CHAPTER 3 INTRODUCTION WHAT YOU NEED

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1 INTRODUCTION Photography is the art and practice of taking and processing photographs. It is a great tool for documenting memories because it can capture precise moments in time. CHAPTER 3 A single photo features a memorable moment, place or event. However, if you want to tell a complete story, you may wish to develop a photo essay instead. A photo essay is a series of photos arranged in a specific order, allowing you to explore a theme or show the progression of an event. A great photo essay evokes emotions in its audience. WHAT YOU NEED To tell a story through photography, you don t really need fancy equipment. Often, a basic point-and-shoot camera or even your smartphone camera will suffice. At the end of the day, your camera is only a tool. More important are your interactions with your subjects, your research and the content and messages that are conveyed through your photos. Do ensure that you have sufficient battery and memory space to last through 20 your fieldwork. 21 This section is contributed by Zakaria Zainal, a documentary photographer. He published Our Gurkhas: Singapore Through Their Eyes, a photo essay on retired Singapore Gurkhas. Read Our Gurkhas at sg/showcases/30/contents Equipment and tools checklist Camera (Digital SLR, point-andshoot camera or smartphone) Spare batteries Storage cards Pen and notebook Tape recorder Photo-editing software such as Adobe Lightroom or Picasa (available free at picasa.google.com)

2 1 Choose a topic Look around you for story ideas or think about the experiences you have had. In my case, I had a six-month internship with a Nepalese newspaper; the experience exposed me to the country s culture, and this in turn helped me decide on my topic and in my interactions with the retired Singapore Gurkhas. 2 Research your topic; they may be your photography subjects, their friends and relatives as well as academics and experts. Besides equipping you with knowledge, your detailed research will also give you the confidence to tackle the challenges you may encounter over the course of your project. 3 Determine the angle, message and emotions of your story Keep the story simple. There may be several ways to approach your story, but stick to one that you feel will help guide your readers better. For example, the topic of Singapore Gurkhas offered many possible angles. In the end, I decided to keep the focus on Spend time reading and collecting information on your topic, at 22 the library or on the Internet. the stories and memories they have only the best ones that narrate 23 Learn from or emulate similar of Singapore during the time of the story well. The editing process photography projects. Talk to their service. 4 Plan your photos also helps you know if you need and interview people related to additional photographs to help tell the story better. From Gila Bola: Surviving Singapore Soccer, by Dan Koh and Zakaria Zainal, a photo essay on Singapore football fans. Photo courtesy of Zakaria Zainal Football fans captured in Gila Bola. Plan the shots you want to take. It is useful to study photos taken by other photographers you can get tips and inspiration on shot sizes (e.g. wide, zoomed-in, portrait, close-up), lighting, composition and more. 5 Take photos and conduct interviews When you arrive at the scene to take photos, don t be too rigid about sticking to your plan. Go with the flow and let your eyes and heart decide what photographs to take. When you interview your subjects for the captions or story, be sure to get answers to the questions of who, what, when, which, how and why (5W1H). 6 Put photographs together to tell a story In most cases, you will not be able to use all the photographs you have taken. Be discerning and select 7 Caption your photos Photos courtesy of Zakaria Zainal You may have interesting photos, but ultimately what will guide your readers are detailed captions. Your captions should include names of the people in the photos, date, information on what they are doing and where they are at, where relevant. 8 Upload your photo essay Save your photos in JPEG or PDF format and to singaporememory@nlb.gov.sg. Include your personal details such as name and contact number and a synopsis of your submission.

3 Familiarise yourself with the functions of your camera and the basic principles of good photography. These will enable you to be creative and take good pictures under different conditions. Write a project statement that will give you a clear direction. It also prevents you from going off-topic and helps you focus when you feel overwhelmed by too much information. SAMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKS Our Gurkhas: Singapore Through Their Eyes by Zakaria Zainal Mosaic Memories by Justin Zhuang, Zakaria Zainal and Wee Ho Gai Gila Bola: Surviving Singapore Soccer by Dan Koh and Zakaria Zainal MORE ON PHOTOGRAPHY Books BetterPhoto Basics: The Absolute Beginner s Guide to Taking Photos Like the Pros Don t be afraid to ask your by Jim Miotke 24 It is important to identify your interviewees for more names of 25 target audience and know who will be interested in or affected by your project. If you always keep them in mind as you work on your project, you will take more meaningful photos. Write your story and captions while the details are still fresh in your mind so you will not lose key information. Take it as an assignment you have to send to an editor or teacher in less than 48 hours. Don t be too pre-occupied with collecting information and photographs all the time. It is good to pause, analyse and reflect on the material you already have. people or suggestions of things and places you can photograph. They may likely lead you to the right individuals and ideas for your project. Take down key personal information, especially names and ages, accurately. Other important information includes occupation, contact numbers and addresses. How to Photograph Absolutely Everything: Successful Pictures from Your Digital Camera by Tom Ang Image Makers, Image Takers by Anne-Celine Jaeger Online What Makes a Great Photo Essay? 5 Types of Photos That Make for Strong Photo Essays 5ive Foot Way 5ivefootway.com Shooting Strangers, Photographs by Danny Santos II Sebastian Song s blog

4 JEROME LIM Jerome Lim photographs for and writes the blog The Long and Winding Road to capture Singapore s changing landscape. He hopes to preserve his memories of a Singapore that we may not see tomorrow by documenting his experiences through photography. Check out tag/jerome-lim/ How is capturing photographs to tell a story different from normal photography? What are three things you would bring to any photography session? Spare batteries, storage cards and cleaning gear. It can sometimes be hard to predict how heavy your usage may be, and it is always important to keep your lenses clean. The now defunct Bukit Timah Railway. Which photography assignment was the most meaningful to you? My attempt to capture the last days of the Malaysian Railway in Singapore (below) put me in touch with like-minded people, many of whom have become friends, and also with the spaces and people that made the railway what it was. I don t see any difference, as every photograph has a story to tell. 26 It is important to visualise what you want to capture from the 27 perspective of the story you want to tell. How do you prepare for your photography sessions? The amount of preparation depends on the subject matter. If you re documenting a place, you ll need prior research to identify, for example, the key features of an architectural work or subjects of interest. Courtesy of Jerome Lim. Photo courtesy of Jerome Lim

5 Can you share some photography tips? To tell a story, it s important to identify our subject, isolate it within the image and visualise how the rest of the image will relate to it. Keeping your photographs simple and uncluttered often works well. You can give great visual impact to your photographs by following simple rules of composition, such as the rule of thirds or diagonals. The use of light to highlight subjects can add dramatic effect. It s also important to understand the relationships between aperture size, shutter speed, depth of field and motion. A larger aperture has a shallower depth of field, which can be used to isolate subjects. Faster shutter speeds freeze objects in motion while slow shutter speeds result in blurness, which can be used to suggest motion. What equipment do you recommend? I use a digital SLR camera primarily as it offers a greater degree of control. But compact and phone cameras are excellent and easy to use. I recommend equipment that you feel most at ease using. Understanding your equipment (and its limitations) and knowing how to use it is more important than how sophisticated it is Clockwise from top left: Rule of thirds Off-centre subjects Use of leading lines Use of light Use of blurness to suggest movement Photos courtesy of Jerome Lim

6 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 4 Picture journalling is the art and practice of documenting experiences with illustrations, sketches or drawings. It is a personal and direct way of recording events and expressing your thoughts and emotions, especially if you are combining illustrations and words. Contrary to popular belief, you don t need to be trained in art or be an artist to start drawing. If you have an eye for observation and a mind for imagination, you are all set for picture journalling. WHAT YOU NEED You need only readily available tools and materials at the most basic, only a pen and paper. It is advisable to use a sketchbook; loose sheets may get lost more easily This section is contributed by FleeCircus, aka Lee Wai Leng, a Singapore-based illustrator. She participated in the Singapore and London Design Festival 2007 and was picked by Gryphon Tea and Swiss bank (UBS) to collaborate in a limited-edition artwork. She documented her childhood days in Pulau Ubin and Toa Payoh with an illustrated journal, My Memory Book by FleeCircus. Read the journal at Equipment and tools checklist Drawing and colouring tools (such as pens, markers, pencils, colour pencils, watercolours) Sketchbook Camera

7 1 Choose a topic Here are some ways to get ideas: brainstorm with a friend; talk to people around you and relatives about their stories; list down your own experiences. My own childhood experiences of playing traditional games such as five stones and ice-cream stick boomerangs were the inspiration for My Memory Book. 2 Research 3 Decide on your illustration style and materials If you are new to drawing, you may wish to begin with pencil sketches or simple line drawings with a marker. Decide if you want to add colours, with markers, watercolours or colour pencils, for example. You need to get materials that are suitable for your illustration style. For instance, if you want to use watercolours, it may be advisable to use watercolour paper to get the right effect. 4 Decide on your storytelling style Your story can be chronological with a beginning, middle and end, or it can be made up of vignettes small episodes that explore a theme. You can also juxtapose and do a comparison between the past and the present. For My Memory Book, I went with a combination of snapshots and a comparison of then and now. It is advisable to provide captions or a short story to go with your drawing so that another person can fully appreciate it. Therefore, remember to include details such as dates, names of people and places, together with a description of what the drawing depicts and the context. 5 Begin sketching and writing Focus on drawing the most significant or unique areas. If you are capturing memories of a place that still exists, you may wish to make your sketches on site in order to capture the details and its sense of place. It is also good to take pictures of the place for reference. You may wish to write the accompanying story to your sketches in longhand this will give your illustrations a personal and intimate touch. 6 Upload your illustrations Save your illustrations in JPEG or PDF format and to singaporememory@nlb.gov.sg. Include your personal details such as name and contact number and If you have decided to document someone else s memories, 32 conduct an interview with him a synopsis of your submission. 33 or her to get more information (see chapter on Oral History). If you are documenting your own, write down what you remember about the people, event or place. What had happened? Who were involved? When, where and how did it happen? These details will help you decide what to include in your illustrations. Go through old newspapers, books or old photos if you need visual references, such as for the type of clothes people wore and how places and objects looked like. Pages from My Memory Book by FleeCircus. Photos courtesy of Lee Wai Leng