Light is the very basis of photography; everything we do with photography is related to light and how it is captured. Good light, interesting light, needs to be discovered. In this project you are going to explore the differences between light and shadow or reflections. I want you to focus on strong contrasted light and the resulting deep shadows that are produced. Use the natural effects of light and shadow to either enhance or remove the actual object that is creating the shadow to bring us out of context. These images should be interesting in composition and even slightly abstract in their final printed version. Because we must have a sunny day to create the contrasted light for light and shadow you may also focus on reflections if the day is overcast. Think about interesting reflections—like the way the light reflects in the window, or your reflection in a spoon or shiny metal object. You can not use a mirror in a traditional manner. 

Assignment:
You must photograph an entire roll of film (24 frames) that focus on light, shadow ,and reflections. Think about how to make your compositions interesting using only strong light or reflected imagery. You can photograph people, objects, or even just the design that is created by shadows. Take multiple images of different designs of light, shadow, or reflection. Use your imagination and think about how the final image will look. 

Steps:

• Think about making an ordinary scene look different with the way you photograph it.
• When you want the shadow to be dark you should meter for the light part of the image. When you want the light part to blow out you should meter for the dark (or shadow) part of the image. 
• When photographing reflections be sure that you can see what you want in the frame of the camera.

Resources: Light & Shadow Pinterest board and Reflection Pinterest Board

This project will be your first project in film and using the film cameras. There is a LOT to consider with film and you need to be more aware of your camera settings, composition, and focus. Your assignment is to find the beauty in nature through the use of pattern and texture. Pattern is identified as a repetition of a certain element or elements. Texture refers to the properties held by an external surface. Although we cannot actually feel the texture in a photograph, implied texture will give the viewer the feeling that he or she can actually reach in and touch the image.

Assignment:

• Shoot an entire roll (24 frames) of texture and pattern—12 textures and 12 patterns
• find both repeating patterns and textural elements outside the school
• print 2 of your best images and mount one to the front and tape one to the back of the paper

Grading Criteria:

• Work habits
• Quality of photographs
• Craftsmanship
• Full range of tones (from black to white)
• Resourcefulness
• Experimentation
• Effectiveness in communicating the idea within the theme

• Two final images (one must show shallow depth of field)

Tips to Get Started:
You should decide how you are going to frame your subject. Use the rule of thirds. Consider your outdoor lighting. Is it sunny or cloudy? You must use the focusing ring so you do not get blur. *Remember, do not use a shutter speed lower than 1/60th. 

Guiding Questions:

1. How do you compose a photograph?
2. What needs to be considered when you are outside photographing?
3. How do you make sure your photographs are focused?
4. How do you develop your film?
5. How do you determine the time to develop your film?
6. What are the steps in the film processing and drying method?
7. What is a contact print?
8. How do you make a contact sheet?

Resources:

• Pinterest board for Patterns & textures
• http://www.johnlovett.com/test.htm
• http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/pattern/pattern.htm

What is a portrait? What makes an image of someone a portrait instead just a snapshot? Intention. For portraiture you need to make an interesting photograph of someone with intent. A portrait grabs our attention. People are fascinated by other people and since the advent of photography, images of people have saturated our lives. You cannot get through a day without seeing a portrait of someone, whether it be in advertisements, on walls, or on a Facebook profile. Almost all professional photographers have worked with people taking portraits. 

Artists to consider: Man Ray, Richard Avedon, Alfred Eisenstadt, Annie Liebowitz, Helmut Newton

Assignment: 
Your assignment is to photograph multiple portraits using 50 frames. You must photograph: yourself (self-portrait), and then photograph someone else in three different settings: 1. in the studio with lighting (using either side lighting, back lighting, full lighting, bounce lighting, or a combination) 2. a full crop of the face (breaking the frame) 3. using natural light in an interesting setting. Be careful not to take a snapshot (Tell your friend to stand over there and smile brightly, saying “cheese”).

​Photography as a fine-art does not allow for snapshots or cheesiness. In this project you must focus on the figure. Try to express the personality and expression of your subject through photographs. Put your viewer in familiar situations, so they don’t think about the fact that they are being photographed. You must not forget about the background however, your subject should be complemented by his/her surroundings. 


You must turn in the following: 4 images uploaded to google classroom (the three of someone else and one self-portrait) and one final 8x10 print* of your favorite image. 

*A high quality print includes: Full range of values, pleasing composition utilizing the elements and principles, utilization of contrast (s-curve), manipulation of lighting. In addition, the print should be evenly mounted on black paper with all edges glued down.


Steps:

• Think about who you want to photograph. Try to get them in their natural element rather than setting a scene.
• Try multiple photographs of people both looking at the camera and not looking at the camera. Candid shots work very well. Hang out and talk to your friends while shooting.
• Meter for your subject and avoid unnecessary elements in the frame.
• Don't forget your tripod when you shoot in the studio
• Use a low f-stop for all portrait images
• GET CLOSER!!!

PASS IN:

• contact sheet of 12 edited images (3 self portraits/3 studio portraits of someone else/3 crop portraits/3 outdoor portraits with NO CARS in the frame)
• top 4 images (the best one of each of the above categories)
• PRINT best image from any of the categories

Objective: Use the studio to learn how to direct models/subjects to capture portraits. Use lighting to enhance and add emotion to imagery. 

Resource: Pinterest Board for portraits

Resource: Still life pinterest board, 5 lighting tips for beginners

Assignment:
Your assignment is to photograph 50 frames of a still life. You will pass in 3 high quality images to google classroom from the shoot and print your most successful still life. You will manipulate lighting. You will also learn about ISO and shooting with a tripod. One final 8x10 print must be mounted on the front of black paper. 



Steps:

• Analyze your still life
• Manipulate the artificial lighting
• Set up a tripod for your camera
• Shoot a 50 digital frames (*Make sure your ISO is set at 400 for half the images, then play with ISO 800 and ISO 1600)
• You must have multiple angles and views of the still life and focus on one area, not the whole mess of a still-life
• You will cull down to your best 10 images and edit ALL 10 and make a contact sheet
• Then choose your best 3 images with Ms. Djordjevic

PASS IN:

• contact sheet of 10 edited images
• 3 top still life images as single files
• PRINT your best image

Objective: Use the camera to capture still life, both in studio and outside of the studio. Use lighting to enhance the image and shallow depth of field to focus on specific pieces of a composition.

​Resources: Still Life pinterest board 

How do we see the world around us? If we start looking at the shapes created around us, we can start to see the letters of the alphabet emerge. This project will stretch your creative outlook on the "normal" world around you. Some letters are easier than others to see—I's and X's and T's are very common, but where can you see curved letters like C and S and M, or even O? For this project you are going to create an alphabet grid and spell out your name using the natural world as your alphabet.

Assignment:
You must first photograph the entire alphabet, A-Z, in nature. The natural elements can be man-made but cannot be actual letters written on a sign or wall. You will be creating an alphabet grid like the one pictured above using Adobe Photoshop, you will then create a poster of your name using the letters of your alphabet. 

You will be passing in the following to the class google drive folder:
- 1 alphabet grid
- 1 name poster using your alphabet letters

Steps:
• Think outside of the norm and consider helping nature to create some letters—for example, S is very hard to find in nature but your shoelace is a perfect tool to make an s-shape. 
• Shadows can help to enhance a letterform, think of how this either adds to or takes away from the overall composition
• If your name has two of the same letter you may want to consider photographing different options to make your name poster more interesting
• I'd like to see natural elements but you can use man-made objects (i.e. bike wheels, lamp posts, brick buildings, etc.)

These three components of photography are also known as the exposure triangle. These are the three elements that you will have to change on your camera in order to get a perfectly exposed photograph. You will ALWAYS be changing your aperture and shutter speed in order to get the photograph you want (i.e. I want a photo with movement, I want a photo with blur, I want to capture sports action, I want a great portrait, etc.). Your shutter speed and aperture will give you the specific results you want. So what the heck are these things?

• ISO – the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. It is typically measured in numbers, a lower number representing lower sensitivity to available light, while higher numbers mean more sensitivity. More sensitivity comes at the cost though, as the ISO increases, so does the grain/noise in the images. ISO values: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600.
• Shutter speed – the length of time a camera shutter opens to allow light to expose onto the film or camera sensor. Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a second. Slow shutter speeds allow more light into the camera sensor and are used for low-light and night photography, while fast shutter speeds help to freeze motion. Shutter Speed values: 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000
• Aperture or F-stop– the opening within a lens, through which light travels into the camera body. The larger the opening, the more light passes to the camera sensor. Aperture also controls the depth of field, which is the portion of a scene that appears to be sharp. If the aperture is very small, the depth of field is large, while if the aperture is large, the depth of field is small. In photography, aperture is typically expressed in “f” numbers (also known as “focal ratio”, since the f-number is the ratio of the diameter of the lens aperture to the length of the lens). Aperture (f-stop) values : 1.7, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22 

Read more: http://photographylife.com/iso-shutter-speed-and-aperture-for-beginners#ixzz3DlHL7ZCJ 

Shallow depth of field is when one part of the image is in focus and the other is not and happens with a wide-open aperture (f/2.8 or lower).

Here's an example of bokeh - the out of focus area in a shallow depth of field image, usually referring to lights at night or sunlight through trees. 

Landscape photography uses a higher aperture (f/22 or higher) to create a focused image from foreground to background.

Same scene with totally different effects based on camera settings.  

Flipping through the glossy pages of magazines, how many images do you see of fashion and products being sold? What do you think of when you hear the word “fashion”? Chances are, images of catwalks, models, and couture clothing fill your head, but fashion is so much more. Fashion photography has been around since the advent of the camera. Fashion, like photography, is an ever-changing and evolving art form. There are many different types of fashion in America alone, leaving this assignment very broad. 

Artists to consider: Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, David LaChapelle, Mario Testino, Ellen Von Unwerth


Brands to consider: Forever 21, GQ, Free People, Louis Vuitton,  J. Crew 

Assignment
Your assignment is to submit 3 fashion photos and 3 product photos that could be printed in a magazine. You will mount one 8x10 on board (your best one). You will be mounting on black board or matting the images in a professional manner. This is your FINAL so show me everything that you’ve learned throughout the year. This project is a culmination of your EXCELLENT photography skills. Be sure to place all 6 photographs in the Google Classroom folder before the day of the final. You may print your image in the classroom but it is your responsibility to have it printed and mounted by the exam day. If you cannot print at school then you may print them at CVS or another photo lab. 

Tips:

• Look around you. What kind of fashion surrounds you? Then think about what kind of fashion you want to photograph (vintage fashion, couture fashion, teen fashion, men’s fashion). You may use anything that has to do with fashion (heels, purses, accessories).
• When photographing a product, think about something that really interests you and find a way to make that product pop. Set up a studio if need be in order to get those crisp shots. Are you photographing an organic face lotion? Perhaps place rose petals with your shot. Want to sell makeup like a magazine? Make your own tabletop and photograph from above with clean even light. Make it APPEALING. 
• Think about your subject and how you are going to frame it. You are going to be selling this fashion design or this product so you want it to look fantastic. Think about your model-will there be one? Think of what background you choose. Are you going to use a studio setting or outdoor setting? The rest of the photograph should complement your product.
• Edit your photo. No digital photographer shows unedited photographs. Use Photoshop to make your photo pop. Online tutorials are great resources to find out how to edit photographs if there is something specific that you want to do that we did not learn in class. I suggest you do some research for Photoshop tutorials—especially if you want to make perfect skin, or lens flare, or any other specific element to add to you image. 
• Our cameras have an aspect ratio of 8x12. You need to crop 2 inches off the 12" side to make a photograph be 8x10. 8x12 mats are difficult to find, most are sold as 8x10 so keep this in mind while printing.

Resources: Pinterest fashion pin board

This week we will be making real working cameras out of a can of oatmeal, a piece of aluminum with a tiny hole poked into it, some paint, and a whole lot of tape. I promise these are real working cameras and they give a very nostalgic, almost dreamlike quality to the images. 

Justin Quinnell is a great pinhole photographer who has been working solely with pinhole photography for the last 22 years—he's even made a pinhole camera out of his mouth!