Photography 2 continues the skills and concepts introduced in Photography 1. We begin with a review of design and of camera controls. Projects may include: Landscape, Documentary, an Homage Project, and a final project on a topic chosen by the student. Artistic experimentation is encouraged. Students discuss their work extensively in order to promote their artistic development.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What is unique about photography among all the expressive arts?
• How does changing technology affect the uses of photography?
• How do photographers choose and frame subjects and what does this imply about human and artistic priorities?
• How can the practice of art influence human wellness?
• How can photography tell a story?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What do you believe is an important subject to photograph and represent?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• identify a subject or topic of personal interest to photograph

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

• seek out a subject of his or her choice
• create photographs that creatively interpret that subject

Objectives

• understand that it is possible to use the elements of art and the principles of design to create dynamic compositions that attract interest and communicate ideas and emotions.
• understand that artists often use their work to raise questions that have no simple answer.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• How does a solid understanding of camera controls help us to make stronger photographs?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• identify controls for exposure, ISO rating, flash, and focus on his or her own camera.
• describe the purpose of these controls

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - Exposure

• create a series of 5 photographs experimenting with different ISO Ratings
• create a series of 5 - 8 photographs experimenting with different shutter speeds, while allowing the camera to determine the aperture
• create a series of 5 - 8 photographs experimenting with different shutter speeds, while keeping the aperture constant
• create a series of 5 - 8 photographs experimenting with exposure compensation.

Objectives

• learn that a strong grasp of camera controls allows photographers to determine how their photos look and what the photographs communicate.
• learn that exposure (to light) is one of the most powerful creative controls available to a photographer.

Examining the Content

• show evidence of fstops, shutter speeds, ISO ratings, and use of exposure compensation in 10 - 30 shots (film or digital)
• print and mount one photograph and record exposure information on the back.

Lesson Option 2 - Focus on Focusing

• create a series of photographs of the same three dimensional subject, with the focus on different depths within the subject

Objectives

• learn that a strong grasp of camera controls allows photographers to determine how their photos look and what the photographs communicate.
• learn that the ability to determine where the lens focuses is one of the most powerful creative controls available to a photographer.

Examining the Content

• shoot 20 – 30 photographs bringing the focus to the foreground, middle ground, and background.
• shoot several photos that frame the area of focus in the center, and several where the area of focus is off-center.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What is new to Photoshop and how can it help us to make art?
• How does digital imaging software change the way we use and understand photography?
• How do text and images interact to communicate meaning?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• locate and Identify the relevant new tools and techniques on the Photoshop screen
• apply these new tools to a photograph

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - What’s New?

• create an image that shows the effects of one or more of the new tools and manipulations available in the most recent version of Photoshop.

Objectives

• learn that technological developments can open up new creative possibilities

Examining the Content

• create a photographic image that demonstrates one or more of the relevant tools and manipulations.

Lesson Option 2 - Text and Image

• consider the work of Barbara Kruger and other artists who combine photographic images and text to create graphic compositions that provoke questions about society.
• create a unified image in Photoshop that combines his or her own photography with text in a graphic way in order to communicate or question an idea about our culture.

Objectives

• learn that images and words are powerful modes of communication and that they can strengthen each other.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What are the special qualities of darkroom and digital photographs?
• What are some of the ways to convert a color digital photograph into a black and white photograph?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• show at least two ways to make a black and white photograph

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - Darkroom Photographs

• create photographs using darkroom printing methods

Objectives

• learn that traditional darkroom photography has its own methods, environment, and aesthetic which yield unique creative results.

Lesson Option 2 - Converting a Color Digital Photograph to Black and White

• create a black and white photograph from a color digital photograph
• analyze the contrast and composition of the photo and make any necessary adjustment.

Objectives

• learn that there are several ways to convert a color image into black and white, and that each way offers particular advantages and ways of manipulating the tones in the final image.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What are some of the ways a landscape can be photographed?
• Where can beauty be found?
• What are some strategies we can use to make photographs at night?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• describe features of a traditional or typical landscape photograph
• describe possible ways to make photographs outside of that tradition
• D\describe various ways of exposing landscape photographs

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - Typical and Atypical Landscapes

• consider a variety of traditional and non-traditional landscape photographs from historical and contemporary photographers such as Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter, Laura McPhee and Virginia Beahan, and images from the International Center of Photography’s Ecotopia Exhibition.
• consider the conventions of postcard photography
• describe traditional and nontraditional features of these images

Objectives - The student will . . .

• learn that the genre of landscape photography has its own conventions and that by playing within these rules, or by creatively breaking them, he or she can communicate personal responses to and ideas about our environment.

Lesson Option 2 - Atmospheric Perspective

• describe the effects of atmospheric perspective in the work of artists such as Leonardo a Vinci and photographers such as Bae Bien-U
• determine when weather conditions are favorable for shooting photographs of mist and fog.
• select scenes where mist or fog are fading the appearance of colors and values in the distance, and bringing things in the foreground into a greater saturation
• frame and shoot photographs of this phenomenon

Objectives

• learn that atmospheric moisture can create a sense of depth in a painting or photograph, because of the contrast between the saturation of subjects in the foreground with the faded quality of the background.

Lesson Option 3 - Where can Beauty be found?

• consider the possibility of finding beauty and inspiration in unusual places
• seek beauty in unusual places
• create images of beauty in places where one might not expect to find beauty

Objectives

• learn that beauty is not limited to particular places and things, but can be coaxed out by an attentive and perceptive seeker.
• learn that he or she has a great amount of power in selecting and framing images that can make viewers perceive something they may have never noticed.

Lesson Option 4 - Shooting at Night

• identify the controls for flash, exposure, and self timer on his or her camera
• explore a variety of ways to make photographic images in the evening and night
• describe the distance range of the flash settings

Objectives

• learn that long exposure times, different flash settings, and the self timer setting all serve to aid the photographer in making photographic images of dark scenes.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What are the purposes of documentary photography?
• Can photographic images help to improve social and environmental conditions?
• What can photographs made in public places tell us about our society and our moment in history?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• consider and Describe the work of photojournalists and street photographers
• identify a subject, topic or place that he or she will document with photography

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - Portrait and Interview

• consider the work of several documentary photographers such as Fazal Sheihk and Zana Briski
• create a list of questions that will yield interesting responses from a subject whom they do not know well
• communicate to their subject the purpose of the project and ask for his or her participation
• create a photographic portrait of that same person by taking at least 30 shots.
• select 1 – 3 photographs to print and mount
• evaluate the interview text to determine which are the most significant parts and include those parts in the final mounted presentation

Objectives

• learn that the process of photojournalism requires a respectful, open attitude and a willingness to push beyond one’s immediate circle of friends.
• learn that asking the right question can open up new areas of understanding between people
• learn that presenting a subject’s photograph and words together creates a powerful portrait.

Lesson Option 2 - Street Photography

• consider the work of street photographers such as Garry Winogrand and Alfred Eisenstaedt
• identify a public place or event to document
• evaluate different ways to approach this assignment
• create one or more candid photographs of people in public places

Objectives

• learn that candid photographs of people in public places can be revealing of our culture and time

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What are the purposes of the photographic images we see in newspapers, magazines, television and film?
• How can these images affect our perception of self and others?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• collect images from the media (there may be a particular topic, such as images of a particular gender, or an event)
• describe the images
• evaluate the images from various points of view, such as the maker of the image, the publication, the subject, a high school student etc)
• listen openly to the opinions of others
• discuss their own interpretations
• consider possible ways to approach these kinds of images in the future

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

• photographic images are powerful and can be used for a variety of purposes
• he or she has the intelligence and power to interpret media images

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• Why do artists visit museums and galleries and how does looking at art, and reflecting on art influence the making of art?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• identify the work of a particular artist
• describe the qualities in the work of that artist that interest the student
• describe the qualities in the work of that artists that have been determined to be significant by critics or scholars in the field
• apply Photoshop skills and methods to adjust the student photographs

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - Homage Project

• evaluate the work of an artist they admire
• select something significant such as a method of working, color palette, choice of subject, etc that is particular to that artist
• create their own original photos based on this one selected thing

Objectives

• artists feed their creativity by looking at the work of other artists
• artists making original work do not copy the work of others, but rather mine it for useful inspiration
• artists use their minds to reflect on the ideas in art

Lesson Option 2 - Art History and Photoshop

• select a significant work of art from history
• analyze the position of the figures and the lighting in the work of art
• plan a way to reproduce the lighting conditions in the studio
• recruit a volunteer to pose
• communicate the project and the student’s ideas to the volunteer
• create photographs based on the historical work of art
• evaluate the historical work of art, and the photograph to determine what adjustments need to be made in Photoshop
• create a Photoshop image which is a seamless blending of the two images

Objectives

• learn that art history is full of compelling images of people
• learn that lighting is a central element in photography, as well as in painting
• learn that studio lighting can be arranged to produce areas of light and shadow of greater and lesser intensity
• learn that Photoshop offers a number of ways to adjust color, value, and opacity

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What is special about the relationship between photography and time?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• Describe at least three ways that photography can document a moment in time, or the passing of time.

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - Time

• consider the various camera settings that allow a photographer to record images of movement & change over time (fast and slow shutter speeds, continuous shooting etc)
• consider Henri Cartier-Bresson’s idea of “The Decisive Moment”
• consider Nicholas Nixon’s “Brown Sisters” series
• consider other photographs that creatively deal with time
• plan a way to document a subject over a given amount of time
• create a photograph or a series of photographs showing the effects of time

Objectives

• learn that photography has a special ability to capture moments in time, and to document in a palpable way the passage of time.

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What are some other art materials that can strengthen the impact of photographic work?
• How does the material used affect the communication of an idea?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

DEVELOPING AN UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

• identify a subject or topic of interest

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

Lesson Option 1 - Photography and Other Art Media

• explore a topic of interest using photography
• create a series of photographs inspired by the topic or subject
• consider the work of various artists who incorporate photos into books or who use photography as a starting point for artworks
• consider possible materials that could be related to the photographs and which could be used to help communicate the ideas in the photographs
• create a book, sculpture or other physical form in which to incorporate his or her photographs

Objectives

• learn that physical materials can be employed by artists to communicate ideas