STUDY PROGRAMME
Photography and Visual design

AFAM CODE
ABTEC38

DISCIPLINARY AREA
Digital applications for visual arts

DISCIPLINARY FIELD
Computer graphic

CREDITS
4

APPROACH
Theoretical/project based

The course is divided in two complementary parts.

The first part provides advanced competences in the use of photo editing softwares, colour adjustment (Photoshop, Bridge...) and specific plug-ins for the digital editing of photographic images. The students will analyse the work of authors who, from the end of the last millennium, have introduced such practices in their artistic work, reaching the most recent declinations of this research line in our days. The study path combines theoretical analysis, technique and practice in a dedicated classroom, equipped for the purpose.

The second part deals with digital photo printing. From file preparation to their transfer on paper, techniques and materials are experimented with in the laboratory. Particular relevance is given to colours, from the related optical-physical properties to the meanings it conveys.

The total CFA credits for this course are 4. The course includes the following didactic sections:

• PHOTO EDITING

• DIGITAL PRINTING

Successful students will be able to:

• Identify digital interventions on existing images

• Use the main photo editing software programmes

• Translate ideas into images through digital reworking

• Prepare files for any kind of prints, up to fine-art

• Print images using the most contemporary digital technologies

The course contents include in-depth study of the following topics:

• Basics of photo editing

• Photoshop, Bridge, Camera Raw

• File compression and quality

• Use of masks and layers

• Digital colour correction

• Curves

• Basics of analogue photography printing

• Digital printing: equipment and technology

• Printing laboratories

• Colour theory and technique

• Inks

• Papers

• Print files

The semantics of printing: photography printing as a tool to convey meaning

This is a theoretical/project based course Throughout the course, the students will carry out didactic activities that are functional to achieving the learning goals, that in all modules may include:

• Classroom lectures

• Photo editing sessions in a dedicated classroom

• Printing sessions in the laboratory

• Field trips

• Individual study and research

• Use of tutorials, videos or other media tools for detailed study

The didactic sections that are part of the course will be assessed separately. The course has no final marks - only qualification will be assessed.

Further details on mid-term tests, if any, can be provided by the professors during the course. Assessment criteria include commitment, active participation and personal growth of the students during the course.

• Ghirri, Luigi, Lezioni di fotografia, Quodlibet, Macerata 2009.

• Goethe, Wolfgang Teoria dei colori, Il Saggiatore, Milano 2014.

• Wittgenstein, Ludwig, Osservazioni sui colori: Una grammatica del vedere, Einaudi, Torino 2015.

• Manuali d’uso dei software Adobe Photoshop e Bridge.

Further bibliographic recommendations may be provided by the professor during the course. A lot of the referenced material, together with other in-depth study material, can be consulted online in MyNaba, in the Library section.