Still Photography- Do iPhones count?

This evening I read an article entitled “Digital Still Photography.”

First of all photojournalism (as defined by Kenny Irby of the Poynter Institute) is the craft of employing photographic storytelling to document life.

The unique thing about still photography is that its observation is directed by the viewer. While video is observed by a passive viewer, photos can be looked at for as long or short of a time that the audience chooses. The viewer is in control.

The History

Over time, still photography has popularized, particularly in 1888 when Kodak took the development process into their own hands and made development technicians readily available to the public. In recent decades, it has been predicted that the use of still photography would diminish in favor of new technologies, however, still photography remains one of the most popular forms of media.

After all of the technological advances in the field of photojournalism, the goal stays the same: tell the story how it was observed and get the message to the audience as quickly as possible.

Editing

The editor of still photographs is to question the entire story. The article likens the editor to a gate-keeper who knows all about the story. The author also uses the analogy of the story to a house of cards, if one card is removed, the story collapses, if one card (or picture) is added, the story will also collapse from too much weight (or in this case, information).

Newspapers:

Often with newspapers, the photo-editor can select just one image. He must take into account the article the photo is to accompany first then make sure that the stories told by both the image and written word are in sync. Key images are significantly larger than the others on the page and are frequently located on the top half of the spread.

Magazines:

Magazines work a lot like newspapers but on a smaller scale. There is often more of an emphasis on the spatial and relational aspects of the images selected.

Web:

Web design allows for different types of viewing than that of print journalism and therefore can sometimes garner more attention. Slideshows that move with purpose are often effective ways to garner attention.

According to the article, iPhone pictures do in fact count towards what we call digital still photography, but it must be presented in an effective manner to serve the purpose that the article suggests.

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some of the ways you present your photos to others?
2. Has the ability to share photos on social networking sites increased the number of photos you take?

GreenvilleOnline.Com

GREENVILLEONLINE.COM

First impression of the site:

Deal-Chicken ad at the top in a brighter color than the logo is distracting from the main focus of the site.

Orange and blue are contrasting, pops too much
There are a lot of pictures to show different articles

Jammed pack header

Well organized

Good headers

Contents list at the bottom

Hover over topics, gives you the latest news along with other selections

“subscribe” in yellow, to draw more attention

How does the site establish credibility? How does the author establish trust? Or does it? (pg 29)

Search function is good

7 day free trial, but then you must pay, stops you from searching news

heavy use of photos is distracting, not enough text

writing is good

organizations name is in the URL, increases credibility

What is the general writing style?

Headlines are unbiased, however some are a little sensationalized (i.e. Mom has sex while children died in car)

Does the writer IDENTIFY with his or her readers, or not? How (or why not)?

It depends on what the topic is, when the article is aimed at administering information, the author keeps the article short rather than by focusing on identifying with his reader. In opinions, they do identify with their reader.

Does the writing get to the point?

Yes, straightforward, short articles; headlines are very specific and very relevant.

How is it arranged? Is it arranged in reverse pyramid style?

Most important stuff at the topic, less important stuff is at the bottom.

Is the content shaped for scanning? How is the content layered?

Paragraphs are short (good for scanning) not everything is on one page, no bolded texts

Headlines are clear

Very few teasers and lead-ins

No summary paragraphs

Photos and graphics

Audio and video clips

“You may be interested in”… but aren’t tightly related

Is the tone or rhythm of the sight consistent throughout?

Writers from different regions and papers so not necessarily fluid

How does the sight use headlines?

The headlines are more so teasers than actual headlines are relatively long

How does the site use links? Effectively or not?

It is not effective because a lot of the linked material is advertisement or they lead you off of the website, or ask you to pay for a subscription

How is multimedia used? Is it distracting? How is it displayed on the site? Does the multimedia tell the same story as the text, or a different side of the story?

Videos and photos to accompany articles, some moving advertisements are distracting, but are not intermingled with text. Multimedia is not super relevant but is still relatively on topic. Some multimedia presents interview versus article with summary.

How does the site “package” stories?

Often multimedia is placed before the actual text. Top down: headline, image or video, text, additional info or links, sidebar with other stories.

How are graphics used?

There are icons for emailing, printing, increasing and decreasing text size, graphics in images and videos, icons for affiliates

Too cluttered?

No, ads are out of the way and do not interfere with the article

Are the graphics consistent throughout the site, and consistent to the brand?

The color scheme is always held, highlighting is consistent, blue is easy on the eyes and readable.

Do they encourage or discourage use, and how?

They aren’t super encouraging but the videos are encouraging because there is a large play button over the still image

Can each page stand on its own?

Every page can stand on its own because the site is well organized and the logo is always displayed in the top left corner, and the header is always along the top.

How is the navigation? Do you get lost? So you always know where you are? How (or why not)?

The navigation is great! The header is always present. You cant get lost because of the header. You can press the back button.

How does the site incorporate/interact with its audience? Because it is local news it is easily relatable, there is a comments link, the emails of the writers are easy to find, there are a number of links encouraging readers to click on. Comments are not displayed though, and the comments are linked through Facebook, rather than displayed under each article.

How does it embody the social aspect of the internet (or does it)?

It is linked to Facebook, and you can like the Greenville News on Facebook, and each individual article can be “shared” on Facebook. You can follow them on twitter also. Have the “widgets” at the bottom.

How would you rate the USABILITY of the site? Elaborate.

B+, it is easy to use and the graphics are good, complaints: pay wall, advertisements in prominent places and flashing of advertisements

 

How would you improve the site?

Put ads in more discrete places, make them flow more, have sources linked throughout articles, show comments below articles

Digital Enlightenment

For this reflection, I read two chapters from Brian Carroll’s text, Writing for Digital Media. I want to start by saying that this is one of the most interesting text books I have ever read and that retaining this information was easy because Carroll took special care to make the information relatable. (Well, truthfully, everything but the programming, that was lost on me.)

In the second chapter of the book, Carroll discusses not just the differences between digital media and analog, but more how to make a trustworthy, interesting, and high traffic website in today’s expanse of internet. The chapter was packed with information on how to make a website more attractive to audiences but below I will talk about just a few of the things that I found to be interesting.

The first paragraph of the chapter points out that “Web users do not merely read online content but they interact with it.” It then presented the idea that text on the internet is unilinear, meaning that one can delete, add, copy, paste, and hyperlink anything their heart desires. Being unilinear allows one to skip the footnotes and allow the reader to get right down to the post. Like Daniel Carr said in his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” rather than footnotes that “…merely point a reader to related works, they [are propelled] toward them.” The omission of footnotes on the web is just one benefit of the web being unilinear.

Some tips given to us regarding hyperlinks by Carroll’s chapter include:

• every page, regardless of the material on it, should have a prominent link back to the home page
• each page should stand on its own and be self-contained because viewers are often propelled to the site by other sites (this was reiterated in Chapter 3)

The chapter echoes Daniel Carr’s observation that web users are incredibly impatient. Brian Carroll explained what is known as the “Three-second Rule,” an idea developed by Dale Dougherty. A website has just three-seconds to load or its audience will be lost due to the impatience promoted by the web. Something that I found interesting that was included in Chapter 3 of Writing for Digital Media, is that readers on the web read about 25% slower, which contributes to a short attention span and ultimately a reader’s inability to gather as much information.

When writing for the web, Carroll recommends the use of action verbs, plain English, a straightforward tone, simplicity, and a conversational and interactive dialogue with the reader.

So lets chat about the most important part of a website, the one page that a reader should always be directed back to: the home page. The home page should have an identity and a mission, show what the content is and where to find it, and convey a big picture. Essentially, the home page needs to blanket the entire topic as well organize the site in a simple and straightforward manner.

“Audiences demand more because the medium can deliver more.”

What are some of the things that audiences are demanding?
Explain how you can, as a blogger, develop an identification with your readers.