Shooting feature photography with the Dental Hygiene program

First-year students follow along in a exploratory lesson

   For our first shooting assignment on feature photography we were instructed to work within our individual beats. 

   According to what I learned in class beat systems are a common way journalists cover topics on a long-term basis. I was assigned  to the Dental Hygiene program on campus. I was very nervous when first thinking about the idea of photographing real people who I did not know, rather than just objects or family members. 

   I enjoyed the assignment way more than I thought I would. It allowed me the opportunity to get out there and work independently, just like I would if it were my career. The Dental Program was fantastic in allowing me to come into their classes and clinic time. They informed me of what was going on within their program, and gave me even more ideas of what could make great shooting experiences.

Students work with real patients during their clinic at Owens

    The second-year students actually see real patients in their clinic. These patients schedule an appointment with the Owens students, just like as if it were a real dental office. I had bit of trouble deciding whether or not to photograph the patients without a model release. Thinking back to my journalism class, I remembered the differences between public relations and journalism. Photojournalists do not need a release form because we do not profit from a subject's image. Just to avoid any trouble, I decided to photograph the patients either from behind or from an angle where they would not be recognizable. This ended up being the best way to work with the students and the patients.

   The most challenging thing I found in this assignment was to remember to get names of students and instructors in the photos, and how to get their names without interrupting the lesson. The best way to tackle this problem is to wait until the lesson is over or until there is a break and respectively ask the student or instructor their names and how they are spelled. 

    Feature photography is not as scary as it seems; just remember to be confident and respectful. Shoot your photographs and get the right information about your subject.

Dental program first-year students learn to work with tools for their upcoming clinic on real patients. 

What exactly can you do with your camera operations

An image with a shallow background using a large
aperture (PHO 245 by Samantha Ricker) 

   Basic camera operations and functions are not always so basic and I learn this in my photojournalism class, and every time I'm out shooting. There are so many things a photographer should think about when shooting an image.

   Some of the main things a photographer should consider are ISO's, exposure, shutter speed, white balance and depth of field. We also have to remember  composition, and what is being photographed.

   My favorite thing when taking photos is the composition, and being able to find a different way to photograph something that has already been photographed. Some cool ways you can do this would be to blur a background or part of an image.

   Camera operations are the basis for creating your image and after knowing them you're ready to move forward to shooting your image. Everyone can learn a little more about the camera functions at the tutorial I viewed at Penn State photo tutorial.

This photo shows an image of stopped motion by using a fast shutter speed

This photo shows the compositional, element rule of thirds