Self Portrait and Portraits Part I

Self Portrait and Portraits Part I

As we get ready to take photos soon on our new assignment, self-portrait and portrait photography. I thought you might want to look at some ideas and get something more than just looking at some photos. With that in mind - go take a look at these 4 websites.

http://digital-photography-school.com/10-ways-to-take-stunning-portraits

and

http://digital-photography-school.com/tips-portrait-photography

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/portrait-photography-tips/

http://shutterbug.com/refreshercourse/portrait_tips/197/

After looking at these, find what you think are the best 2 or 3 tips and copy and paste them into a new post on your blog (I don’t need 2-3 tips from each site, but 2-3 total, but please look at all three sites).

When you go out to shoot these types of photos, there are three main types of portraits, the environmental portrait, a self-portrait and a casual portrait. Lets go find some examples of these types of images.

Next, I want you to a Google image search “Environmental portrait” and pick out 2 that you really like and post them on your blog. Tell me what you liked about the photo and why you picked it.

Google image search “photography self portrait” and pick out 2 that you really like and post them on your blog. Tell me what you liked about the photo and why you picked it.

Google image search “casual portrait” and pick out 2 that you really like and post them on your blog. Tell me what you liked about the photo and why you picked it.

Please write a paragraph telling me your plan for your portrait assignment. Answer the following questions: who will you shoot, where will you shoot, and what will you do to make the shot successful.

Be specific on all three answers. When I read it I should know who and where you will take the photos and I should know exactly what your plan is to make sure you get a quality photo. BE AWARE I MUST SEE RULES OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

Funny Captions

Funny Captions - the right way!!

I call this assignment: FUNNY CAPTIONS. Make sure you follow the rules at the bottom, and get in the habit of doing this because from now on you will be asked to write a captions on photos you take and post on your blog, where appropriate. I expect you to learn how to do it correctly and following the rules listed below. 

Go to the following site and find the three funniest photos that capture some kind of action or emotion.

http://www.you-can-be-funny.com/Funny-Old-People.html


Save your three favorite photos in your folder on the server, and upload them to your blog. Under each photo write a funny, two sentence, caption that follows these rules:

Caption Rules:

1. First sentence includes major information about the photo (who, what, where, when, why, how). You may make up the information for this assignment.

2. First sentence should be written in present tense as if the action of the photo is still happening.

3. Second sentence should be past tense, and should include background information.

4. Information in the second sentence should not be obvious by looking at the photo.

5. If there are three or fewer recognizable people in the photo, you must give all of their names (you can make them up for this assignment).

6. Use strong action verbs whenever possible.

7. Make these funny.

Rules of Photography II

Earlier this year you learned the 6 basic composition rules of photography. Those included:

Rule of Thirds
Balance/Balancing Elements
Lines/Leading Lines
Simplicity/Background
Framing
Avoiding Mergers

Today we are going to add 4 more rules for you to think about as you continue to shoot for this class. They are:

Symmetry and Patterns (repetition)
Viewpoint
Create Depth
Cropping

We are also more clearly defining the first six rules, so their names are changing slightly, be aware of those changes.

Check out the new rules here, you can ignore the one at the end called Experiment and sub in Avoiding Mergers:

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules

Please pick a theme, I don't care what theme you choose: football, guitars, Justin Beiber, whatever.
Then use google search and find photos relating to your theme.

Find photos that show good examples of the following photo composition rules. Show me that you understand these rules. Make sure to tell me which photo = which rule, i.e. label your photos with the proper rule title.

Here are the rules again, in case you forgot in the last 2 minutes:
1. Rule of thirds
2. Balancing Elements
3. Leading Lines
4. Symmetry and Patterns (repetition)
5. Viewpoint
6. Background
7. Create depth
8. Framing
9. Cropping
10. Mergers and avoiding them - here I want you to find me a COOL merger photo.

When you have posted 10 photos – work on any missing assignments.

Prompt Shoot

Today, you will be out shooting for the first 45 minutes, when you return, you will download and save the images.

You MUST shoot in manual, so make sure you use the light meter - I will go over this quickly in class. Use the light meter, remember the equivalent exposures to get the look you want. Photography is all about light....if you get enough light, you can do whatever you want with depth of field. If you don't have enough light, you might be forced to make some adjustments, but remember if you have too much light, you might also have to make some changes as well.

Here are your prompts:

COLD
PURPLE
ELECTRIC

Mural Project and Planning

Today, you will be with your group for about 30 minutes, I expect a detailed plan from you with your draft sheet. I need your team theme and team names on the planning sheet. I also need to see details of every photo that will appear on your mural and who will be taking those photos on the draft sheet. Please make sure the draft sheet also includes how you are going to get team members names and the name of your project on the mural itself. This draft sheet will be due next class.

When you are done planning, make sure everyone knows their part in the process.

Here are the deadlines:

All photos must be turned in to Coach to be printed by Wednesday, Nov. 2.
The Mural itself must be completed by Tuesday, Nov. 8.

You will have in-class time to work on the project - but we will also have other things to do in-between so be aware of this. All photos MUST be color managed in Photoshop (levels) and you will crop the images 8.5 inches by 11 inches for tall photos, or 11 inches by 8.5 inches for wide photos.

When you have your images ready to print, ask Coach for a thumb drive, put your images on the drive and he will print them and have them to you by the next class.

There will be multiple grades for this assignment:

A self-grade - grading your own efforts
A group grade -grading the efforts of the rest of your team
A deadline grade - achieving the multiple deadlines associated with this project
A completed task grade - your final grade, I will use a rubric for this and you will have it in advance
A peer review grade - you grading another teams project - you will actually grade 3 other projects and you will get a grade for accomplishing this on time

Here are some that were done last year. I consider these the better ones, but I hope yours is better than these!!

Mural Project and Great Black and White Photographers III

Go to the following website - read the story and look at the photos:

http://www.geekadelphia.com/2011/11/18/instagram-meets-the-street-mike-smith-casey-catellis-nomnow-wheatpaste-art/

I know many of you are very familiar with instagram and some of you use it regularly. But this was a collaboration project that you read about. We will be doing the same thing in class.

On your blog please answer the following questions:

1. What theme, that we could take here at school and think of one for OFF campus too, could we do a series of these panels to place around the school?

2. Should we use phones only, or should we open it up to our regular cameras for those people that don't have camera phones?

3. Where would you want to put the mural on campus?

Our next assignments will be to shoot the group-decided theme and to create a mural like this - each group will have its own and we will print them here in this room. We will use butcher paper to mount the photos on. We will take all the photos and I will help print them here in class. Then we will hang the murals around campus (if I can figure out how to get them to stick places. Maybe we can put them on the lockers or something). You should start brainstorming ideas on what your subject might be....remember they have to be taken on campus. I will share some ideas with you.


Great Black and White Photographers PART 3

Today's Assignment - blog title 

Great Black and White Photographers part 3:

I want to know more about your selection for your favorite Black and White Photographer. Read the following directions CAREFULLY!!! For those people that did not do the previous assignments, they are still on the Bowiephotojblog and you can go back and complete them for credit on this assignment.

Do NOT sit and do nothing today. Everyone should complete some sort of Great Black and White Photographer assignment today.

On your blog please create a post with the following information:

1.) What first caught your eye while looking at your photographers photos? Is there something in particular about their photos that made you want to choose them? Post the images with your writing.

2.) Look at those 2 photos you posted last time in the assignment Great Black and White Photographers Part 2. Use your five senses to tell me more about those photos. Answer them on your blog.

I see
I smell
I hear
I taste
I feel

You can do this in 2 ways. You can either put yourself in the photo and pretend your standing next to the subjects in the photo. I know smell and taste are hard but you can do it.

Or, you can pretend you were the photographer and use those same senses.

On the one titled - I feel - you may either touch things in your photo (imagination please!!) or you can tell me what you (yes, you in the real world) feel or felt the first time you saw the photo, or how it makes you feel when you look at it now.

BE REFLECTIVE HERE - try to be descriptive, try to write more than you think you can. One sentence per prompt is NOT ENOUGH, write at LEAST 3 sentences per!!! Write more, if you think its enough, its NOT.

3.) Finally, what would you like to create to show the world your great photographer. Ideas include, posters, power points, a blog, etc. You tell me what you would like to create so we can come up with a plan to share your thoughts and ideas about your photographer with your classmates and with the rest of the school.

Africa and Abandoned Theme Parks

Africa

Visit the following website.

 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nick-brandt-a-shadow-falls-african-wildlife-photography

 Make sure that you click on the slide show link:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=nick-brandt-a-shadow-falls-african-wildlife-photography

1. On your blog post your reactions to what you read and what you saw. How about 3-4 sentences.

2. Do a google image search for Nick Brandt, find your favorite photo and post it on your blog.

3. Describe it and tell me why its your favorite.

4. What rules of photography are evident in the photos you selected, be sure to explain the rule to me?

Do a google/wikipedia search for Nick Brandt

5. What kind of camera and lens does he use and why is this important?

6. What is his reason for taking these photos?

7. What is his hope by taking these type of photos?

8. Find something he has to say about Africa, and post the quote on your blog. 


Abandoned Theme Parks

Go check out these two websites and look at the Abandoned Theme Parks around the world that some photographers think are potential places to take interesting photos.

http://www.nileguide.com/blog/2010/08/28/8-abandoned-theme-parks-abroad-open-for-exploration/

and

http://www.nileguide.com/blog/2010/05/26/8-abandoned-american-theme-parks-open-for-exploration/

On your blog - please complete the following:

1. Tell me which amusement park featured in the two articles that you would like to visit and take your camera along and what about that park made you want to go there. Write at least a paragraph.

2. Post one photo from that park. You may use the photos from the link, or you can google an entirely new photo. I would prefer to see a photo of the park in disrepair and not a photo of it when it was still operating.

3. Think of at least FIVE other unusual places you think would be of interest to photographers. List them.

4. Use google or another search engine to research ONE of your five places and see if anyone has already started documenting that place. If you find that someone has already started - post at least one photo of their work.

5. Write a paragraph about why you think that it would be fun to document that location. Tell me what interests you about that place and what kind of photos you could expect to take there.

6. Tell me what it would take for you to go and take photos at your location. What would you need as far as equipment goes, travel plans, expenses you might encounter and what laws you would have to take into consideration to take photos at your spot.

Camera SIM and Manual Settings

Time to learn how to shoot in the Manual setting.

First head to this SimCam and play around for a bit:

http://www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/play/

Now that you have had a chance to play for a few minutes, now go to this website and wait for instructions.

http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator/

Please do not set anything and do not take any photos until everyone is there.

I will be handing out a guided response paper that you will turn in at the end of class for a grade.

Photoshop tutorial

Pst 12 images on your blog: your 6 original Academic Shoot Photos and your 6 edited versions of the photos

This is a quick tutorial on how to edit photos in Photoshop. If you need help to do these steps, please ask and I will help you.

Color

Color changes take a little longer and can be much more evident to the eye.

1. Open the photo in Photoshop (there are multiple ways to do this, use whichever way you remember)

2. The first thing we want to do every time is to SAVE AS and rename your photo and save it in the correct folder. For right now that folder is your folder on the  desktop.

3. Go to – Image>Adjustments>Levels

A box should pop up on your screen. In that box is a drop down box that has RGB in it. Use the drop down box and go to >BLUE

Move the black and white slider tools (the hershey kisses) and move them as needed to be underneath the mountain.

go to >GREEN
repeat

go to >RED
repeat

go to >RGB

On this step you move ONLY the middle one which is brown (do not move the black or white slider) just slightly where the photo appears a little lighter than perfect.

Now - here are some new instructions - I will show you this quickly today, but I wanted to give you the instructions here as well.

4. The final step, go to >Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen

You should only do this one time

5. Crop and make sure you have the correct resolution as requested. Today you do not have a specific Height and Width (that will change later) and your resolution is blank (that will also change later).

6. To change the photo to black and white go to: Image>Mode>Grayscale

when the pop up appears asking if you want to discard the color information, hit yes or okay. Soon you will be asked to produce a B&W image. Today your images can be color. If you want to make one of them Black and White, I am okay with that.

7. Save and close the file