For the third spring in a row, this column is profiling a professional photojournalist so they could share their stories and expertise. For this issue, I talked to Jim Barcus, staff photographer of The Kansas City Star. Jim’s story should be interesting to young photographers because his professional journey began not in journalism school, but the nationally renown Kansas City Art Institute.
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Text is the most important aspect of the yearbook. While pictures will be admired first, it is the body copy and the cutlines that accomplish the book’s final goal by capturing the tone of the year. Time and time again, I have had to deal with poorly written copy, whether it is riddled with grammatical mistakes or lacks the interest that draws in the reader. Cleaning up the text is an easy process, with a few basic tips.
Those of us who have been advising for a while know yearbook production is a year-round job, no matter what our teaching contract says. Just like the Boy Scouts, the better prepared staff members are, the better the outcome. Here are ways to keep students thinking yearbook over the summer.
Middle school students are scary, to put it mildly. Turning them loose with digital cameras, computers and the internet could turn into something from a bad horror film. Beyond all that could and did go wrong during the fifth period communications class, the staff did publish a yearbook last year. We made a ton of mistakes, left in a few too many typos, but ensured that everyone’s picture showed up in the book at least one time. For a 72-page book with a first-year adviser, things went well.
They can’t always spell.
They can’t always read.
They can’t always write.
However, I have found Individualized Education Plan (IEP) students deserve a spot on my yearbook staff as much as the straight-A-in-every-English-class students.
Much like shooting sports, capturing the peak moments in plays and musicals requires planning and good shooting technique.
To paraphrase Hamlet, “the play’s the thing” where the conscientiousness of the yearbook photographer is discovered.
Capturing sports photographically has always been one of, if not the toughest, assignment faced by any photographer. For some students, the challenge is welcomed. For others, just the word sports puts fear into their hearts. However, patience and practice can help any photographer become less afraid of the dreaded sports assignment.
In May 2001, I retired after 30 years of teaching, and completed my 19th yearbook, my last one – or so I thought. In January 2003, my replacement suddenly resigned, and I was asked to finish the year. My concern for the students forced me back, but I struggled. In addition to facing a staff whose response to me was mixed, I discovered in March that our account, which enjoyed a $4,000 balance in 2001, was now $3,000 in the red.
Back to the basics. We’ve heard that phrase in education for years. When it comes to photography and photojournalism, the leap into the digital world has, perhaps, kept us from taking a hard look at the basics of good photojournalism and the need to reinforce habits that will help yearbook photographers capture good images and continue to grow. Let’s begin.
The words “middle school yearbook” initially conjure up an image of a soft cover with crude artwork of the school mascot, perhaps with a bubble out of the mouth of the lion, bear or panther saying something cute like, “Another year has gone by!” Inside the book are pages replete with posed snapshots.
