Photographer Research Project
Part I: Biography with Reflective Writing:
You will be writing a research paper over the photographer you have chosen. The paper will include
several parts which include a portion where you will write about your thoughts regarding the artist or
journalist’s work.
Paragraph one and/or two: Write a brief description of the photographer’s early life up until the point
where he/she became a professional photographer. This portion may include, but is not limited to,
his/her childhood, family, socio-economical status, places he/she lived, jobs or career endeavors,
religious beliefs, activities, etc.
Paragraph three: Write about how and/or why he/she decided to become a professional photographer,
who he/she worked for, etc.
Paragraph four, five, and six: Write about the photographer’s work. What genre did he/she photograph
in? How did his/her work influence the world of photography? What techniques and/or equipment did
the photographer use? Where and what types of events or subjects did the photographer work with?
What did the photographer hope to accomplish with his/her work? What is he/she most known for?
What pieces are most famous and why? These are a few ideas for what to write about in these
paragraphs.
Paragraph seven: What historical events were going on at the time that the photographer’s work was
most prominent? If your photographer is American (and most likely that is the case), you should write
about any relevant historical, cultural, technological and/or societal events and trends of the time. You
shouldn’t write about everything that is going on, but the events that influenced and guided your
photographer’s work and/or are reflected in the photographer’s work.
Paragraph eight: Write a paragraph reflecting on the photographer’s work. What did you like about
his/her work? What do you most admire about the photographer and his/her work? Be as specific as
possible. This is your time to tell your thoughts. Don’t use vague words such as “nice,” “beautiful,”
“awesome.” You get the picture. Be specific.
Documentation: You will use MLA style of documentation for this paper. You will use the Works Cited
tool on the media center website to create your bibliography. You will also cite each source in your
paper. As you compile notes over your photographer, you need to document the website, author, date
the article was written, and the date you viewed it. You will not need the specific URL. If it is from a
journal or other publication online, you should document that as well. We will go over how to do the
specific end notes.
Paper should be approximately three pages typed, double spaced, one inch margins, and 10 or 12 point
font (Courier, Times New Roman, Palatino, or some other standard font). No extra spacing between
paragraphs.
Part II of your project will be presentation:
You will give a presentation of your photographer to the class. This presentation will include a shortened
version of your research paper with the main points outlined or in bullet form. No additional
documentation is needed for the presentation. You may choose one of the following formats for the
presentation. All presentations will include at least five, but no more than 10 examples of your
photographer’s work. 1)You may present quality copies of the pictures on a poster board (if photos were
originally in color, they should remain that way), and also discuss your photographer’s biographical
information from the paper. 2)You may save the photos you choose to present on a flash drive or CD
and read your informational material as you show them to the class. 3)You may create a Power Point
presentation which includes the photos and the bulleted information of your photographer. You will
read the bullets aloud. Clearly the third choice is the preferred method, and you will have class time to
work on this provided you do some of your research for the paper at home.
I recommend you use note cards when presenting the material to the class. Your presentations will be
approximately 10 minutes each.
We will alternate use of the computers to make sure everyone has equal chance to work. I will also try
and secure two or three computers in the media center on days when they are not full. Time must be
used productively and wisely. We will work on the projects for two full weeks before we start
presentations.