Welcome to Digital Photography

Your computer is your darkroom.
Your software is free.
The world is your gallery.

Digital photography is the act of capturing light on a photo censor and storing that information in digital format. In this course you will learn the basics of taking pictures using digital photography, the difference between the types of cameras and the basics on photo editing. You will need to participate in the discussions forms as well as the assignments. Please don't jump into an assignment until you have read all the lessons pertaining to that assignment.

Disclaimer:
Photographers take photos of everything and post them on the internet. This course will only be participating in school appropriate photography. Please be careful when browsing the internet for photos to critique. I don't want anyone to end up seeing something the didn't want to. I will try hard to keep the links I provide free of offensive materials but I can't control what photographers have posted. If you come across a problem with a link I provide please let me know.


New! - I have created a flickr group so we can share our photos of the Prescott area. All photography students have an open invitation to join the flickr group http://www.flickr.com/groups/prescottphotos/ this is a place to get your Prescott area photos out for others to see.

Due Dates: TBA

Assignment - What camera is right for you?

Here you will look up cameras and learn about them. If you already have a camera you will be using look up that camera. Find out what it can do. Chances are that you may not know what every setting is for on your camera and what it does. This is a good chance to find out. Get out your owners manual, look it over, compare you camera with other cameras out there. Point and Shoot cameras are updated almost twice a year, so it doesn't take long for them to add new features to the camera you purchased.

Assignment - Photographer's Rights

Photography rights are vague and contradictory at best. This is because they are based off privacy lays that different judges interpret differently. This section is to help you make judgments for yourself. Whenever I am in question I feel it is better to error on the side caution rather then take a chance. Nothing can be better then talking to a lawyer when in question.

Photo Editing Software

In this section you will learn some basics photo editing techniques. The two programs covered here will be GIMP and Photoshop. During this course you may use either program. As I have time I will keep posting more tutorials and information about the two here so keep coming back here and to see if anything new has been posted. These programs can really finish off the photos you take.

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GIMP Tutorials and Resources -

GIMP is an extensive photo editing/creating software program. It is open source software, meaning it is free to use and share. It is very robust and is designed to be a complete alternative to Photoshop. You are welcome to do your assignments using GIMP. I will install GIMP on a few computers in the lab but it would be more beneficial if you downloaded it your self for your own computer.

Assignment - Explore Common Pre-Set Setting

Common preset options are found on just about every point and shoot camera. They are nothing more than pre-programmed settings for certain types of photography. They include auto, speed, landscape, portrait, etc. You can achieve the exact photo by setting all these values yourself in a more manual shooting mode which we will learn later. If your camera doesn’t have these settings don’t worry, you just need to know they exist and what they are for because there will be a time when you will use someone’s camera that has these and they help you understand what you will be doing when we dive into more manual settings.

Assignment - Shutter Speed

In this assignment you will learn how to use the shutter speed settings on your camera in order to get the the desired amount of motion in your photograph.

Shutter Speed can be a very useful feature on your camera. It can freeze or blur movement allowing the photographer to be very creative. Take a look at the two photos on the right side. I took those photos only changing the speed of the shutter. See how much of a difference it makes?

Assignment - The Aperture (F/stop)

The aperture is part of the exposure settings and thus is part of the exposure settings. It also allows you to control the DOF.

Assignment - Manual Mode (M Mode)

Your in total control of your camera. Shutter and aperture are yours to be creative with. Remember all that you have learned about aperture and shutter speed so far and apply it here. The light meter will be your friend in this assignment.

Exposure, Metering, & HDR

Exposure is the brightness of objects in your framed photo. Metering is what parts of your framed scene will be taken into account when deciding the shutter speed and aperture settings to get the correct exposure.

Assignment:
Lines Pattern Texture

Look around and you'll find interesting patterns and lines everywhere around you. One of the best places to look is in the school parking lot. Use your macro setting and get up close to shoot some tail light lenses.

Assignment
Black and White Photography

Originally all photography was in black and white. Now days our cameras can support millions of different colors so we can record it the same way our eyes see it. So why is it still black and white photography still so often used? In this assignment I want you to explore the black and white world. Set your camera settings to take photographs in black and white and start clicking away. If you don't have a black and white setting you will need to use your photo editing software to change the colors to black and white.

Assignment:
Backgrounds

What is the perfect background? Most are sized at 1024x786 pixels and have interesting shapes and patterns. Some are landscapes or funny scenes. Find yours and you can upload it to Flickr's collection or go to google's images and search for backgrounds.

Assignment
Moving Photography -

In this assignment you will photograph things that are moving. Remember all the things you learned about shutter speed you may want it slow or fast. Find several things that are moving photograph them and then post your favorite here. You need to explain why you choose that particular photo. What did you like about it better more then the rest of your photos. What settings did you choose to use to get the effects you wanted and why. The don't forget to comment on other students photos.

Assignment:
Themed Photo Shoots

Turn your photographer's eye loose on your city this week. The first theme is street photography. The second theme is age.

Assignment:
Framing

We're not talking about the framing that holds up the walls of a house and we ARE talking about more than picture frames. Framing in photography can be around, behind and/or in front of the subject. See the framing tips resource for some good examples.

Assignment:
Exploring Light

Backlight, sidelight... In this lesson you'll explore how to take advantage and even create interesting lighting for your photographs. It doesn't take expensive equipment to make a lighting studio. Just borrow the livingroom table lamp and use a tripod to eleminate camera shake.

Assignment
Patriotic Photos Week

This week is patriotic week. Here you will go out and take photos of patriotic things you encounter around town or wherever you are. You will then bring back your favorite photos to share with everyone. You need to explain why you choose that particular photo. What did you like better about it then the rest of yours. What settings did you choose to use to get the effects you wanted and why. The don't forget to comment on other students photos.

Assignment:
Senior Photo Shoot
You have seniors in your school who will enjoy posing for this assignment. Consider everyting you're learning about light, lines, texture and composition and you'll end up with some great photos.

#1 Tip: USE A TRIPOD. Nothing ruins a great photo like camera shake. Don't risk blurry photos. Use a tripod.

Assignment Gallery Day #6 -
Photo Journalism Photo Essays

Look through several photojournalist sites and follow the instructions in the assignment.

Assignment:
Photo Essay

Your final project will be a photo essay. First we'll take a look at photo essays from other photographers. Then you will create your own photo essay. Your work in this assignment will showcase much of what you have learned in this course.

Assignment Infrared Photography

If we have time, we will do this assignment. If you don't have the correct equipment for this you may barrow mine under my supervision. In this assignment you will learn how to take infrared photos and edit them using your photo editing software.