Reflection #2

Exploring Photo Essays

Photos Essays are some of the most creative forms of journalism because they capture a story. These visual elements help the audience further understand the topic of a subject without the usage of words and paragraphs. It can be said that the New York Times, effectively presents photo essays by being conveying emotion, capturing authenticity and editing with a purpose. These ideas have allowed for the readers to understand social issues, personal stories and cultural exploration on a deeper level. Creating Photo Essays About Community: A Guide to Our Where We Are Contest impressively demonstrates the step-by step process in making photo essays. By introducing young adult and teenagers to this form of journalism may influence more immersive forms of activism or speech.

•            The New York Times illustrates many photos that feature the zoom in and out function. Specifically, articles like Where the Band Kids and The Magic of Your First Car, both highlight the hidden objects within their photos. For instance, in Where the Band Kids, the students are performing different tasks. As the reader, these different tasks draw my attention to each student and allow me to foreshadow the theme of the article. Whereas, with The Magic of Your First Car, the photo shows drawings on the window a figure dancing in the right-hand corners. We can infer that possibly that these articles are about the struggles that adolescents go through. Whether it is more detailed such as small-town struggles or the importance of sharing experiences with friends. Although, it should still be noted that the following photo essays In This Nigerian Market, Young Women Find a Place of Their Own and For Black Debutantes in Detroit, Coalition is More than A Ball also connect with the centralize of adolescent and identify. Even though their photos don’t’ show hidden meanings, they emphasize the women in the visual. Therefore, highlight the subjects of the photo draws in emotion and allows readers to match the story with the person.
• Connections in person are healthier since, they create shared experience and harbor a greater sense of empathy. Whereas online interactions can often cause miscommunication and build relationships that are superficial. One of the pieces that conveyed this idea best was the phot captured The Magic of Your First Car. At first glance this picture reminds me of myself. April 2022 was the month I got my first car. I remember this month solely because of the experiences I shared with friends and family at the time. The New York Times further compels readers by explaining the importance of ones’ first car, the article further states “For these young people in Los, Angles, a car is a portal to possibilities, a means to escape monotony and a gathering space where they can let it all go (Schell)”.  Ultimately, this photo proves why in person connections are healthier, since they create safe spaces and allows us to share experiences with our peers.

            One of the images that I decided to look more closely is titled In This Nigerian Market, Young Women Find a Place of Their Own. There were many things about this photo that grabbed my attention, but the caption proves to be one of the most compelling elements of this picture. Words such as, L.G.BT.Q, skateboarding collective, Nigerian all help readers identify the cultural aspects of the picture. Specifically, it further describes the social group in which the article is writing about. The top image allows the audience to visually see the social group being described in the caption. With this, we can understand the certain words mentioned before, but also feel more emotionally drawn.

            The black and white filter is something that jumps out to me the most when I look at this picture. I say this because, the filter makes the photo stand out apart from the other photos. Lines such as the following, demonstrate the action that this group is taking to create a community. Furthermore, the text states that, “Density have carved out a space of freedom, safety and community in Lagos (Tayo)”.  It can be said that this image correlates with the theme of the caption since the photo depicts a group of outsiders that manage to promote and emphasize a safe space.

            Looking back at the phot essay, one of the items that grabbed my attention was the angle of the picture. After analyzing the photo a couple of times, I noticed that almost everyone in the picture was looking at the camera. Impressively, the photographer’s angle captured the emotion behind their storytelling. More importantly, it allowed readers to approach the caption with a sense of seriousness and empathy for the individuals inside the photo.

            In summary, the authors and photographers demonstrate many way they incorporate their visuals with storytelling. Personally, I’m inspired to see diverse ideas being advertised to tell the audience a story. My takeaway from viewing the photo essay would be to incorporate a photo that illustrates an idea that I have.