The photo is one of the key ingredients of journalism and, despite the technologization and the emergence of new media tools, it continues to be used in press. Often, the image captures the attention first, then the text comes. How to “spice up” a topic with good quality photos that will incite reading? How to have patience and curiosity to capture the most memorable moments? There are questions to which the CSAJ students tried to find answers during the Photojournalism course.

They did it together with the reputed photographer Nicolae Pojoga, who, during four days, invited them to a real trip to the world of photography. Young people have been initiated into how a digital camera works: from basic technical features to techniques of capturing images, from using the light to editing pictures and preparing them for publication.

A special attention was paid to Photoshop, the world's leading photo editing software used by designers around the world. And because we speak about the press photo, the trainer insisted on the legends and the way they are written, to be as accurate and informative as possible.

Another topic debated during the lessons was the photojournalistic ethics. The students have learned about the effect of image manipulation and how the reader can be misinformed through photography; they have identified the categories of people who should never appear in the pictures and have discussed, through concrete examples, principles such as respect for privacy, the dissemination of shocking, violent or morbid images.

The course included a day of activity in Chisinau, where, as photojournalists, they made a photo project. The outcome of this day was presented and evaluated at the end of the course.