viet Cong officer, Napalm girl, and the Sudanese girl with the vulture. Do you know their names, or who they were? Probably not. Do you know the image and the event it represents? That's a whole lot more likely. The point is this - when you look at those shots, what is the first question that comes to mind?

Another point of particular importance is this:

I've added a little...

Bad, bad, and bad. Things like overall color, density, and sharpness corrections to a point are usually alright. But the key word here is 'corrections'. You want to represent exactly what you saw, but taking any creative control and changing the scene is unethical. Even something as simple as removing a fence post is a huge no-no. Take a look at some other infamous breaches in ethics, including the Kent massacre shot, here.

I think the best way to get some good journalism shots would be to follow him around during a day of work, stay out of his way, and shoot his every day work-flow. Don't concentrate too much on the artistic aspect of the shot. Even this, however, is more of a documentary photograph in my mind than a journalism shot. You need a relevant story to tell to give a journalism shot some context.

I'm not a journalist though, so this is all opinion and some schooling. No direct experience yet. I know, however, there are others here that have had more direct involvement with journalism, and hope they can correct any errors I have made or improve on anything I may have missed.

[OneArmedScissor125]

Thanks for the info on doctoring photos. I'm going to major in photojournalism and this was a good thing to learn before I started. Some of those doctored photos were really horrible ethically. I hope to get out this summer and take many photos around town of events, which should not be too difficult, as a lot more has been going on around town over the past couple years. Thanks for all the advice and hopefully I'll put it to good use this summer.

[Major_Small]

Not a problem - One of the most useful things I've learned about it is when I was doing some light research on photojournalism some time back. I think it was from National Geographic. They said that a formal education in photography isn't nearly as important as one in journalism. Most of their photographers didn't have any kind of degree in photography itself.