Photos and Videos Speak A Thousand Words

David LaBelle’s video “On Storytelling” gave a good view on how I can expand on telling a story through pictures and videos. I hope that my beat project would give an inspirational word to the public. Hope can be a good vibe to spread the word on what the The First Tee of Tampa Bay is doing for the kids in the community. Not only are they educating these kids with skills that are not often thought, but the learning of making friends and bonds with different people. Photos such as kids laughing and smiling while they are participating in the program. Or even pictures of the volunteers enjoying the company of these kids who enjoy being there. What could show the how the program works is pictures of volunteers ready to help and teach these kids the fundamentals of the game of golf. I would definitely sit by the side and observe. When you do not interfere with their session with the kids, naturally they would not even realize that I am there. People will act normally and you can see the genuine heart these volunteers have. That would definitely show a great image.

CNN Photojournalists shared a little insight to what they recommended to use for good photography. One of the tricks I learned was using natural light and making sure to take the shot with good amount of light and not have at a dark area. But make sure that my back faces the sun so it would not cause a glare. This helps the viewers to see it better and not making picture dim. One of the tricks I used the most was taking loads of pictures. I would easily take 5 to 6 pictures of the same thing. This was to make sure that if I had a poor looking picture, I have 5 more options to pick from in order for me to use it. Once you have chosen, then you can delete the bad ones.

Since my project is going to be mainly outdoors, I will have unlimited natural light to take the pictures I need. I definitely will take a lot of action photos because some could be blurry from the sudden movements the kids make.

Franziska Bährle’s WordPress blog showed 10 different tips to shoot good videos for journalism. She explains the basic simple steps for people who have not done it before to easily grasp the techniques. One of the most important things I learned in order to do a good video was to always put the camera on a tripod. It helps keep the video camera steady and get a better shot. I always think about what I really want to film for my project. That way, I save battery life, memory space and also less problems in trying to sort out the clips I have taken. The most important thing to remember is that to always check your equipment before going out on the field. It’ll be a waste if you drove all the way there and your equipment does not work.

I will make sure that when I am filming them taking a golf swing or just interacting with the the volunteers, I hope to take videos at different angles so it would not be boring. I definitely will incorporate B-Roll into my video so there will be pictures and short clips to create a unique video.