Digital Photography Syllabus |
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| ART144 CRN#11374 Room AR-209 Teacher: Paul Light 781 280 3871 http://www.flickr.com/photos/paullight/ Thursdays 1:30-4:15PM Required reading There is no required book for this class. I expect you to look at the following websites very carefully Also look at the student photographs that I have posted of photographs from previous classes. If you still want a book I recommend Digital Photography by Katrin Eismann MCC Catalog Listing Introduction to digital photography as a fine art and as a means of personal expression. This class gives students the needed technical and aesthetic skills to make quality digital photographs. Topics covered include: digital cameras, basic use of Adobe Photoshop and inkjet printing. Students must provide their own digital camera. Instructional Goals/Objectives 1 Camera Use Students will demonstrate their ability to use the control mechanisms on their digital cameras to produce photographs that have a sense of vision. 2 Basic Aspects of Photoshop Students will demonstrate their ability to use Photoshop to correct color, contrast, brightness and saturation in their photographs. 3 Digital Printing Students will be able to evaluate and explain the advantages and disadvantages of various materials and processes. 4 Using Photography to Create Fine Art Students will assess the merits of their finished prints as art and explain their reasoning. Class Description. Part 1 Looking at Photographs 1:30-2:00 Part 2 Taking Pictures 2:00-2:30 Part 3 Making Prints 2:45-4:15 During the first class we will not be spending time making prints. Beginning the second class, from 1:30pm to 2:00pm we will talk about prints. Prints will be graded outside of class time and returned to students at the beginning of the next class. We will talk about your prints, my prints and photographs from the required websites. We will be using the websites as a visual dictionary. We will be using it as a standard as to how people use photographs to communicate with the world at large. From 2:00pm to 2:30pm we will talk about taking pictures. We will begin by discussing any questions that you have about your camera relative to the camera topic we are discussing for that class. Occasionally I will take a picture with one of my cameras to demonstrate a concept. This will be followed by a 15 minute break from 2:30pm to 2:45pm where you are free to take a break. The last part of class, 3:00pm to 4:15pm will be reserved for using the computer to edit and print photographs. Grading and Attendance Policies One photograph is due each class beginning the third class. Prints must be at least 8.5"x11". No grades are final without proof of the camera file. The school has a computer lab which you will have access to that is set up for digital printing. Work will be graded primarily on one's ability to make an inventive and original photograph rather than on technical things like how dark or light the photograph is or how much textural detail is evident. Photographs passed in late lose 3 points per day. In some special circumstances students will be given an extra class to produce a photograph. Method of Evaluation 25% Technical camera use 25% Technical printing ability 50% Content This is a measure of your ability to observe animals, people or spaces and then turn this into a photograph that is more than a simple visual record of what you saw. You will be judged on (1) choice of distance from subject, (2) choice of camera angle, (3) choice of lighting. In all of these situations I expect bold experimentation resulting in surprising and original visual images. Decide on each of these very carefully. Look at the required websites and see how professional photographers use distance, angle and lighting. The Computer Lab The Computer Lab The computer lab is Room 209 in the Academic Resources building on the Bedford campus. In addition to class time, there are open computer lab sessions. A monitor will be there at all times to assist you. . Supplies One good store to buy photography supplies is Zeff Photo Supply (617 489 3311) - Belmont, MA. An excellent nearby store is Cameraland at 98 Main St. in Nashua, NH (603 883 7911). I buy most of my supplies online and by phone from Amazon and Epson. Schedule You will be expected to do at least 3 hours of work outside of class between each class. Outside work will include taking pictures, making prints and looking at websites. January 24 #1 Choosing a Camera We will discuss what is a suitable camera relative to individual student budgets. Homework: Create a series of photographs of any outdoor subject shot during the first two or last two hours of sunlight. January 31 #2 Levels-Setting Black+White Points Students will demonstrate the ability to use levels to adjust shadows and highlights by setting the black and white points. Homework: Create a print from one the photographs shot last week without any editing. Create a second print that is a variation of the first adjusting shadows and highlights by setting the black and white points. Compare and evaluate the differences and be prepared to discuss this in the next class.
February 7 #3 Clone Stamp Tool Students will demonstrate the ability to use the rubber stamp tool to remove flaws from their photographs. Homework: Create a print without any editing. Create a second print that is a variation of the first using the rubber stamp. Compare and evaluate the differences and be prepared to discuss this in the next class.
February 14 #4 Printer File Formats Students will demonstrate the ability to make the best choice for an appropriate file format for the type of print they are creating. Homework: Create a print choosing the best file format for the photograph. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class.
February 21 #5 Levels-Reading a Histogram Students will demonstrate the ability to make an overall adjustment of contrast using the histogram. Homework: Create a print carefully adjusting the histogram. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class.
February 28 #6 Printing Papers Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate the merits and differences of contemporary photography digital papers. Homework: Create two prints on two different papers. Compare and evaluate the differences and be prepared to discuss this in the next class.
March 6 Students will demonstrate the ability to use shutter speeds as a method to show motion in different ways. Homework: Make a series of photographs using different shutter speeds. Compare and contrast the differences and bring the results to the next class. Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. March 13 #8 Magic Wand Students will demonstrate the ability to use the magic wand to selectively edit specific sections of their photographs. Homework: Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far as well as use the magic wand to selectively edit specific sections of the print. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. March 17-21 Spring Break March 27 Students will demonstrate the ability to edit the hue, saturation and lightness of their photographs with this tool. Homework: Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. April 3 #10 Noise Removal and Sharpening Students will demonstrate the ability to remove digital noise from photographs and also how to sharpen each photograph. Homework: Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. April 10 #11 Black + White Printing Students will demonstrate the ability to convert a color photograph to a black and white photograph. Homework: Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far and then carefully convert it to black and white. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. April 17 #12 Camera File Formats Students will compare and choose the best file format for printing relative to their individual camera. Homework: Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far. The final print can be either color or black and white. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. April 24 #13 ISO Students will compare and choose the best film speed for any given setting. Homework: Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far. The final print can be either color or black and white. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. May 1 #14 Aperture Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate aperture settings to regulate the degree of how much of the overall photograph is in focus beyond the main subject. Homework: Create a new print carefully editing it using the Photoshop techniques we have discussed so far. The final print can be either color or black and white. Evaluate the print and be prepared to discuss this in the next class. May 8 #15 Lenses Students will demonstrate the ability to compare and evaluate lenses and how they change perspective.
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