The world of photojournalism is constantly evolving, with the newest technologies being drone photography and artificial intelligence.

Skills that were specialties 20 years ago like animation, videography, photography and website design have become accessible for everyone, associate professor Van Kornegay says. He adapts to new technology and first fell in love with visual communications when he bought a Mac as a graduate student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications M.M.C. program.

Now visual communications resources have “become more democratized,” he says.

When the SJMC hired Kornegay to buy and install Mac computers, he began developing graduate courses, which quickly gained popularity. Alumni said they needed more photography, graphics and layout courses because advertising, public relations and journalism fields require those skills.

Kornegay worked with photography and graphic design faculty to found the visual communications major in 2004. The program grew from 30 students its first year to about 250 within six years, he says. Since then, visuals have become more interactive with augmented and virtual reality products.

AI creates graphics, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity. Kornegay sees it as a supplement for graphics and design, not a substitute.

“Now you won’t have to have all the hand-eye skill set to perfectly do it; the app will do it,” Kornegay says. “However, you do have to frequently bring them into a program and then edit it to make it just the way you want it.”

AI-produced visuals are not copyrightable, making it less appealing to companies and brands that want a distinct look, he says. Some people may create their own logos, resulting in a raft of bad designs.

Drone photography is still a novelty in visual communications because the pilot needs an understanding of photography, videography, flying and risk-taking.

Versatility makes drone photography a valuable and unique skill.

Jeff Blake instructed the SJMC Media Innovation Academy summer course in 2022 and 2023 and does freelance photography. He has been hired by real estate agents to showcase a property. Blake also recorded drone footage of the Columbia Riverwalk after a shooting as evidence for prosecuting lawyers.

Blake’s photograph of a Cayce train wreck in 2018 for the Associated Press became one of his most influential photos.

A nurse told Blake that some of the train wreck survivors had his photo in their hospital rooms.

“It kind of inspired them that they were able to survive this terrible accident,” Blake said. “That meant a lot to me.”

Without the drone, the photo wouldn’t have been possible.

When shooting video and taking photos, Blake varies the height and angle of the drone to capture various perspectives. His drone photography class met at multiple locations around Columbia, like the Thomas Cooper Library’s reflection pool and Williams Brice Stadium.

One of Blake’s students, Xavier Martin, first learned drone photography in high school. Now he shoots drone videos for The Daily Gamecock. One of his videos showed a representation of the students attending First Night Carolina.

“It gives you a sense of scale with your photography or with their journalistic work,” Martin says about drone photography.

Kornegay’s courses teach the basics: altitude changes (moving up and down), panning left and right, rolling left to right and pitching (zooming by moving forward and backward). His students also learn to be careful about obstacles and the risk of crashing. 

Before students go out in the field, Kornegay tests them by flying in a box pattern. During the summer courses, he creates the Game of Drones, which is an obstacle course made from pipes. Students fly by watching their drone visually, then turn around and use only the screen.

“It’s always fun to go watch students’ eyes light up,” Kornegay says.

Martin hopes the SJMC adds more advanced drone photography courses in the future so students can continue to hone their skills and build a portfolio. The course could include aeronautics, which is the science of air travel, and its history and laws, he suggested. Students would benefit from learning to use proper flight maps to chart a flight course.

Martin was accepted into the Eddie Adams Workshop, which is an annual prestigious photojournalism workshop in Jeffersonville, New York, taught by industry professionals. 

He normally covers sports and live event work, so the workshop assigned him to a quieter, more detailed-oriented story on a liquor store, Martin says. When he went back to get photos on a Sunday, the store was closed. He thought creatively, incorporating a local church because of blue laws that prevent the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

“Everybody there got experience in some form of photojournalism, whether they’re telling a story with using, like, portraits or whether they’re telling it with covering a sporting event or covering a local business or person,” Martin says .