By Honorary Reporter Laura Lopez Velazquez from Mexico

Photos = Screenshots from workshop

Korea.net on Oct. 22 held its second workshop for Honorary Reporters with two presentations. The following are highlights of this event. 

Photography tips
The workshop was divided into two parts, the first being "Simple but Powerful Photography Tips" by Monthi Rosselini from Indonesia, who is noted for her innovative photography in her articles. One of my favorite articles of hers is about the first workshop, which I presented together with Alaa Atef from Egypt.

Rosselini said the most important elements for taking good photographs are light, clarity, color and composition. She said using natural light is more accessible and creates better results. Clarity in a photo requires a steady hand and no movement immediately after pressing the shutter, she said, adding that a tripod is a plus.

She also cited several websites and apps to edit photos with functions like basic color adjustment like brightness, contrast and saturation. To improve photo composition, she suggested the rule of thirds so that a picture looks visually dynamic and balanced and the inclusion of elements to create the proper environment and emotion.

She also discussed types of photography like product, food, journalism, travel and interviews and stressed knowing specific techniques and objective to attractively highlight what you want to show. Before the session ended, she showed how to make thumbnails for articles in Canva, adding that a good photo needs no caption.

The workshop ended with a quiz on the content of the session. Whoever raised their hand first and gave the correct answer won a prize. Honorary Reporter coordinators Hong "Kal" Kil-ju and Kim "Enny" Eun-hee showed enthusiasm over the event and took photos of what they learned.

Turning thoughts into webtoons 
The second session was titled "Putting Your Thoughts into Webtoons" by Diya Mitra from the U.K., an Honorary Reporter since 2014 who is known for her webtoons on Korea. I have followed her on social media for a long time and love her work, like her webtoon on kimchi.

Her workshop sought to teach telling a creative and fun story on Korea or a personal experience. An icebreaking activity was held in which participants were separated into groups to get them acquainted with one another. 

Afterwards, Mitra explained what a webtoon is and gave tips on creating one, saying the most important elements are the illustrations and drawings, text and the general message of the story. She offered to give feedback if we shared with her our own webtoons. Several enthusiastic members posted their works on the Facebook group page of Honorary Reporters, including Kim, who put what she learned into practice and created nice drawings.

Mitra advised to always have a pencil and paper on hand, take screenshots of how other cartoonists convey their emotions, keep reviewing and improving our work, and always use our own experiences. If our works are inspired by other cartoonists, she said to credit them. Finally, she said great artistic ability isn't needed to tell a good story, as any experience or things around us can inspire.

kalhong617@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.