Lessons on photojournalism for high school and college students

[Gerry T. Galacio]

(1) Lessons on photojournalism for college students majoring in English, Mass Communications, etc. and for schoolpaper staffers and journalism students joining the press conferences — district, division, regional, and national; (2) Plain English synopses of Korean historical dramas with lessons on photography; and (3) Free seminar-workshops on photojournalism and English proficiency.



1. The DepEd holds annual press conferences in various levels — district, division, regional, and national; these conferences are probably the most-popular activities among elementary and high school students. The culminating activity is the National Schools Press Conference (NSPC), which is hosted by a different region each year and is attended by thousands of students and their schoolpaper advisers.

The DepEd previously held separate conferences for elementary and high school students. Thus, high school students joined the National Secondary Schools Press Conference (NSSPC). In history, the very first NSSPC was held in Rizal High School in Pasig City (my alma mater) way back in 1926; it was organized by the principal at the time, Mr. Ricardo Castro. This history was acknowledged by the DepEd when it chose Rizal High School as the venue for the 50th NSSPC (1993). Please see the related pictures below.

During that 1993 NSSPC, the judge in the photojournalism contests was Ed Santiago, considered as the dean of Filipino photojournalists. Because of the large number of contest entries, he asked me and two other schoolpaper advisers to help him choose the winners. That was a pleasant experience for me, because one reason why I became interested in photography was coming across in a magazine an award-winning photograph of an old Vigan house titled “A House Full of Memories.” The photographer? Ed Santiago.

2. Photojournalism has been a part of the various press conferences since 1989 or 1990, if I remember correctly. Modesty aside, the Mini Press Conferences that I organized from 1984 to 1991 had a photojournalism contest a year or two before the DepEd incorporated it into the conferences; surf to https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/07/mini-press-conference-rizal-high.html

I was a journalism teacher and schoolpaper adviser in Quezon City Science High School (1983-84) and in Rizal High School (1984-1995). Based on the pictures that I took during those years with my beloved Canon AE-1 Program camera and Vivitar zoom lenses, I wrote 40 lessons on photojournalism and posted them in my Campus Connection blog at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/

Besides the students joining the various press conferences, college students who are majoring in English, Mass Communications, and allied courses will benefit from reading these lessons on photojournalism. Why? If you look at the CHED-prescribed curricula for these courses, you’ll see that “Campus Journalism” is a required subject.

Index of lessons:

Photojournalism: Introduction at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2007/06/photojournalism-introduction.html

Photojournalism (01): "I Am A Camera" at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-2-i-am-camera.html

Photojournalism (02): Elements of photojournalism, with videos at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2007/06/elements-of-photojournalism-with-videos_24.html

Photojournalism (03): Elements of lines and shapes at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-3-lines-and-shapes.html

Photojournalism (04): Elements of form and texture at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-4-elements-of-form-and.html

Photojournalism (05): Elements of tone and contrast at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-5-elements-of-tone-and.html

Photojournalism (06): Element of patterns at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-6-element-of-patterns.html

Photojournalism (07): Element of perspective at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-7-element-of.html

Photojournalism (08): Color or black and white? at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-8-color-or-black-and.html

Photojournalism (09): Learning to see; techniques in developing your creative eye at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-9-learning-to-see.html

Photojournalism (10): Decisive moment at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-10-decisive-moment.html

Photojournalism (11): Creative writing through seeing at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-11-creative-writing.html

Photojournalism (12): Reading pictures at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-12-reading-pictures.html

Photojournalism (13) : Cybill Shepherd, Ryan O’Neal, Mary Stuart Masterson, Robert Downey Jr, love, friendship, second chances, and a roll of film at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-13-cybill-shepherd.html

Photojournalism (14): Quality and direction of light at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/05/photojournalism-14-quality-and.html

Photojournalism (15): Scale at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/06/photojournalism-15-scale.html

Photojournalism (16): Choosing your viewpoint at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/06/photojournalism-16-choosing-your.html

Photojournalism (17): Picture formats at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/06/photojournalism-17-picture-formats.html

Photojournalism (18): Emphasis by lines at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/06/photojournalism-18-emphasis-by-lines.html

Photojournalism (19): Rule of Thirds explained; the Rule of Thirds versus the Golden Ratio or Fibonacci Spiral; Dynamic Symmetry (hidden geometry of painters) as alternative to Rule of Thirds at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/06/photojournalism-19-rule-of-thirds.html

Photojournalism (20): Bokeh, foreground blur, background blur; keep your background simple and uncluttered; false attachment; rack focus; foreground interest at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2007/08/photojournalism-20-foreground-and.html

Photojournalism (21): Natural frames at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/07/photojournalism-21-natural-frames.html

Photojournalism (22): Techniques for creating depth in your pictures at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/07/photojournalism-22-conveying-depth.html

Photojournalism (23): Composition at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/07/photojournalism-23-composition.html

Photojournalism (24): Types of pictures at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/07/photojournalism-24-types-of-pictures_23.html

Photojournalism (25): Shooting groups at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/07/photojournalism-25-shooting-groups.html

Photojournalism (26): Shadows at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/07/photojournalism-26-shadows.html

Photojournalism (27): Reflections at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/08/photojournalism-27-reflections.html

Photojournalism (28): Silhouettes at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/08/photojournalism-28-silhouettes.html

Photojournalism (29): Shooting at night at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/08/photojournalism-29-shooting-at-night.html

Photojournalism (30): Shooting portraits at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/08/photojournalism-30-shooting-portraits.html

Photojournalism (31): Photo essays and sequence shots at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/08/photojournalism-31-photo-essays-and.html

Photojournalism (32): Photo essays and themes at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2007/10/photojournalism-32-photo-essays-and.html

Photojournalism (33): Photo essays using the chronological approach at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/09/photojournalism-33-photo-essays-using.html

Photojournalism (34): Using your flash at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/09/photojournalism-34-using-your-flash.html

Photojournalism (35): How to write photo captions; Campus news photography and working on your yearbook at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/10/photojournalism-35-campus-news.html

Photojournalism (36): Through the lens at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/11/photojournalism-36-through-lens.html

Photojournalism (37): Depth of field at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/11/photojournalism-37-depth-of-field.html

Photojournalism (38): Shutter speed; how to freeze fast-moving subjects at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/11/photojournalism-38-shutter-speed.html

Photojournalism (39): Correct exposure at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/12/photojournalism-39-correct-exposure.html

Photojournalism (40): Where do we go from here? at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2006/12/photojournalism-40-where-do-we-go-from_10.html

"Shoot fishing" (aka “air gun fishing”) in the Philippines: photo essay at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2015/09/shoot-fishing-in-philippines.html

Photography lessons from Koreanovelas at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2015/08/photography-lessons-from-korean-dramas.html

Besides the lessons on photojournalism, my Campus Connection blog also features:

(a) lessons on creative writing by using photographs; surf to https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/p/picture-is-worth-thousand-words.html

(b) Plain English synopses of popular Korean historical dramas such as A Jewel in The Palace, Jumong, Dong Yi, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, and Mr. Sunshine, with lessons on photography based on screenshots from the dramas; surf, for example, to my synopsis of “Mr. Sunshine” at https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2018/07/mr-sunshine-synopsis.html (this drama is currently being broadcast by GMA7).

3. I’m offering free seminar-workshops for schools in Metro Manila and Rizal Province. For more information or to schedule a seminar, contact me at gtgalacio@yahoo.com or 0927-798-3138. The seminars are:

(a) Photojournalism; for more information, surf to https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/

(b) English Proficiency; surf to https://betterenglish-rx.blogspot.com/2019/07/free-seminar-english-proficiency.html

(c) Plain English for journalism — news, editorials, and features; surf to http://josecarilloforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=7951.0

(d) Plain English for legal writing; surf to https://famli.blogspot.com/p/bar-exams-mcq.html

Related pictures on National Secondary Schools Press Conference (NSSPC), now National Schools Press Conference (NSPC):