Broadband BVRI light curves of SN 2017eaw in NGC 6946 reveal the classic elements of a Type II-P supernova. The observations were begun on 16 May 2017 (UT), approximately 1 d after the discovery was announced, and the photometric monitoring was carried out over a period of nearly 600d. The light curves show a well-defined plateau and an exponential tail which curves slightly at later times. An approximation to the bolometric light curve is derived and used to estimate the amount of ^56^Ni created in the explosion; from various approaches described in the literature, we obtain M(^56^Ni)=0.115_-0.022_^+0.027^M_{sun}_. We also estimate that 43 per cent of the bolometric flux emitted during the plateau phase is actually produced by the ^56^Ni chain. Other derived parameters support the idea that the progenitor was a red supergiant.