Sustained Investigation Digital Photo Assignment

One-Week Project: Create a Polished Image + Evidence Materials for Your SI

This assignment will help you produce one new artwork AND show process evidence that strengthens your Sustained Investigation. Your work should clearly relate to your guiding question(s) and demonstrate ongoing exploration, revision, and problem-solving.

You will submit:

One polished digital photograph w/ AP-required written fields
One process slide showing inquiry and iteration (iteration is the process of repeating and refining ideas, techniques, and compositions through multiple versions or drafts to enhance the final work)
A short SI inquiry reflection (specific to this project)

STEP 1: Connecting to Your Sustained Investigation

Revisit your SI Question(s)
Write a 5–7 sentence SI Update addressing (journal ok!):
- How your thinking and/or approach has evolved thus far
- What you want this new image to contribute to your SI
- What you still need to explore connected to your SI that you haven’t fully developed yet. What do you not understand yet (visually or conceptually) that you still need to try, test, or figure out in future artworks?
Brainstorm 5–10 concepts for this new artwork. They could be:
- Mini sketches
- Written prompts
- Possible lighting strategies
- Symbolic objects
- Potential locations
- Materials to try
- Color Theory
- Make sure at least some ideas PUSH your investigation in new or DEEPER directions/connections.
Choose 2–3 Inquiry Paths (visual questions to explore)
- BEFORE you begin shooting (step 2), choose 2–3 visual questions (inquiry paths) you will explore during your photoshoot. These questions help guide what you experiment with.
- What's an Inquiry Path? Examples of Inquiry Paths:
  1. How does changing the lighting affect the mood?
  2. What happens when I change the angle or distance from the subject?
  3. How can color shift the meaning of the image?
  4. What happens when I use reflective surfaces or distortions?
  5. How can I stage or arrange objects/people to affect the narrative?
  6. How does the environment (indoors vs. outdoors) change how the subject is understood?
  7. What happens when I try motion blur or long exposure techniques?

NOTE: These inquiry paths are questions to investigate, not tasks to complete.

STEP 2: Photography: Inquiry + Iteration

*Your shoots should include some experimentation, not just polished staged scenes.

Take 10–30 Experimental Photos

Your photos should show exploration based on the inquiry paths you chose.
This means your images should look different from each other because you’re testing different approaches.
- What to experiment with:
  1. Different lighting setups
  2. Changing the camera angle or distance
  3. Trying new locations or environments
  4. Adding, removing, or rearranging props
  5. Using reflections, shadows, or distortions
  6. Testing different moods or colors
  7. Trying unexpected or “weird” ideas, go crazy!
  8. Any mistakes or surprising results (these are valuable!)

NOTE: Your goal is to experiment, not create a finished photo yet. These images become your raw material for editing and for documenting your artistic thinking.

2. Document what you tried and keep simple notes about:

What you changed
What worked
What didn’t
What you want to try next

*This will help with your process slide and Sustained Investigation reflection.

In simpler words:

Inquiry Path = The specific visual question you are exploring.
10–30 Images = The experiments you take to explore that question.
These photos should show variation, risk-taking, and progress, not repetition.

STEP 3: Editing

Your editing should show thought, experimentation, and problem-solving. Save screenshots throughout!

Editing Considerations
1. Try two different editing directions before choosing your final.
2. Document your tests (contrast-heavy vs. soft editing, cool vs. warm tones, etc.).
3. Track decisions you don’t use b/c this is evidence of inquiry!!!!
Record your Final Editing Checklist
1. Precise exposure and tonal control
2. Intentional color grading
3. Purposeful cropping

STEP 4: Process Slide (Evidence For Your SI)

NOTE: This slide must show thinking, not just before/after images.

Include:
- 3–5 raw photos (showing exploration)
- 1–2 editing screenshots (layers, masks, adjustments)
- Sketches or notes (handwritten ok!!)
- A brief caption (2–3 sentences) explaining:
  1. What questions you pursued
  2. What changed during making and why

*SI Tip: The process slide should help AP readers understand your investigative path, not just proof you did work. Think: What and why?

STEP 5: SI Reflection

Answer the following questions:
- What idea/question you investigated
- What surprised you in the making process
- What choices worked, and what didn’t
- How this piece pushes your SI forward
- What next steps you want to explore

*You can write this in your journal but make sure to include it in your slides for grading.

STEP 6: AP Written Fields

Make sure to submit these with your polished image on the slide.

Materials Used (100 characters max)
- Examples: DSLR camera, natural light, Photoshop retouching, Lightroom edits, LED studio lighting, ect.
Processes Used (100 characters max)
- Examples: Staged scene, color grading, masking, texture overlay, long exposure, selective edits, composite blending
Dimensions (height × width × depth, in inches)
- For digital work: depth = 0
- Example: 12 × 18 × 0 in
Digital Tools
- List all editing/photography tools:
  1. Lightroom, Photoshop, ect.
Image Citation
- Required ONLY if using external, legally sourced materials.
- Example: Cloud texture by A. Gomez, Pixabay, free license.