NDSU students created a photo documentary last spring as part of a communication course to feature their work and showcase what they learned throughout the semester. The documentary was titled “The Life of a Student” and includes photos from around campus and the Fargo community.
Ross Collins, professor of the advanced news photography course, has chosen a student life documentary in previous classes because he feels “it challenges student photographers to examine their daily lives in a new, visual way.” Collins says this type of project is similar to a “day in the life” theme that has been popular among professional photojournalists.
In the class students learned how photojournalism differs from studio photography, advertising photography or conventional photography. They also learned to take photographs of near-professional quality suitable for mass media use and applied their knowledge for their portion of the documentary.
“I learned how to take good quality photos in this class. I also learned the basics of F-stop (lens speed), shutter speed and how to do some interesting out-of-the box techniques. Since I am going into computer science, this will help me be able to provide good pictures into the programs I write,” said Shane White, a senior majoring in new media and web design.
This class is offered once a year for students without prior knowledge or courses in photography. The communication department also has introduced a new basic photography course that they can take before signing up for the specialized photography course.
To view the students’ work visithttp://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~rcollins/studentwork2012/index.htmlwww.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~rcollins/studentwork2012/index.html.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.