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COMM 269
006 Carnegie Building

Fall 2017
Section 003 – Tuesday & Thursday:  9:05 am – 11:00 am

Instructor: Will Yurman, Senior Lecturer of Communications
Office Hours:

Tuesday & Thursday 11:00 – noon in Carnegie 218
Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:30 at Innovation Park
and by appointment

“I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it.”

~Author Unknown

Office: Carnegie 218
Telephone: (C)  814-470-5895
Email: will.yurman@gmail.com (best way to reach me)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Photojournalism is reporting with a camera. Writers use words. Radio reporters tell their stories in sound. Photographers use light. We are all reporters – telling stories and sharing information with the world. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. The lines are blurring as journalists learn to use a variety of tools to do their job. Visual reporting requires learning a visual language and a variety of technical skills. But it also requires the skills and soul of a journalist.

In Comm 269 we will learn to use both the hardware and software required of a 21st-century visual journalist. Students will learn to use their cameras to control the image they create. We will also work with imaging software, as we learn to get our images from the camera to the computer and then online or in print.

All of the technology we will learn is just the means to an end. The real goal of the class is to learn to report with our cameras – to tell stories and engage our readers and viewers with visually compelling, ethical, honest imagery.

Class will focus on real-life assignments. You will be asked to submit photos, and engage in thoughtful critiques of your work and the work of your fellow classmates. We will also look at current trends in photojournalism and examine and critique current published work in the profession.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

At the completion of this class, you will:

*  Have the ability to properly operate your camera, so you can take technically proficient photos.

*  Use Photoshop to tone and adjust your images in compliance with ethical guidelines as discussed in class.

*  Apply the skills learned in class to create a portfolio of photographs demonstrating your ability to create visually compelling and storytelling images.

*  Use AP style captions to accurately and completely caption your photos.

*  Develop the vocabulary to be able to critique and comment on photos.

*  Explain the ethical concerns that face photojournalists in the digital age. Create your own list of ethical ‘do’s and don’t’s’ for work as a professional visual journalist.

*  Be able to explain the skills and responsibilities of a working photojournalist in the context of a modern online news environment.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend every class. Regular and punctual attendance is important. If you will be missing class for a legitimate reason, you should notify me prior to the start of the class via e-mail. Students with excused absences will be permitted to make up work done during the class they missed.  Excused absences are limited to the observance of holy days, or circumstances beyond your control, including:

• your illness.
• a personal emergency such as an accident or severe illness of a family member.
• the funeral of a family member or a friend.
• a canceled plane, bus or train, or hazardous driving conditions on your return from an out-of-town trip.

Any test, quiz, or in-class assignment missed as a result of an excused absence must be made up within one week of the class missed. Students are responsible for contacting me about missed assignments. If you miss class because of an unexcused absence you will receive a zero for any in-class assignment.

You must be present to turn in assignments. Missing class critiques will result in a letter grade reduction.

You are responsible for any information you miss because of an absence from class – that includes lecture notes, changes to the schedule, assignments, etc.

Absences and arriving late for class will affect your final grade
10+ absences(for any reason) – You fail the class

Arriving late will count as 1/2 of an absence

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Textbooks & Supplies:

Kobre, Kenneth R. “Photojournalism: the Professionals’ Approach, 7th edition”, Boston, MA: Focal Press, 2016.

“National Geographic Complete Photography”   ISBN 978-1426207761

Newspapers:

For this course, you are required to read The New York Times (www.nytimes.com/passes), USA Today and the Daily Collegian online and in print.

Digital Storage:

The digital age requires digital storage. You must own digital storage.  All hard drives fail. Back up important files to at least two places.

Lost SD card, damaged hard drives, broken computers are all terrible. But they will NOT be considered excuses for missed assignments. It is your responsibility to back up your work.

At the end of the semester you will present a portfolio of your best work from the semester – you are responsible for saving your image files throughout the semester

An external hard drive is required for this class as well as a second means of backing up your files. You will want to back up your work – servers fail, and it’s important to have a backup. You may also want to work on assignments outside of class.

Your work should be backed up AT LEAST twice. IF you have your work on your computer, then you’ll want one backup drive. If you work on school computers you should have two drives (at least).  There are two kinds of hard drives in the world. Those that have crashed and those that will crash.

You will want a drive with certain features:

• Solid State Drives (SSD) are the most reliable because they have no moving parts. They are also more expensive
• USB 3.0 is a fast connector and common to both Macs and PCs.
• Thunderbolt is Apple’s very fast connector but is Mac only
• Size – I would suggest at least 500GB, but buy the biggest you can afford. They fill up quickly
• Portability – desktop drives are usually cheaper, but can be a pain to carry around.
• You might consider getting one of each. Leave the traditional drive someplace safe at home and use it as a backup.

There are a ton of choices. Cheapest isn’t usually best.

For Solid State Drives(SSD) here is one option from Samsung. You can get this drive in different sizes. 500GB should be plenty for this class. For Traditional drives, I like the G-Technology drives. Many people use the LaCie Rugged drives. Keep in mind that ALL drives fail, it’s a just a question of when. Have two drives and two copies of your work.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly and creative activity in an open, honest and responsible manner, free from fraud and deception, and is an educational objective of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and the University. Cheating – including plagiarism, falsification of research data, using the same assignment for more than one class, turning in someone else’s work, or passively allowing others to copy your work – will result in academic penalties at the discretion of the instructor. In serious cases, it could also result in suspension or dismissal from the University or in the assignment of an “XF” grade (failed for academic dishonesty).

As students studying communications, you should understand and avoid plagiarism (presenting the work of others as your own.) A discussion of plagiarism, with examples, can be found at http://tlt.psu.edu/plagiarism/student-tutorial/. The rules and policies regarding academic integrity should be reviewed by every student, and can be found online at: http://senate.psu.edu/policies-and-rules-for-undergraduate-students/47-00-48-00-and-49-00-grades/#49-20 and in the College of Communications document, “Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures.” Any student with a question about academic integrity or plagiarism is strongly encouraged to discuss it with his or her instructor.

Reporting Bias: Penn State takes great pride in fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff.  Acts of intolerance, discrimination, harassment, and/or incivility due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity at the Report Bias website: http://equity.psu.edu/reportbias/statement.

Students with Disabilities

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. For information, go to the Student Disability Resources website: http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources. 

In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/applying-for-services. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.

Our Community

As journalists, the subjects of our stories should reflect the entire community we serve. Showing diversity in your assignments is essential.

Grading:

Photojournalism is about people and documenting the human condition. To be successful in this course you will show people in your photos. Grades will be based on photographs, video, photo captions, tests and class participation.

Re-shooting is like re-writing an assignment for a reporting class. You may improve your grade by reshooting any two regular assignments during the semester (except the picture story, in-class projects, DITLO assignment and the final portfolio). ALL RESHOOTS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY November 17, 2017. You must have submitted an assignment on time to re-shoot the assignment.

Assignments will be evaluated using the following criterion:

Journalistic Content

Does the photograph tell the story? Is the image relevant to the assignment? Does the photography capture peak action, emotion and expression? Does a complete, AP style caption accompany each photograph? Is the information correct? Are there spelling errors in the caption?

Technical Excellence / Composition

Is there a clear center of visual interest? Is the photograph too dark or too light? Is the photo in focus? Does the photo have the proper color balance? Is the photo aesthetically appealing?

Shooting assignment grades will be based on:

	Poor or missing	unsatisfactory	Proficent	Superior
CAPTIONS	0-5pts *Submitted photos must have a caption. No caption = zero for the entire assignment* Missing the basic facts, including names of subjects, dates, location, photo credit. Poor grammar and spelling.Improper use of AP Style.	6-11pts Contains some but not all of the basic facts of the photo, the Five W’s of journalism. Missing the names of subjects and/or the location date. Substantial spelling and/or grammar mistakes.Improper use of AP Style.	12-16pts Answers the basic questions of what is happening in the image, using proper AP style. Few if any grammar or spelling mistakes.	17-20pts Uses AP Style captions to properly describe what is happening in the photo as well as giving context and adding value to the image.May contain additional context through quotes or research. No spelling or grammar errors.
TECHNICAL SKILLS	 0-5pts Images are unusable due to technical errors. This might include all images being out of focus, or poorly exposed. Camera was not set up properly for the assignment.Photoshop was not used, or used improperly.	6-11pts Most images are unusable due to technical errors. No effort was shown to correct the errors during the assignment. Most images are incorrectly exposed, out of focus and/or have the wrong white balance.	12-16pts The proper settings were used for most of the photos. Most images are properly exposed, in focus and have the right white balance. Photoshop was used properly to adjust and tone the images.  May contain some mistakes, but images would be usable in publications.	17-20pts Proper settings were used for the assignment. Appropriate lenses were selected. Most or all images were properly exposed, are sharp and in focus and properly white balanced. Images were adjusted as needed in Photoshop. Images could be successfully used in print or online.
EFFORT	 0-10pts Poor choice of location or event for the assignment. Less than 15 minutes spent at the assignment. Fewer than 20 images taken. No effort to explore the event visually or think through a visual idea.	11-18pts Poor choice of location or event for the assignment. Less than 30 minutes spent on the assignment. Fewer than 40 images taken. Little effort to explore the event visually or think through a visual idea.	19-24pts Effective location or event for the assignment -offering good possibilities for photographs.Spent close to the full time and shot the minimum required number of images. Showed effort in thinking about composition and moment and light.	25-30pts Effective location or event for the assignment -offering good possibilities for photographs.Spent at least the full-time and shot at least the minimum required number of images. Images show real effort in exploring the event visually as well as working visual ideas using the ideas discussed in class.
CONTENT	 0-10pts Images are visually uninteresting, poorly composed and framed and are not relevant to the assignment.	11-18pts Images show little in the way of the compositional tools discussed in class. No strong center of interest. No visual moments. Lack people in most of the photos.	19-25pts Images capture people engaged in an activity appropriate to the assignment. Images use the compositional tools discussed in class to create an aesthetically pleasing photo.  Photos show some awareness of light and background as well as moment.	26-30pts Images are visually engaging and capture a moment.  There is a clear center of visual interest. Photos use the compositional tools discussed in class to create an aesthetically pleasing photo as well as capturing a real moment. Photos would be publishable online or in print.

 

93.0-100	A
90.0-92.9	A-
87.0-89.9	B+
83.0-86.9	B
80.0-82.9	B-
77.0-79.9	C+
70.0-76.9	C
60.0-69.9	D
Under 60.0	F

Extra Credit:

Extra credit can be earned for photographs published in campus or regional publications. Images published as a part of class projects do not count as extra credit. A semester total of no more than 100 points of extra credit (50 points for each published image) may be added to a student’s grade. To receive extra credit give me a printed copy or email me the URL to the publication.

Deadlines:

Photojournalists must adapt to changing situations. You must adapt to meet deadlines. Late assignments will NOT be accepted. IF you must miss a class, you MUST arrange to turn in your work.

A missed deadline means you failed the assignment.

Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due at the start of class. Finishing work during class is not acceptable. Unless you have an excused absence and the instructor is notified via email in advance, you must be present at the start of class to hand in assignments. If you have an excused absence, or are unable to attend class, it is still your responsibility to turn in assignments on time.

Digital Photojournalism Lab Policies / Hours:

The computer lab will be open when photojournalism classes are not in session. There may be other times when use of the lab is restricted. Students will have 24-hour swipe card access to the building and lab. Only photojournalism students are permitted in the lab.  Do not allow anyone else to enter the lab. Do not block the lab door open. According to College of Communications policy, no food or drink is permitted in the lab. Students caught with food or drink in the lab may lose lab privileges. The number of printouts made will be monitored electronically. If students are abusing 24-hour lab privileges, lab hours will be restricted.

Website/communication

Class information will be available on the website at: https://www.willyurman.com/teaching
Updates to the syllabus, assignments, handouts etc. will all be on the website.
I will use email for any last minute updates/cancellations/changes
I will also be sending critiques and grades via email. Grades will also be posted on angel
Please make sure I have your current and preferred email address.

Assignment Standards:

•Digital files/assignments will be placed on the server. It is extremely important that all files and folders contain your name and the assignment name.

•Students CANNOT photograph their friends and relatives for class assignments. Exceptions should be approved in advance. It is very difficult to make a living photographing your friends.

•All images should be taken with the digital camera quality setting of “fine” or “Raw”

•All assignments must have complete caption information.

•You may be required to email me photos on a tighter deadline. You are responsible for making sure your email is working properly.

•All assignments must be publishable and fall within societal norms for decency and good taste.

•Unless you specifically say otherwise, it is assumed that any work submitted for this class may be published on the Commedia websites, Centre Daily Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Penn State University, or other websites. Student images may also be used in university publications. Select photos will be entered in regional and national photojournalism competitions.

Supplies:

It is your responsibility to save and backup your digital files. The modern equivalent of my dog ate my homework is “my hard drive crashed” or “My roommate deleted my files”.  Neither of these is an acceptable excuse.

You need to have backup copies of everything you shoot – an external hard drive is required.

Camera Checkout:

“Point and shoot” cameras are not acceptable for use in this class. If there’s a question as to whether your camera is acceptable for this class, see me.

Camera kits are available through Media & Technology Services. We use the Nikon D7100 or D7200 camera. Their facility is at Wagner Annex.
Media Tech generally permits students to keep cameras for three days. This semester you will be allowed to sign out a camera for the entire semester, as long as you remain enrolled in the class.

MEDIA TECH is located in the Wagner Building. The entrance is on the backside of the building, look for the blue awning. You’ll need your Penn State ID to sign out gear.

Media Tech is typically open M-F only, 7:45am – 5:00pm. Check with them for exact hours as they change semester to semester.

Main Phone:  865-5400

Email:  UL-MTSSEQ@LISTS.PSU.EDU

You are financially responsible for the equipment.

Additional lenses and flash units may be checked out from the College of Communications for a period of 24 hours. You are financially responsible for the equipment you borrow from the College of Communications. Much of the pool equipment is owned by Nikon and is on loan to Penn State for photojournalism classes. Be sure that everything is working before you leave the building. When you sign the checkout form you are agreeing that the equipment is in good working order. Make note of any equipment problems before you sign the form.  If, at the discretion of Mike Zelazny, you abuse the pool camera equipment, you will lose the privilege to borrow equipment. Fines are imposed for equipment returned late.

Internet

Students are not permitted to use the Internet during class hours to check Facebook or email. Students using the Internet for anything other than class work (during class) will have points deducted from their class participation grade.

Cell Phones:

No texting or personal use of your phone during class. It is a distraction and unfair to other students. Students using a cell phone during class hours for anything other than class work will have points deducted from their class participation grade.

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This syllabus is merely a guide. It will likely change during the semester. Dates, deadlines, assignments, point values, and any or all policies may be changed or modified by the instructor. Changes will be announced in class or via the class website. There may be unannounced quizzes during the semester.