ART 314 DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Syllabus Fall 2017

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1 Instructor: Professor Sheli Petersen Office Hours: MW 10am 1pm; TR 11 am 1pm Address: Course Meets: TR 3:30 4:45PM, AV Larson 114 ART 314 DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Syllabus Fall 2017 Prerequisites: None Required Software: Photoshop Required Materials: Digital camera DSLR or Point-and-Shoot (suggestions: Nikon - D3200 DSLR Camera or Nikon - Coolpix S Megapixel); Digital storage, one 16 or 32 gig thumb-drive AND back-up storage (cloud, portable/thumb-drive, or computer/laptop); Photo Glossy and Radiant White Watercolor paper (provided) Course Description & Objectives In this course you will concentrate on the aesthetic aspects of photography including composition, lighting, color. You will explore camera and digital techniques such as exposure, color correction, retouching, and creative image manipulation. Please note! Although our focus will not be on software tutorials, step-by step techniques in Photoshop will be presented during in-class workshops as a vehicle for realizing strong visual impact in your photography. End Goals Upon completion of this course you should be able to: Engage in the creative process of creating aesthetically strong photographic images via approaches in landscape, portraiture, and the documentary. Create photography as a powerful visual communication tool to educate and/or entertain your audience. Understand and use the basic principles of photography including exposure, bracketing, depth of field, lighting, and composition. Use Photoshop and printing techniques demonstrated in class At the beginning of the course, we will discuss how you will participate in our Digital Photography class objectives as part of the College s and School s mission and goals: Engage. Inquire. Discover. Innovate. Please note! As the instructor, I reserve the right to modify any aspect of the course syllabus or content. Any modifications will be communicated to you in advance. *************************************

2 Expectations & Instructional Approach We will approach Photography as a creative process with emphasis on developing strong, impactful images through your visual choices in composition, lighting, and color. Engage and Discover through the Creative Process: Throughout the semester, you will engage in photo shoots and Photoshop workshops in service of building your fluency in visual language, the arrangement of line, shape, color, texture, space through the balance, scale, focal point(s), and proportion of a photographic image. Good technique (knowing steps in Photoshop and how to operate a camera) does not equal good photography. Rather, good technique must be employed to express strong ideas through visual language. A deep understanding of aesthetics evolves through committed practice. To thoroughly engage in Digital Photography, in addition to in-class time you must spend at least six hours a week developing your work outside of class. Given that most students schedules are very full, it is wise to break up these six hours into chunks (Ex: spend three hours on photography every Mon and Wed evening). Because the Creative Process is a discovery that unfolds through experimentation and study of excellent photographic images, this time investment is necessary for a full exploration in your work. Good photography is never rushed. Moreover, the Creative Process is not binary or formulaic. There are no right or wrong answers, per se rather you must employ critical thinking to judge how impactful your image is. Be fearless in trying multiple approaches and solutions! You can always take another shot and/or save your files and modify/start new ones. Then, take a look at your various raw photos and digital preliminaries to identify which ones best capture your subject through composition, lighting, and color. Since there are multiple ways you can showcase your subject through your choices in visual language, in-class critique offers insights and suggestions for steps you can take to strengthen your photography. Inquire and Innovate Through drawing with the camera: We will approach photography as a way of seeing and capturing visual relationships (or drawing ) in our world. Through out the semester, you will inquire about how to draw your subject with your visual choices in composition, proportion (or ratio of figure/object to background), color, and lighting. For each project, you will take a series of raw (unedited) shots with your camera and then choose the strongest raws to develop via Photoshop editing techniques. This preliminary work will serve as a basis for you to pilot innovative photographic images in digital and print formats. Assessment and Grading For each project there will be specific aesthetic and technical objectives you must meet. To help you strengthen your work, during in-class critique you will receive verbal feed-back from myself and your peers on how thoroughly and successfully you met these specific objectives. To augment in-class critique, you will also receive written feed-back from myself posted under My Grades on Black Board. For any work that is submitted on deadline I encourage revisions that demonstrate a stronger photographic image, for which you will earn a higher grade. I will accept revisions until the last day of class. Because photography is a deadline-oriented discipline, meeting due dates for all your work is essential to learning. Raw images, preliminaries, and final photographic images will drop one letter grade each class period late. Through photography, you will express your own ideas visually. Therefore, all images you present in Digital Photography must entirely be your own. To claim appropriated content as yours is plagiarism and prohibited by the Peru State Academic Integrity Policy. Projects, Field Trips, and Class Participation Project 1 Landscapes Exploration in Composition, Exposure, and Color

3 Duotone and Color images Raw images (10 pnts); Preliminary images Photoshop (20 pnts); Final images Photoshop (40 pnts) Project 2 Portraits Exploration in Lighting, Figure and Ground, Balance Traditional and expressive/psychological Raw images (10 pnts); Preliminary images Photoshop (20 pnts); Final images Photoshop (40 pnts) Project 3 Photo Documentaries Exploration in Narrative Raw images (10 pnts); Preliminary images and page designs Photoshop (30 pnts); Final images and page designs Photoshop (50 pnts) Field Trip 1 Kimmel Harding Nelson Open Studio Attendance and Discussion (10 pnts) Thurs, Sept 21, 4:30 7:30PM Kimmel Nelson Harding Center for the Arts 801 3rd Corso, Nebraska City, NE Field Trip 2 Omaha: Joslyn Art Museum and Lauritzen Gardens Botanical Center (20 pnts) Attendance and Discussion Thurs, Nov 2, 9AM 6PM Joslyn 2200 Dodge St, Omaha, NE Lauritzen 100 Bancroft St, Omaha, NE Digital Photography Written Reflection (10 pnts) Class Participation (30 pnts) There are 300 points possible in the class Grading Scale for Determining Final Grade A % B B C C D D F <60 Photography Attendance and Participation Policy Attendance: Attending ALL classes is extremely important for your performance in the course. If for any reason you are unable to attend a class, you should contact me via . If you miss a class critique for raw and preliminary or final images, it is your responsibility to make arrangements to present your work to me as soon as possible, otherwise your work will be considered late. You are responsible for all material covered, including classes you have missed. At six absences, your final grade for the course will automatically drop one letter grade. Leaving class early without explanation and coming to class more than 20 minutes late will be considered an absence. As a courtesy, I will post your attendance (with the dates of classes you ve missed, if any) three times throughout the semester

4 under MyGrades on Black Board. However, it is your responsibility as a learner to keep track of your own absences. Participation: Just as it is essential to read to become a strong writer, it is necessary to read visual language to become a strong photographer. For part of your class participation, you will be required to evaluate the visual content in various historical and contemporary photographic images during in-class discussions. You will be encouraged to seek out strong examples of photography on your own and suggested sources for viewing excellent examples of photographic images will be posted on the Black Board Course Documents page. Always be fully present during class! Class participation includes being on time for class; staying for the entire class period; participating in class discussions and critiques; turning in all raw, preliminary, and final photographic images on the scheduled due dates; and working quietly and intentionally during in-class workshops and work sessions. Because mobile devices are a distraction, using them in class is not allowed. To avoid risk of damaging the computers, food and drink are not allowed at the Macs in the Graphic Design Lab. Just as the Graphic Design Lab is the physical hub of our class, the ART314 Black Board is the virtual hub. Every week, upcoming deadlines and things to do for the class will be posted on the Announcement page. All course material including Power Point lectures and assignment prompts for your projects will be posted on the Course Documents and Assignments pages respectively. ************************************* College s Incomplete Coursework Policy To designate a student s work in a course as incomplete at the end of a term, the instructor records the incomplete grade (I). Students may receive this grade only when serious illness, hardship, death in the immediate family, or military service during the semester in which they are registered prevents them from completing course requirements. In addition, to receive an incomplete, a student must have completed substantially all of the course s major requirements. Unless extenuating circumstances dictate otherwise, students must initiate requests for an incomplete by filling out an Incomplete Grade Completion Contract, which requires the signature of the student, instructor, and Dean. The Incomplete Grade Completion contract cites the reason(s) for the incomplete and details the specific obligations the student must meet to change the incomplete to a letter grade. The date by which the student agrees to complete required work must appear in the contract. The Dean, the instructor, and the student receive signed copies of the Incomplete Grade Completion Contract. Even if the student does not attend Peru State College, all incomplete course work must be finished by the end of the subsequent semester. Unless the appropriate Dean approves an extension and if the student does not fulfill contract obligations in the allotted time, the incomplete grade automatically becomes an F. College s Academic Integrity Policy

5 The College expects all students to conduct themselves in a manner that supports an honest assessment of student learning outcomes and the assignment of grades that appropriately reflect student performance. It is ultimately the student s responsibility to understand and comply with instructions regarding the completion of assignments, exams, and other academic activities. At a minimum, students should assume that at each assessment opportunity they are expected to do their own original academic work and/or clearly acknowledge in an appropriate fashion the intellectual work of others, when such contributions are allowed. Students helping others to circumvent honest assessments of learning outcomes, or who fail to report instances of academic dishonesty, are also subject to the sanctions defined in this policy. Instances of academic dishonesty may be discovered in a variety of ways. Faculty members who assign written work ordinarily check citations for accuracy, run data base and online checks, and/or may simply recognize familiar passages that are not cited. They may observe students in the act of cheating or may become aware of instances of cheating from the statements of others. All persons who observe or otherwise know about instances of cheating are expected to report such instances to the proper instructor or Dean. In order to promote academic integrity, the College subscribes to an electronic service to review papers for the appropriate citations and originality. Key elements of submitted papers are stored electronically in a limited access database and thus become a permanent part of the material to which future submissions are compared. Submission of an application and continued enrollment signifies your permission for this use of your written work. Should an occurrence of academic misconduct occur, the faculty member may assign a failing grade for the assignment or a failing grade for the course. Each incident of academic misconduct should be reported to the Dean and the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA). The VPAA may suspend for two semesters students found to be responsible for multiple instances of academic dishonesty. The reason for the suspension will be noted on the student s transcript. A faculty member need present only basic evidence of academic dishonesty. There is no requirement for proof of intent. Students are responsible for understanding these tenets of academic honesty and integrity. Students may appeal penalties for academic dishonesty using the process established for grades appeals. Title IX Compliance Notice Peru State College is an equal opportunity institution. PSC does not discriminate against any student, employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion, or age in employment and education opportunities, including but not limited to admission decisions. The College has designated an individual to coordinate the College s nondiscrimination efforts to comply with regulations implementing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies and practices may be directed to Eulanda Cade, Director of Human Resources, Title VI, VII, IX Compliance Coordinator, Peru State College, PO Box 10, Peru, NE , (402) Students requesting reasonable accommodation and tutoring services should contact the Center for Achievement and Transition Services (CATS). *************************************

6 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE Aug 22 Tues Introduction: How to draw with the camera Camera Basics: Understanding The Human Eye & the Camera Lens; How to Hold a Camera Camera Basics: Understanding Exposure (ISO, Aperture, & Shutter Speed); Depth of Field; Bracketing; and Compositing Images Aug 24 Thurs Discussion: Understanding Light and Strong Composition, Building your seeing skills Discussion: Historical and contemporary landscape photography Anselm Adams, Paul Strand, Andrew Borowiec, Andrew Moore, Ron McClure, et al Introduction: Project 1 Landscapes Exploration in Composition, Exposure, and Color Duotone and Color images In-class Workshop: Transferring Images for Editing in Photoshop, Understanding image size and resolution Aug 29 Tues Bring your camera to class! Guest Speaker: Mike Wells of Wells Graphics Photographer and printing expert Relationship of shutter speed, aperture, and depth of field. Understanding composition: Rule of Thirds, proportion, subject/background relationships In-class Photo Shoot: Landscape on Peru campus, Bracketing working with multiple exposures, lighting, composition, depth of field Aug 31 Thurs Bring your raw landscape shots to class! In-class Photoshop Workshop: Tools, Layers, Color Models, Magic and magnetic wand tools, Adjustment Layers In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with color models, wand tool selections, and adjustment layers Sept 5 Tues In-class Photoshop Workshop: Selection options with Alpha Channels and Paths, Retouching tools

7 In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with channels, paths, and retouching tools Sept 7 Thurs In-class Photoshop Workshop: Compositing multiple exposures of the same composition in one image In-class Photoshop Workshop: Creating a duotone image In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with multiple exposures and duotones Sept 12 Tues In-class work session for your preliminary Landscape photographs Digital Photography Student Survey Sept 14 Thurs DUE: Project 1 Landscapes raw and preliminary images Critique Sept 19 Tues In-class Workshop: Printing your photographic images on the large format Canon In-class work session for your final Landscape photographs Thurs, Sept 21, 4:30 7:30PM Attendance Required: Field Trip to Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Open Studio, Nebraska City Sept 26 Tues Discussion: Kimmel Harding Nelson Center Open Studio DUE: Project 1 Landscapes Final images Critique

8 Sept 28 Thurs Guest Speaker: Brandi Hull Designer and Photographer, Peru Alumna Introduction: Project 2 Portraits Exploration in Lighting, Figure and Ground, Balance Traditional and expressive/psychological Discussion: Historical and Contemporary Portraiture in Photography Richard Avedon, Sally Mann, Annie Leibovitz, Nan Goldin, Lou Jones, et al Oct 3 Tues Bring your camera to class! In-class Photo Shoot: Studio Lighting - Setting up your portrait by considering figure-ground ratio, light quality, and balance (symmetry/asymmetry) in composition Oct 5 Thurs Bring your raw portrait shots to class! In-class Photoshop Workshop: Basic Portrait Retouching In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with Portrait editing Oct 10 Tues Discussion: Examples of Expressive/Psychological Portraiture in Photography & Digital Imaging Matt Mahurin, Shirin Neshat, et al In-class Photoshop Workshop: Painting techniques In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with digital painting Oct 12 Thurs In-class work session for your preliminary traditional and psychological/expressive portraits Oct 17 Tues Midterm Break No classes Oct 19 Thurs In-class Photoshop Workshop: Collaging and creating digital textures with filters

9 In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with digital collage and textures Oct 24 Tues DUE: Project 2 Portraits raw and preliminary images Critique Oct 26 Thurs Introduction: Project 3 Photo Documentaries Exploration in Narrative Discussion: Contemporary and Historical Photojournalism Dorothea Lange, Sebastião Salgado, Walter Pickering, et al Discussion: Editing pictures to convey a consistent narrative Guest Speaker: Mike Wells of Wells Graphics Photographer and printing expert Environmental Portraiture: Relationship of subject to background, Considering depth of field, Aperture, Using/not using Zoom Oct 31 Tues In-class Workshop: Choices in paper for photographic prints via the Epson printer In-class work session for your final traditional and psychological/expressive portraits Nov 2 Thurs Bring your camera! Attendance Required: Field Trip to Omaha: Joslyn Art Museum and Lauritzen Gardens Nov 7 Tues DUE: Project 2 Portraits Final Images Critique Nov 9 Thurs Bring your raw documentary shots to class!

10 Discussion: Field Trip to Omaha: Joslyn Art Museum and Lauritzen Gardens In-class Photoshop Workshop: Type Tool, Striking the balance between expression and readability with type In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with type Nov 14 Tues In-class Photoshop Workshop: Creating strong page design for your narrative In-Class Work session: Discover approaches and share experiments with page design Nov 16 Thurs In-class work session for your Photo Documentaries Digital Photography Student Survey Nov 21 Tues Independent work session for your Photographic Documentaries Nov 23 Thurs Thanksgiving Break No classes Nov 28 Tues Discussion: Brief history of Photography and Digital Imaging In-class work session for your Photographic Documentaries Nov 30 Thurs DUE: Project 3 Photo Documentaries raw, preliminary images, and page designs Critique Dec 5 Tues

11 Introduction: Digital Photography Written Reflection In-class work session for your Photographic Documentaries Dec 7 Thurs In-class work session for your Photographic Documentaries Final Exam Day, Tues, Dec 12, 3:30 5:30pm DUE: Project 3 Photo Documentaries Exploration in Narrative Final Versions Critique DUE: Digital Photography Written Reflection