General Guidelines for Photo Assignments
Click the above link for general instructions on prepping your Photo Assignments, then return here for your weekly assignments.Assignment 4 - Seeing the Light
(Note: You may download this Photo Assignment as a PDF document from our
Class Downloads Page.)
Late Afternoon/Early Morning Light with Direction
For this assignment, capture a late afternoon or early morning image in which the direction and quality of the light is the principal compositional element. Rely on these aspects of the light to create the drama. See what you can do by waiting for just the right light. Donʼt be in a hurry, slow down, and allow yourself to not just look, but to “see!”
For this assignment, you may electronically submit UP TO THREE images for for inclusion on the class website.
IMPORTANT:
Please follow the guidelines for submitting your assignments electronically. Please refer to the two articles: “Tutorial-Save For E-Mail.pdf” and “Submitting Your Photo Assignments.pdf." You may download these and other files by going to our Downloads Page.
General Guidelines for Photo Assignments
Click the above link for general instructions on prepping your Photo Assignments, then return here for your weekly assignments.Assignment 3 - Seeing As Your Camera Sees
(Note: You may download this Photo Assignment as a PDF document from our
Class Downloads Page.)
Panning To Create Motion
Blur your images by panning – that is, moving your camera along the same path and speed as your subject. Doing so should cause your subject to remain fairly sharp and the rest of the image blurred. A colorful background will be most effective when being blurred in the shot.
Experiment! If using a camera that gives you the opportunity to work with shutter-speed and aperture controls, try different combinations to get the effect you want. If using a point-n-shoot camera that limits these creative controls, just accept your cameraʼs settings, and take your panning shot the same way
described above. See what results you come up with; you just might be surprised!
For this assignment, you may electronically submit UP TO THREE imagescritique in class. Show us different panning effects.
Capturing a Slice of Time via Shutter Speed; Depth-of-Field
If you can adjust shutter-speed and aperture on your camera, play around with the reciprocal nature of these controls to achieve the creative control you want; fast shutter for freezing action, slow for blurring the action, wide aperture (small f-stop) for selective focus, and narrow aperture (large f-stop) for maximum depth of field, such as landscapes with sharp foreground detail. Be sure to follow your camera meterʼs suggestions for accurate exposure!
For this assignment, you may electronically submit UP TO THREE images for projection and critique in class.
IMPORTANT:
Please follow the guidelines for submitting your assignments electronically. Please refer to the two articles: “Tutorial-Save For E-Mail.pdf” and “Submitting Your Photo Assignments.pdf." You may download these and other files by going to our Downloads Page.
General Guidelines for Photo Assignments
Click the above link for general instructions on prepping your Photo Assignments, then return here for your weekly assignments.Assignment 2 - Photographic Composition
(Note: You may download this Photo Assignment as a PDF document from our
Class Downloads Page.)
Seeing - 360 Degrees
This assignment is a great exercise meant to help you work on your shooting and composition techniques! It will also help you slow down your shooting, and really see the possibilities when shooting one subject.
Choose an object at least as large as a car. You should be able to walk around the entire object. Now, shoot around 25 images of your subject. You can shoot down on the object, get down low, hold your camera up high, move in close, back up, change lenses, and play with investigating this object in as many different ways possible, including shooting it at different times of the day. Try different camera orientations – from vertical to horizontal, and in between!
Another reason this assignment is compelling is because it gets you moving in directions you would not normally seek out. Work on making each image different and unique. Push yourself to really look for different views.
Shoot as you've never shot before. Have fun, and you may just surprise yourself!
For this assignment, you may electronically submit UP TO FOUR images from this assignment for projection and critique in class. Please don’t submit all 25 of your images! If you use a photo website you can post them all there for us to look at in class.
IMPORTANT:
Please follow the guidelines for submitting your assignments electronically. Please refer to the two articles: “Tutorial-Save For E-Mail.pdf” and “Submitting Your Photo Assignments.pdf." You may download these and other files by going to our Downloads Page.
General Guidelines for Photo Assignments
Click the above link for general instructions on prepping your Photo Assignments, then return here for your weekly assignments.Assignment 1 - Elements of Design
(Note: You may download this Photo Assignment as a PDF document from our
Class Downloads Page.)
Please choose one or both of the following photo assignments.
Choose up to THREE images from each assignment for projection and critique in class.
A. Seeking the S-Curve
The S-curve is a very graceful way to organize a composition.
This week, your assignment is to photograph an outdoor scene in which an S-curve is the dominant compositional element. It could be the water rushing up to the sand at the beach, a winding road, or flowers along a winding garden path. First, walk the perimeter of what you want to shoot, looking for the best angles and composition. Next, pick up your camera and shoot away. Photograph the scene in a number of different ways, both vertical and horizontal, symmetrical and asymmetrical. If you use an SLR camera with interchangeable lenses, try using different lenses when photographing your S-curve.
B. Seeking Texture
For this assignment, seek out a scene that is very rich in texture. The lighting will probably be raking across the subjects to create this texture. Early morning or late afternoon light usually provides this cross-lighting effect when outdoors. You can use midday lighting as a source to create texture, but your subject needs to be top lit for the high sun to act as a cross-light. Old buildings with peeling paint and weathered wood work well.
IMPORTANT:
Please follow the guidelines for submitting your assignments electronically. Please refer to the two articles: “Tutorial-Save For E-Mail.pdf” and “Submitting Your Photo Assignments.pdf." You may download these and other files by going to our Downloads Page.