In this final project, you will demonstrate your understanding of photojournalism skills and standards by nominating and evaluating excellent photos for Washington Photos of the Year. Each team will be responsible for one award category, and each student will individually make a selection.
All photos must meet this criteria:
- Taken in Washington state in 2020
- Published or distributed by a professional news organization or photo service
There are several steps in this project:
| Week | In Class | On Your Own |
| Week 13 | Select teams and awards categories | Research your category for nominations |
| Week 14 | Develop award criteria, discuss nominations | Evaluate and research finalists |
| Week 15 | Prepare and present as a group | Write individual report |
| Week 16 | None (no class) | Final reports due |
Points: 60
Due Date: Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 11:59 p.m.
Grading: Full rubric is available on Blackboard. Group presentation and individual report will be evaluated for evidence of effort and thought, understanding of photojournalism practices, and demonstrated ability to communicate about photojournalism using professional vocabulary and concepts.
Submission: You will complete a report using this template
Download a copy of the report template. This report is not due until the end of the project, but there are questions for each part of the project. Fill it in as you go to avoid a large amount of work at the end. There are two options for using the template:
• Go to File > Make a Copy to save your own version online
• Or, go to File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx)
Awards Categories
Students will discuss potential categories during Week 13 and form groups around common interests. Each group will have 4-6 people. This project requires committee-style group work, meaning you will convene to share knowledge and jointly make decisions, but the work will mostly be done individually between meetings.
Each award category should:
- Be broad enough to include dozens of professional photos from Washington state taken in 2020
- Be narrow enough that your group can establish clear criteria for which photos belong in this category
Nominating Photos
Each student is responsible for nominating a minimum of 10 photos for consideration. Each group will establish a way to share photos with each other — Padlet is recommended since this allows you to include links and ratings, but you might also use Dropbox, Google Drive or other services that allow you to upload and view photos together.
You can use any strategy for finding photos, but try to be thorough. You should spend 2-3 hours finding excellent photos that are worth nominating with links/sources.
Some ways to look for photos:
- Browse photo galleries from major news organizations, or look up specific events
- AP, Reuters and Getty allow you to search by location, date and topic
- Look around to see who are photographers to follow for your topic, then check their portfolio or social media
- You could ask people who would know (including photographers and editors)
Establishing Evaluation Criteria
Each team is responsible for establishing evaluation criteria to define what characterizes an excellent photo in your category. This list will help you objectively select the best photo from all the nominations and specify parameters for your category.
Evaluation criteria should address: What qualities are you looking for in an excellent photo?
Your team may set this up as a checklist with required and preferred traits, or you can choose a different format such as a rubric. You will refer to the evaluation criteria later when you explain your winning photo selection.
Time will be set aside for this in class during Week 14.
Presenting the Finalists
Each team will discuss the nominated photos using the established criteria to agree on 10 finalists. These 10 finalist photos will be presented to the class virtually using a slideshow format that includes information about the selection process and judging notes about why these photos stood out from all the others you considered.
Presentation template (go to File > Make a Copy)
Groups can use the presentation template as-is or customize, but all presentations must include:
- Title slide with category and judges’ names
- Slide summarizing evaluation criteria
- 10 finalist photos with location, month and photographer
- Slide with concluding notes or takeaways to demonstrate what you observed about all the photos in your category
Time for preparing and giving presentations will be set aside in class during Week 15. Presentations will be Friday, Dec. 11.
Final Award Report
After the presentations, each student will individually prepare and submit a Judging Report that summarizes the evaluation process and — most important! — announces your choice for Photo of the Year in your category with supporting research about the photographer and circumstances.
Judging comments from this final report will be shared in a class gallery and with the photographers whose photos were selected.
Final reports are due individually on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
All late work for the course must be submitted by Friday, Dec. 18, to receive any credit.