1335 - Digital Photography
Course Description
Students wishing to participate in this course must have access to a DSLR or mirrorless camera. If a camera does not have an interchangeable lens and digital controls, it will not be appropriate for use in this course.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but can you do better? Composition, selective focus, saturated colors and proper exposure all combine to produce images that make the best use of digital photography's tools in order to tell great stories. Ideal for both enthusiastic hobbyists as well as serious amateurs, our course will utilize a combination of class lectures and photographic assignments to convey the importance of megapixels, file compression, and print-versus-email output. We will also explore the more complex aspects of photography: lighting, composition, color, depth of field, and more. Students are encouraged to share work for enhancement of class discussions.
*Students are encouraged to delay the purchase of supplementary equipment until after class discussions.
Course Outline
Lesson 1: Introduction
- Similar Images Comparison
- Visual and Composition Techniques to influence the viewers’ experience of an image
- What Makes a Photograph Work
Lesson 2: The Basics of Good Exposure and How to Control Depth of Field
- Digital Photo I Essentials
- Basic Exposure
Lesson 3: Mysteries of Camera Menus
- Delving into the mysteries of camera menus
- Examining which of the many options influence the image, which choices change the functions of the camera and which choices can be ignored
- Menu Controls
Lesson 4: Raw vs. JPG Formats
- Shooting Raw
- Prepare for Email: JPG Compression
- Controlling White Balance: “The Color of Light”
- Camera Settings
Lesson 5: Factors Involved in Choice of Lens While Shooting
- Wide-angle vs. Telephoto
- Photographing People
- How to Shoot Environmental Portraits
Lesson 6: Saturated Colors and Course Review
- Saturated Colors
- Review of course
Learner Outcomes
After this class, participants will be able to:
- Identify aesthetic methods of creating more impactful, involving photographs, including composition techniques, depth-of-field control, and use of patterns, lines, and thoughtful backgrounds
- Choose the digital camera controls that enable them to produce the highest quality image files
- Practice fine tuning exposures while shooting
- Practice choosing options for resolution and digital output for online sharing, images or printing
- Explain when and why to use wide-angle vs telephoto lens
- Identify how to control White Balance while shooting and in Post-Production
- Practice photographing people, both candidly and posed
- Evaluate and explain the importance of color saturation in a photograph