Republic staffer shares photojournalist experience

Patrick Shannahan, an eight-year veteran of the Gannett- owned Arizona Republic, shared his vast knowledge of photography as it relates to newspaper publishing. He was a guest lecturer on Tuesday June 16th, 2009 at the 2009 ASNE/Reynolds Institute Summer Journalism Program.

In addition to his photographic work Shannahan shared his thoughts on what recent graduates entering the marketplace can expect. No longer is the staff photographer responsible only for taking photos. The new expectation is that a new hire must be able to shoot both digital stills and video, record sound and even work on websites. Mr. Shannahan and other republic photographers are currently taking HTML and Flash classes.

When asked about his connection with subjects he photographs Shannahan recommend one "become compassionate toward the people you are photographing."

Mr. Shannahan's penchant for silhouettes mirrored mine for extreme close ups. Most of my students are apprehensive about getting to close to their subject. It takes a great deal of energy to get them to work in this way. I have to remind them that the drama is often in the close-up and that when it comes to people, the truth exists in the close-up.

Many helpful and practical hints were shared. Some were as simple and professional as showing up not just on time, but early. This extra time allows you to get to know your subject a bit, to scout out backgrounds and lighting and to ease any tension the subject might be feeling. 

When Mr. Shannahan discussed patience and waiting for a moment to occur I thought back to shoot in Hong Kong where I encouraged the camera person to simply wait and that images would appear in front of his lens if he simply did so. We were shooting at the bird market, a hotbed of activity, our patience paid off as we left the market with a number of beautiful street scenes. 

In addition to patience, creativity was discussed. "Creativity is not from A to B right away" Shannahan reminded us.

The session wrapped up with a discussion of ethics in photojournalism. The use of the term photo illustrations was discussed and we were encouraged to avoid these if possible as there is too much room for misinterpretation.

Mark Silverstein

Media and Journalism Instructor

Douglas High School

Douglas, Arizona