Photography Classes @ MERHS

Old Spring 2010-11 Assignments

Photo 3 week by week blog requirements

 

****Remember, photos are always due on TUESDAYS or WEDNESDAYS. You must put your photos as a .jpg on a blog post, but also must turn in the original .psd files on the Y drive. There will be critique time each week.

Places to start looking for photoshop tutorials:

 

Places to start looking for response weeks:

 

Places to start looking for inspiration weeks:

 

Week of Jan 31:

  • PHOTO ASSIGNMENT & REFLECTION POST: take photos of “nothing” but they can’t be blank. Describe the successes and difficulties you had taking your “nothing photos.”  How did you come up with your idea?
  • INSPIRATION POST: post at least 5 of your previous images (shot during Photo 1/2 or on your own) and describe what lead you to take these photos the way that you did and any additional information that is important to know to understand the images. Also, regarding your photographs overall, describe your process of taking photos in great detail. Really reflect on what goes on in your head and the actions you take. Also, please describe any influences you may have that affect your imagemaking.
  • COMMENT: leave critique comments on 3 people’s previous image posts. Do not choose an image that already has 3 posts. Make sure to use descriptive language and point out the strengths and what could be changed to improve the images. Please talk about both the technical and the creative/visual aspects of the photographs.

 

Week of Feb 7:

  • PHOTO ASSIGNMENT & REFLECTION: take photos of things you hate to photograph. Describe the successes and difficulties you had taking your “hate photos.”  How did you come up with your idea? How much did you really end up hating this assignment? What did you learn about yourself as a photographer. Then write about your “nothing” photos. What were some of the comments said during class critique? What did you think about that advice?
  • TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT POST: Find relevant a photoshop tutorial for specific skills you want to learn, or browse tutorial sites and find a digital skill that is appealing to you. Try it out and post the original link and your resulting image on your blog. Rewrite the tutorial in the most basic and simple way and be ready to show the rest of the class how to do this technique.
  • COMMENT: leave critique comments on 1 person’s “nothing” photos post. Do not choose an image that already has a post. Make sure to use descriptive language and point out the strengths and what could be changed to improve the images. Please talk about both the technical and the creative/visual aspects of the photographs.

 

Week of Feb 14:

  • PHOTO ASSIGNMENT & REFLECTION: find a painting from MOMA (http://www.moma.org/collection/search.php ) or The Met (http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database / ). Take a photograph that is inspired by that painting (theme, lighting, mood, etc). Make sure to put both the painting and the resulting photo in your blog post, as well as the name of the artist and other info about the painting. Write about the painting, and what you decided to emulate in your own photos, why you emulated it, and how you translated that aspect into your photograph.   
  • RESPONSE POST: find a podcast, video, or article about photography and write a response to it. First, summarize the content of the podcast/video/article. Then write a detailed entry about what you thought of it, what you learned from it, what you did and did not like about it, and how it could  influence your process as a photographer.  
  • COMMENT: leave critique comments on 2 people’s “hate” photos post. Do not choose an image that already has 2 posts. Make sure to use descriptive language and point out the strengths and what could be changed to improve the images. Please talk about both the technical and the creative/visual aspects of the photographs.

 

Week of Feb 21 (Vacation):

  • PHOTO ASSIGNMENT & REFLECTION: shoot 1-100  photos that sum up your “experience” of your vacation week. Be ready to upload these when you get back to school the following week.

 

Week of Feb 28:

  • PHOTO ASSIGNMENT & REFLECTION: post your “vacation experience” photographs
  • Finish any make-up work that you previously missed
  • Start thinking about your own project that you will be shooting for next week 

 

Week of March 7:

    • PHOTO ASSIGNMENT & REFLECTION: turn in your first batch of photos for your own project, and write a paragraph about the choices you made in the photos and WHY you made them. Also explain your theme and how these photos do in meeting that theme.

  • INSPIRATION: create a blog post and answer the following questions
    -My strengths in photography are:
    -My weaknesses in photography are:
    -I would like to challenge myself in photography by:
    -Theme/Idea you have for the project:
    -Overall Goals for the project:
    -Steps for the project (what must be done to prepare for this project):
    —Location where you will have to go
    —Props, objects, clothing, equipment, people, things, that you will have to bring with you
    —Time of day and/or lighting conditions
    —Any other information that may apply to your specific project
    -Describe in detail the visual style of the photographs you plan to create
    -Research for the project (what types of web sites or books/magazines will you go to to research your topic)
    -Artistic inspiration for the project (look at the links for the online galleries on the thinkartmakeart.com Photo 1 page. What artist has the thematic or visual style that you are interested in creating)
    -Other inspiration for the project (music, movies, etc)
    -What is going to be the hardest thing for you to do for this project? What will be your biggest difficulty in creating truly great photos?
    -Some things you should be graded on specifically for this project

 

Week of March 14:

  • PHOTO ASSIGNMENT & REFLECTION: post your second week of  photographs and reflect upon your growth
  • participate in critique

    

 
 

 

 

 

Weeks of April 11, 25, and May 2: 

  •   Remaining juniors, work on your own independent projects and be prepared to turn them in, post them on here, and critique them in class. Work should show growth from week to week

 

  

Weeks of May 9, 16, 26, and 31: 

  •  We will be working to AVOID PHOTOGRAPHIC CLICHES! You will be assigned a typical photo subject each week and it is your challenge to photograph this subject in a unique and creative way. Be prepared to turn them in, post them on here, and critique them in class.
    -May 9 = flowers
    -May 16 = water
    -May 26 = trees
    -May 31 = macro 
  • Make sure you include relfective writings in your posts of this new work. How did you come up with the idea, what challenges did it present, and describe your successes and failures.
  • You should also find and post tutorials and “show and tell” posts for each week.
  • Additional assignments:
    -You will each be assigned another student in the class. You will be their photo “coach.” Make a blog post where you describe their stengths in photography, and what they need to work on. Write your reactions to their work. Also, come up with a fictional assignment for them that would challenge them to become a better photographer.
    -After the class demonstration, work on photoshop templates
    -How to sell work on Etsy.com
    -A look at the work of Lauren Greenfield
 

Week of June 13: 

•PLEASE BE REFLECTIVE AND DETAILED IN YOUR ANSWERS
•Check the EXAM catagory when you submit this post
•Include a slideshow of your best 8 pieces from this semester
•On a scale of 1 to 10, how hard do you think you worked on your photography this semester (1=nothing, 10=hardest ever) _______________
• Why do you think you worked at that level?
•How have you changed as a photographer from the beginning of Photo 1 until now?
•How have you changed as a photographer from the beginning of this semester until now?
•What are you most proud of achieving in your work this semester?
•What did you not achieve and why were you unable to achieve it?
•What are your future plans for your artwork/photographs?
•After photo 3 ends and you go on to graduate, how will you GROW and get better in your photographic work?

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