Assignment #2: What's a "Selfie" without an image of the "Self"?

Who are you, without you in it?

Your first "real" assignment is to take a Selfie...but not an ordinary one.  I want to be able to see who you are without actually seeing you.  Using your camera and any props you want, capture who you really are (or who you think you really are).

Think about good lighting and the location - where so you spend a lot of time?  What do you like to do?  What "props" can you show that will depict who you are?

If you would like to use Photoshop or Lightroom, you will have time in class to tweak your images.

Due date:  August 21, end of class

Assignment 30 - Photography Like a Pro

PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY BY DUNJA DUMANSKI

How about getting paid to do what you already know and love?  That’s right – it’s called “advertising photography”.  You’re hired to photograph a product in the best setting, lighting, and composition for an ad.  So here’s the assignment, but first, answer these questions:

Who is your client?

What is the product?

Who are you trying to sell the product to?  (Who is your target audience?)

Capture the product you’ve selected in a variety of compositions and locations.  Think about the mood, the lighting, product placement, and what you’re trying to “say” about the product.  You don’t need to create a complete ad – unless you want to – but you DO have to have at least three (3) compositions and two (2) different locations.

Post all three completed images on your blog with an explanation of what the concept is and who you are advertising for.

Due date:  May 15

Assignment #29 - What does the end of school REALLY look like?

Your assignment:  To capture what you think the end of school really looks like.  

You will be creating a poster, 12 x 18", complete with an image (or images) that capture the end of school and the beginning of summer.  Come up with a quote, a saying, something that captures the mood of what you want your viewer to feel, and use it in the composition as a final poster to be displayed.

have fun with this - we're almost there!

Due date:  May 3, end of class.

Okay, this "I am…" thing is really hard…

I know you want to just shoot and edit whatever you'd like but now you have a real job with a real client.  If you ARE having trouble with the assignment, this is the post for you.  Here are some specifics that might help.  If all else fails, ask for help and we can edit your images together.  I'm going to use an example from last year to walk you through what you need to do and think about when shooting your own "I am" images.

1.  You must set up the shot and have great lighting…your image will live or die with the settings you choose so think about time of day, using lights and/or reflectors, what is the background you've chosen - does it make sense?

This is the final image…

This is what we started with…

2.  Shoot wider than you normally would.  You will be cropping after the shoot and you need to leave PLENTY of space around your image.  Your final image MUST be 31 x 37".  Your LIVE area (what the viewer will see on the front of the canvas) will be 22.5 x 28.5".  Your final resolution must be 300.

3. Open your image in Photoshop.  The image size needs to be not smaller than 31 x 37 - your image will more than likely be larger one direction or the other.  If you make the width 31, the height might end up being 45.  You will crop later.

Select the rectangle tool

Drag the rectangle to the approximate size you want - it will appear as a new layer

Command T will select the rectangle so you can make the size 22.5 x 28.5"
…measure the edge against the ruler  to double check.

Now that you know you have enough space for the final crop and text, you can make the image correct for the canvas to be printed.

4.  Create a new file to the final size of 31 x 37" at a resolution of 300.

5.  Drag your image to the new file and position it where you like - 

6.  Create another rectangle to make sure the text fits correctly.  Your 22.5 x 28.5 rectangle MUST be centered.  You CANNOT move it around to make the crop work - that should be done when you sized the original image.

 7.  Create a new layer and select the Horizontal Text Tool.  You will be using Museo 500 - the font size I used for this image was 150 pt but yours might be larger.  You can find this font on the school computers - you probably don't have it on your personal laptop.

8.  Type in your "I am…" making certain it is within the rectangle you created earlier.  You can create a guide line to help you center it.  You have a few color options.  NDB blue, yellow/gold, or white.

Done!  Save the file as a psd in case you need to make changes, but you will be sending me the file as a jpeg.

Nicely done!

Assignment #25 - Great Portrait Tips & Let's JUMP!

Every year Notre Dame does a "jump" photo to use in the ad campaign.  Knowing exactly how to take the shot and what settings to use can be a bit tricky.  The same is true for taking fabulous portraits. 

This assignment is two-fold. 

Part 1: I want you to take a fantastic portrait shot of one (or more) person you know very well.  Think about the set up, the lighting, the composition, the mood of the final image you're after. 

Part 2: I want you to go outside and practice your hand at capturing an interesting jump image using first one person, then more than two.  Think about the location so you can capture the whole person (or people), and not have any loss of feet...

Post your best portrait and the technical information and your two best jump images, with technical information.

Due:  March 24, end of class.

Portrait Tips:

Quick Formula Rules:

Photographing one person, use the lowest aperture number your lens will allow, which is normally f/2.8.  Photographing two or three people, change your camera’s aperture setting to f/4.  Four or more people, set your camera at f/5.6 aperture.

The higher you set your aperture number, the more detail you’ll see in the photo. This isn’t always good for portrait photography. Wrinkles, pimples and other unwanted blemishes will suddenly appear multiplied.

Quick run down on those basic rules again:

One person, use the lowest aperture setting your lens will allow.

Two or three people, set an aperture number f/4.

Four or more / group shots, set f/5.6 aperture.

JUMP!

Camera settings for one person jumps:

When photographing one person jumping, always set your DSLR camera to shutter priority. This allows you to concentrate on the speed of the shot and the camera adjusts other settings to suit. The shutter speed is the most important setting for capturing the person nice and sharp. A speed of 1/400th of a second works every time.

Camera settings for groups of people jumping:

When photographing two or more people jumping, use aperture priority, yet still keep your attention on the shutter speed. Why aperture priority? There is no use photographing a group of jumpers if only one person is sharply focused. Set your aperture to f/5.6 following the rules on  aperture settings for portraits.  

A technique for groups:

Set your camera to aperture priority and choose an aperture of f/5.6. Before the group starts jumping, press your shutter button half way down while looking through the viewfinder and you’ll notice camera settings listed along the edges of the screen light up. Take note especially of the shutter speed. If the shutter speed is 1/400th of a second or faster then you are ready to shoot. If not, up your ISO to a higher number. Increase your ISO by 100 at a time and try again, adjusting from there until the shutter speed is showing as 1/400th of a second minimum.

Auto Focus:

Keep the focal switch on the side of your lens on AF. Obviously you won’t have time to manually focus.

Focal Points:

Set a middle single focal point. This set up will ensure you can easily find the focal point and focus on the person as they start their jump. If you are not sure what focal points are, then read this article on how to focus DSLR cameras.

Continuous Shooting:

Set your camera to continuous shooting, also called burst mode on some DSLR cameras.  Continuous shooting will allow you to take several shots or more per second. Your camera will keep shooting, as long as your finger holds down the shutter button. Note, cameras do limit how many you can take in any one burst until it needs to clear its cache. So if you hold your finger down on the shutter and it suddenly stops shooting, this is perfectly normal. That is your camera telling you it needs to catch up!

Pre-focusing:

If the person is jumping up and down in the same spot, what you can do is pre-focus before they leap. It’s important that they don’t change their distance from you when they jump. i.e don’t jump forward or back. For these types of shots,  sometimes press your shutter button half way down to pre-focus, then ask them to jump as you press the rest of the shutter and take several burst shots.

Should you move the camera up and down with the jumper?

Until you perfect the technique it’s best to keep your camera steady in one place. Therefore don’t zoom in too far that you cut the persons head off when they are at the top of their jump. Once you have perfected these camera settings and technique, you can then try panning up and down with the person to show motion in the background.

Assignment #24 - TED!

How Photography Connects Us

Good question - how does photography connect us?  David Griffin, the photo director for National Geographic, knows the power of photography to connect us to our world.

Your assignment:  Watch the TED Talk, on your blog, post a summary of the talk, critiquing it as to its relevance, in your opinion.  How has this talk potentially altered your views of photography? Your application to the art?

Your post should include at least three intelligent paragraphs.

Due:  March 20, end of class.

Assignment #22 - A Triptych that tells a Story

What is this?

What is the story of this triptych?

A triptych is three of something - usually "like" things put together that tell a story.  Your assignment is to make a photographic story with three images only.  Think of what your concept is first, what are you going to try to say with visuals only?  You might think of an actual story you know and try to recreate it in three frames:  What would Little Red Riding Hood look like in three frames?  The Three Little Pigs?

1.  On your blog, post your story concept in approximately one paragraph.  

2.  Shoot as many images as you think you need, then pare down to three you will use.

3.  If it helps, write the story line under each of your images for clarity.

4.  Use Photoshop, Lightroom, whatever you need.

5.  Shoot in manual and post the technical information for each image.

Due date:  March 13, end of class