Visual Sociology Project – Photo Essay
Public presentation: Tuesday, April 16 (I will announce the location soon)
Basic requirements
 Every student must submit a one page paper
o Format
 Maximum of one page
 One inch margins, single spaced, Times New Roman font (14 pt; it must be readable to
people wandering by)
 The text must be edited and well-written
o Content
 You must include a title for the overall project
 The page should also include your name
 The text must address how the photographs pertain to risk; the best projects will directly
link the photographs to specific concepts from class and will briefly explain the concepts
(e.g., ‘operators and the fear paradox’ from Cater 2006); don’t make the audience guess!
 Every student must submit between six and ten original photographs (i.e., they may not be downloaded
from Google pictures, etc.)
o Format
 Each photograph must have a title
 You may include captions for one or more photographs
o Content
 You have full control with several important exceptions
 Do not engage in illegal behavior to obtain the photographs
 Do not submit photographs of illegal behavior
 Do not submit photographs of anyone under the age of 18
Submission of your project
 Every student must submit an electronic version of their project to me via e-mail (Kunovich@uta.edu)
before the class on Thursday, April 11
 Attach your project to the e-mail in one and only one file
 The first page of the file must contain the one page paper (i.e., the title, your name, and the text)
 The subsequent pages must contain the photographs – one photograph per page please
 I would suggest that you insert the photographs into a Microsoft Word file
 Please name the file as follows: Lastname-PhotoEssay.docx
Public presentation
 Every student must bring one hard copy of their paper to the public presentation
 You may present the photographs however you see fit; options include:
o A poster containing the one page summary and the photographs
o Separate pages for the summary and photographs
o A slideshow on a computer / pad (please bring a paper copy of the one page summary)
Deviations from the requirements
 Please see me to ask about any deviations from what is listed above (e.g., a video instead of still
photographs). I am open to alternatives, but I would like a chance to approve of them in advance
Ways of approaching the project; use the photographs to:
 Tell a story
 Offer an analysis
 Describe a social problem
 Call people to action
 Present a biography or biographies
 Raise awareness
If you will be photographing people
 Be respectful and honest about what you are doing
 Honor their requests
Suggestions
 Keep a camera handy at all times (you can use your telephone)
 Take many more pictures than you think you need
 Take notes while taking the pictures (you may forget this type of information later)
o What motivated you to take the picture?
o What were you thinking about when you took the picture?
o How do you think the image pertains to risk?
 Show your project to others in its various stages and ask for feedback and advice
This assignment is worth 20% of your final course grade. I encourage you to review published photo essays in
the journal Contexts; there is one photo essay in every issue.