Point, shoot, listen: Let the subject be your guide

Arch Deacon Justin Zigirany Razo, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, gave a talk Thursday at Towers Residential Suites about the atrocities that took place as well as the strides the country has made in the 21 years since.

"You cannot forget where you came from," said Razo, "and to genocide we say: 'Never Again.'"

 Arch Deacon Justin Zigirany Razo and his family lived in northern Rwanda before they fled conflict at the start of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Razo is now the priest of an evangelical church in Kibuye, Rwanda. 

"Through this suffering, I saw the hand of Jesus. I was saved," said Razo. 

A pre-med student works in a nap between lab practicals just outside Wayne State University's Purdy/Kresge Library on Nov. 4.

    Having made the journey across campus through gale force winds and sideways rain, I arrived early to shoot pictures of a talk held in the multi-purpose room of Towers Residential Suites. I tucked away my coat and gear in the corner and began to meter my camera for the room's unforgiving fluorescent lights. I spoke with some of the event sponsors and managed to scope out good places to shoot the event from.  All in all, I had a pretty good idea of what kinds of shots I was going to produce.

    In walks the speaker: Arch Deacon Justin Zigirany Razo.  Razo, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, is dedicated to spreading awareness of the atrocities that took place as well as the strides the country has made in the 21 years since the genocide began in 1994.

    When I introduced myself to Razo before the talk started, he gladly suggested we take a few moments to get to know each other. He even insisted that I call him Justin.

    The first thing you notice about Razo is that is a man of small stature with a smile that stretches from ear to ear. I would say his most captivating trait, however, is his extremely genuine aura. From a photojournalist's perspective, I was drawn to his expressiveness: both in his countenance as well as his hand movements.

    Throughout Razo's talk, I moved around the room and varied my shooting angles. I made sure to include audience members in shots as well as shots solely of the speaker. The most important thing I did though,  was listen. I didn't spend the entire talk hastily buzzing around the room and producing distracting amounts of camera clicks. I sat for periods of time and just listened to Razo tell his story. I let his emotions and movements guide my photography so that I would produce pictures that accurately reflected Razo's sincere nature.

    The spot feature proved to be much harder to find. While there were always many people around campus, it was hard to find someone doing something newsworthy. After many days of unsuccessful scouting, I noticed a medical student that was taking a nap outside between classes. I decided to take his picture and approach him when he woke up. I inquired as to why he was so tired, and he simply responded "I'm pre-med."  He said I could identify him by his major and went on to talk about he practicals he had ben studying for. While I don't think this candid photo is especially intriguing, I could see it being used in articles about students experiencing sleep deprivation or students that are overworked. 

    If I had to describe my experience in one word, I would say: reaffirming. I've known for a long time that I would fall in love with photography when I got my hands on a DSLR camera.  So, I am pleased to see that I fall more in love with photojournalism every time I complete an assignment.

    From shooting this specific event, I have learned that photojournalists needs to be consumed by their work. Not in a compulsive way, though. By being patient, curious and open to the subject's message, you will find the inspiration you need to capture beautiful images. 

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    The First Amendment gives the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petitioning to all its citizens. As a journalist, it is imperative that I know my rights and are conscious of situations when these rights can be violated. Such knowledge will only benefit my career and improve my understanding of how to perform my job ethically.

    The press has self-determined responsibilities beyond those given to all citizens in order to produce objective, ethically obtained and portrayed stories. Using sources that were influenced in any way violates journalism ethics.  For example, ethical journalists do not pay for information or receive payment for stories. Journalists are also expected and instructed to truthfully and honestly represent every topic and subject of their stories. How can the audience trust what the journalist says if the journalist is not honest about his/her own material? When handling private or controversial matters, journalists should reflect upon the newsworthiness and necessity of such instances. Journalists need to ask themselves: What does this detail contribute to my story?

    Photojournalists have an additional ethics code to follow since pictures and visual representation are added to the mix. Just as journalists are expected to represent subjects truthfully, photojournalists must capture honest, candid moments of their subjects. Photojournalists cannot stage photos since this would be considered influencing the subjects or perception of the event. Editing imperfect images is extremely tempting, so photojournalists must be sure to only crop and lighten/darken their images. Because photo captions communicate basic and important written information about a picture, photojournalists must ensure that captions follow AP style.
                Being a journalism student has both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes sources are more likely to open up and events are more likely to grant admittance to the student for reasons of empathy or educational purposes. Nevertheless, journalism students often experience pushback from their own universities—arguably where journalism students do most of their reporting. From the last couple years of classes, I have learned that practicing sound journalism ethics will improve my new value sense, my reporting abilities, and my career prospects. What workplace wants to worry that the new hire is going to put the company in a legal predicament? But most importantly, this lesson bestowed confidence in me to know my rights and know that I am entitled to certain information.