For this assignment you will need to capture 3 portraits, one of each of the following categories:
1) Self-Portrait Photograph yourself. Portray some aspect of your personality or the “fantasy you.” You must set up the photograph yourself! Someone else can push the shutter if needed but you must create the scene, composition, angle, etc. Another way to photograph yourself is to see if your camera has a self timer on it, you can set your camera up, either on a tripod or some sturdy surface, set the timer, get in place and wait for the shutter to release.
2) Portrait of Someone You Know Photograph a person you know (i.e. friend, family, coworker, classmate). Try using different lighting sources and locations. Think about how you view this person and try to capture some aspect of their personality.
3) Portrait of a Stranger You can stop someone and ask to take their picture or try to capture someone from afar.
You will post all 3 images to your blog and print one image at 8x10 inches or larger.
Reading: What makes a great portrait?
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**Photographers to look at: Cindy Sherman, Lee Friedlander, Robert Frank, Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Nikki Lee, Joel Sternfeld, Chris Verene, Diane Arbus, Eugene Meatyard, Nan Goldin, Katy Grannan, Garry Winogrand, Mike Brodie, Boris Mikhailov
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Time line:
02/02: Intro to Portrait Assignment
02/04: Intro to Photoshop
02/09: Cont. of Working with Photoshop: Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, Selecting and Adjusting
02/11: Work Day, bring in what you've shot to work on
02/16: Critique on Portraits
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Artists We've Looked At
Today we watched the bit on Jean-Marc Bustamente.Tuesday, January 26, we will watch the video Manufactured Landscapes about the work of photographer, Edward Burtynsky.
Thursday, January 28, will be our first critique. Please review these key terms in photography to use during critique on Thursday.
Thursday, January 28, will be our first critique. Please review these key terms in photography to use during critique on Thursday.
Lab Hours
Monday: 8:00am-6:30pm
Class: 6:00-8:40pm
Tuesday: 10am-6pm
Classes: 1:30-3:00, 6:00-8:40pm
Wednesday: 9:00am-9:00pm
Class: 6:00-8:40pm
Thursday: 8:00am-7pm
Class: 1:30-300
Friday: 8:00am-4:00pm
(No Classes)
Saturday/Sunday: CLOSED
Class: 6:00-8:40pm
Tuesday: 10am-6pm
Classes: 1:30-3:00, 6:00-8:40pm
Wednesday: 9:00am-9:00pm
Class: 6:00-8:40pm
Thursday: 8:00am-7pm
Class: 1:30-300
Friday: 8:00am-4:00pm
(No Classes)
Saturday/Sunday: CLOSED
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Landscape Assignment
Post 3 images (by Thursday, 01/28) you feel are successful landscape images. Remember you are (almost) boundless when it comes to how many images you can take with your digital camera, so SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT!
Read this for some tips and ideas on how to approach photographing landscapes and some pointers on composition.
The guidelines from the book are not rules, they don't need to be followed, but try them out and begin to discover what you are drawn to both in your subject matter and way of photographing.
This is the time to experiment!!
Due Thursday, January 28st
Next week we will begin with some basic editing techniques in Lightroom. This means come prepared with at least some of your images to work on. Remember your camera and cord. Or if you have a card reader, your memory card and a card reader.
Read this for some tips and ideas on how to approach photographing landscapes and some pointers on composition.
The guidelines from the book are not rules, they don't need to be followed, but try them out and begin to discover what you are drawn to both in your subject matter and way of photographing.
This is the time to experiment!!
Due Thursday, January 28st
Next week we will begin with some basic editing techniques in Lightroom. This means come prepared with at least some of your images to work on. Remember your camera and cord. Or if you have a card reader, your memory card and a card reader.
Monday, January 11, 2010
100 Images/Getting to Know Your Camera
Due Thursday, 01/14/10
For this assignment you will need to shoot at least 100 images. Start by shooting two different scenes, one indoors and one outdoors. For each of these scenes, take the same photo on every "mode" or "setting" your camera has, i.e. portrait, landscape, night, sports, etc. Your camera may have many of these settings or just a few. Tip: shoot a scene with a foreground, middle ground, and background to see if the depth of field changes.
Record your actions in a small notebook. Write where you are (if it's not obvious by the image), what setting it is on, if the flash goes off or not, etc.
Bring in all your images on your camera to class, the cord that allows you to upload your images onto the computer, and your jump drive or some sort of external harddrive.
Due Thursday, 01/14/10
Thursday in class I will go over uploading your images and posting them to your blog.
For this assignment you will need to shoot at least 100 images. Start by shooting two different scenes, one indoors and one outdoors. For each of these scenes, take the same photo on every "mode" or "setting" your camera has, i.e. portrait, landscape, night, sports, etc. Your camera may have many of these settings or just a few. Tip: shoot a scene with a foreground, middle ground, and background to see if the depth of field changes.
Record your actions in a small notebook. Write where you are (if it's not obvious by the image), what setting it is on, if the flash goes off or not, etc.
Bring in all your images on your camera to class, the cord that allows you to upload your images onto the computer, and your jump drive or some sort of external harddrive.
Due Thursday, 01/14/10
Thursday in class I will go over uploading your images and posting them to your blog.
Other Useful Links & Definitions
Here are some other great links that describe technical camera functions in a somewhat simplistic way.
Lens Elements & Image Quality
Camera Metering & Exposure
Understand Depth of Field
Aperture
The aperture is the lens opening. It controls the amount of light coming into the camera.
Light passes through the lens opening to reach the sensor. The aperture is adjustable, it can be opened wide to let more light in, or closed down to keep out light.
F-Stop is the measurement of the size of the lens opening. The larger the f-stop the smaller the lens opening. The smaller the f-stop the larger the lens opening.
A change of one full f-stop on either side means doubling or halving the amount of light passing through the lens. F8 allows twice as much light through as f11, and half as much through as f5.6.
Depth of Field
Depth of field refers to the zone of focus in a photograph or the distance between the closest and farthest parts of the picture that are reasonably sharp.
Depth of field is determined by:
Lens Opening: The smaller your aperture, the greater the depth of field.
Distance: The greater the focus distance (from camera to subject), the greater the depth of field.
Focal Length: The longer the focal length of the lens, the smaller the depth of field. A telephoto lens produces an image w/less depth of field than a wide-angle lens (assuming the same aperture and focus distance).
The Shutter
1. A shutter sets the amount of time for which film is struck by light.
Shutter speed (how fast the shutter opens and closes)
Use the faster (or shorter) shutter speed when there is a plenty of light
Use the slower (or longer) shutter speed when there is less light.
2. A shutter affects the amount of movement rendered in the image
The longer the shutter speed the more movement you are going to get.
The shorter the shutter speed the less movement you are going to get. (you can even stop something in midair).
Here are a list of usual shutter speed options: 1,2,4,8,15,30,60,125,250,500,1000
1 stands for 1 full second; the other numbers represent fractions; 2 means 1/2 second; 125 is 1/125 of a second; and so forth.
Each setting doubles the time of the setting on one side of it and halves the time of the setting on the other side.
“4” represents half as much time, so allows half as much light to reach the film, as “2”.
Light Meter: A light meter measures light and translates that measurement into a workable set of f-stop and shutter-speed combinations, appropriate to the lighting conditions of the subject. As such, it is a guide to using the three exposure controls: lens opening, shutter speed, and film speed.
Combining the Controls
F-stop and shutter speed have a reciprocal relationship. If the shutter speed is slowed down (to allow more light to reach the film), the f-stop must be closed down (to let less light strike the film) to make an equivalent exposure. The smaller the aperture, the slower the shutter speed.
Different combinations can give you the same exposure. F16 at 1/30, is the same as f11 at 1/60, is the same as f8 at 1/125.
In effect, the choice of exposure is a trade-off between maximum depth of field and minimum image blur. The exposure choice is made according to the needs of the particular picture. If a lot of depth of filed is needed, use a smaller aperture. If a fast shutter speed is important to stop the action, choose a larger aperture and sacrifice some depth of field.
Lens Elements & Image Quality
Camera Metering & Exposure
Understand Depth of Field
Aperture
The aperture is the lens opening. It controls the amount of light coming into the camera.
Light passes through the lens opening to reach the sensor. The aperture is adjustable, it can be opened wide to let more light in, or closed down to keep out light.
F-Stop is the measurement of the size of the lens opening. The larger the f-stop the smaller the lens opening. The smaller the f-stop the larger the lens opening.
A change of one full f-stop on either side means doubling or halving the amount of light passing through the lens. F8 allows twice as much light through as f11, and half as much through as f5.6.
Depth of Field
Depth of field refers to the zone of focus in a photograph or the distance between the closest and farthest parts of the picture that are reasonably sharp.
Depth of field is determined by:
Lens Opening: The smaller your aperture, the greater the depth of field.
Distance: The greater the focus distance (from camera to subject), the greater the depth of field.
Focal Length: The longer the focal length of the lens, the smaller the depth of field. A telephoto lens produces an image w/less depth of field than a wide-angle lens (assuming the same aperture and focus distance).
The Shutter
1. A shutter sets the amount of time for which film is struck by light.
Shutter speed (how fast the shutter opens and closes)
Use the faster (or shorter) shutter speed when there is a plenty of light
Use the slower (or longer) shutter speed when there is less light.
2. A shutter affects the amount of movement rendered in the image
The longer the shutter speed the more movement you are going to get.
The shorter the shutter speed the less movement you are going to get. (you can even stop something in midair).
Here are a list of usual shutter speed options: 1,2,4,8,15,30,60,125,250,500,1000
1 stands for 1 full second; the other numbers represent fractions; 2 means 1/2 second; 125 is 1/125 of a second; and so forth.
Each setting doubles the time of the setting on one side of it and halves the time of the setting on the other side.
“4” represents half as much time, so allows half as much light to reach the film, as “2”.
Light Meter: A light meter measures light and translates that measurement into a workable set of f-stop and shutter-speed combinations, appropriate to the lighting conditions of the subject. As such, it is a guide to using the three exposure controls: lens opening, shutter speed, and film speed.
Combining the Controls
F-stop and shutter speed have a reciprocal relationship. If the shutter speed is slowed down (to allow more light to reach the film), the f-stop must be closed down (to let less light strike the film) to make an equivalent exposure. The smaller the aperture, the slower the shutter speed.
Different combinations can give you the same exposure. F16 at 1/30, is the same as f11 at 1/60, is the same as f8 at 1/125.
In effect, the choice of exposure is a trade-off between maximum depth of field and minimum image blur. The exposure choice is made according to the needs of the particular picture. If a lot of depth of filed is needed, use a smaller aperture. If a fast shutter speed is important to stop the action, choose a larger aperture and sacrifice some depth of field.
SLR vs Point & Shoot Cameras
There are two types of consumer film cameras on the market -- SLR cameras and "point-and-shoot" cameras. The main difference is how the photographer sees the scene. In a point-and-shoot camera, the viewfinder is a simple window through the body of the camera. You don't see the real image formed by the camera lens, but you get a rough idea of what is in view.
In an SLR camera, you see the actual real image that the film will see. If you take the lens off of an SLR camera and look inside, you'll see how this works. The camera has a slanted mirror positioned between the shutter and the lens, with a piece of translucent glass and a prism positioned above it. This configuration works like a periscope -- the real image bounces off the lower mirror on to the translucent glass, which serves as a projection screen. The prism's job is to flip the image on the screen, so it appears right side up again, and redirect it on to the viewfinder window.
When you click the shutter button, the camera quickly switches the mirror out of the way, so the image is directed at the exposed film. The mirror is connected to the shutter timer system, so it stays open as long as the shutter is open. This is why the viewfinder is suddenly blacked out when you take a picture.
The mirror in an SLR camera directs the real image to the viewfinder. When you hit the shutter button, the mirror flips up so the real image is projected onto the film.
In this sort of camera, the mirror and the translucent screen are set up so they present the real image exactly as it will appear on the film. The advantage of this design is that you can adjust the focus and compose the scene so you get exactly the picture you want. For this reason, professional photographers typically use SLR cameras.
These days, most SLR cameras are built with both manual and automatic controls, and most point-and-shoot cameras are fully automatic. Conceptually, automatic cameras are pretty much the same as fully manual models, but everything is controlled by a central microprocessor instead of the user. The central microprocessor receives information from the autofocus system and the light meter. Then it activates several small motors, which adjust the lens and open and close the aperture. In modern cameras, this a pretty advanced computer system.
Automatic point-and-shoot camera use circuit boards and electric motors, instead of gears and springs.
In an SLR camera, you see the actual real image that the film will see. If you take the lens off of an SLR camera and look inside, you'll see how this works. The camera has a slanted mirror positioned between the shutter and the lens, with a piece of translucent glass and a prism positioned above it. This configuration works like a periscope -- the real image bounces off the lower mirror on to the translucent glass, which serves as a projection screen. The prism's job is to flip the image on the screen, so it appears right side up again, and redirect it on to the viewfinder window.
When you click the shutter button, the camera quickly switches the mirror out of the way, so the image is directed at the exposed film. The mirror is connected to the shutter timer system, so it stays open as long as the shutter is open. This is why the viewfinder is suddenly blacked out when you take a picture.
The mirror in an SLR camera directs the real image to the viewfinder. When you hit the shutter button, the mirror flips up so the real image is projected onto the film.
In this sort of camera, the mirror and the translucent screen are set up so they present the real image exactly as it will appear on the film. The advantage of this design is that you can adjust the focus and compose the scene so you get exactly the picture you want. For this reason, professional photographers typically use SLR cameras.
These days, most SLR cameras are built with both manual and automatic controls, and most point-and-shoot cameras are fully automatic. Conceptually, automatic cameras are pretty much the same as fully manual models, but everything is controlled by a central microprocessor instead of the user. The central microprocessor receives information from the autofocus system and the light meter. Then it activates several small motors, which adjust the lens and open and close the aperture. In modern cameras, this a pretty advanced computer system.
Automatic point-and-shoot camera use circuit boards and electric motors, instead of gears and springs.
Taken from HowStuffWorks.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A Typical Product Photo Shoot
Video showing a photo shoot of two iPhones for MacWorld Magazine. (click on the word "video" to see it.) See how long it takes them and how complicated a photo shoot can get.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
First Post
Due on Tuesday: Blog setup, link to all classmates' blogs, and an image found on the internet that you really like uploaded to your blog.
Make sure you bring your camera and camera's manual to class on Tuesday!
Make sure you bring your camera and camera's manual to class on Tuesday!
Lee Friedlander, Self-Portrait
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