Better smartphone photos

Sometimes somebody just says it so well, that you feel like sharing it, right?  So, check out this summary of a post on Mashable, that explores the best features of the photo app, Camera+.  Or better yet, watch the 2:00 tutorial by clicking on the image below. The “Clarity” filter on the app is a …

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Five pieces of the storytelling puzzle

According to videographer Nathan Thompson, there are five essential elements to every good story. The former National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Photographer of the Year thinks of them as puzzle pieces that the storyteller has to fit together. 1. The story open. Thompson says you need to grab the audiences’s attention, introduce them to characters …

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Telling great video stories, fast

The first word in telling video stories efficiently is “focus,” according to videographer Lisa Berglund.  The former  National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Photographer of the Year says your story assignment is a location, it’s up to you to find the actual story. “It’s not just shoot it,” said Berglund.  ”Before you pick up your camera, be …

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Video journalism tips from a pro

Darren Durlach left television almost two years ago to try something new. He’d won two consecutive NPPA TV Photographer of the Year awards and, unbeknownst to him, was on the verge of winning a third. He’s now senior multimedia producer at the Boston Globe, where he shoots and edits stories both alone and in collaboration …

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How to make a TV story memorable

How would you define a memorable TV news story? For reporter Boyd Huppert, it’s a story that connects with viewers, that goes beyond the facts to touch people in some way. To achieve that goal, Huppert looks for a character and a concept that will tie his story together. And when he writes the script, …

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Tips for becoming a better TV news photographer

From part-time, overnight camera operator in market 83 to best TV news photographer in the country in just six years: How did Nathan Thompson do it? Natural talent? Not at all, Thompson told NPPA’s News Photographer magazine. Instead, he credits hard work and a deliberate, methodical approach to learning on the job. When he started …

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How to shoot news with a smartphone

Remember the Flip cam?  Those smaller cameras put news gathering capabilities in the hands of anyone with a desire to do it. To maximize the quality of the video, a list of best practices in video news gathering was developed. Now that smartphones with video capability are everywhere, it’s worth talking again about techniques that …

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Talk to yourself when shooting video

by Mark Anderson, former NPPA photojournalist of the year Some of you may know that my dad recently passed. He was my hero and defined the words gentleman and optimist. When he was stationed over in France for the war, he and his Army buddies loved to read Shakespeare. Growing up in Iowa he quoted …

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Shooting for action-reaction-reaction

You’ve heard it before: to bring the impact of an action home, you need to shoot the reaction. Flames engulfing an apartment building have more impact if we also see the faces of people who are losing their homes. The clowns in a parade are funnier if we also see the grins and hear the …

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Another way to think about sequencing video

For those of us who have been working with video for a long time, the concept of wide, medium and close-up shots is a simple one.  But when you’re new to visual storytelling, it’s perfectly natural to ask things like, “How wide?” and “What do you mean by medium?” Freelance journalist Mikki Harris worked for …

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