Digital Art & Design

Digital Art and Design (D&D), taught by Mrs. MacKenzie, gives students skills in Photoshop, editing, and working with different cameras. There are many positives aspects from taking Digital Media, many jobs look for people who have a intermediate background in editing. This class gives students plenty of practice.

Sophomores Maddie Morris and Riley Fleck currently take the class, and were generous with sharing their thoughts.

"The thing I love most about D&D is that I am able to be creative with photography and have the independence to take photos of what I choose without many restrictions. I have learned the difference between shutter speed, aperture and ISO as well as when to use them," said Morris.

D&D allows students to work together and get innovative on different projects. Everything is very hands on, and allows the creative juices to flow.

Besides the fact that the class is a fun way to get emerged into the world of photography and editing, it also has many benefits that students can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

"My favorite thing about this class is that all of the material can be used outside of school. We learn all about DSLR cameras so we know how to use any modern camera because they all work the same way. We will also start Photoshop and graphic design which are useful normally, but can also be a career," said Fleck.

Various projects have already been achieved and put into action this year. These projects differed from using the cameras around campus, to editing digital creations.

"We just finished all of the lessons for the camera skills. We started off learning the settings and how to use shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to change the motion blur, depth of field, and exposure of an image. Then we did more difficult things like panning, which is moving the camera with a moving subject so the background is blurred but the subject is sharp. We also photographed the yoga class around campus today which was different but fun. We had to find backgrounds for them like the mural paintings on walls and keep the subject in focus but the background blurred or both in focus depending on the shot," said Fleck.

Although there are many different topics D&D covers, each class has a similar structure. Mrs. MacKenzie also makes sure to give her students plenty of asynchronous time to work on their assignments and projects.

"First, we do a warm up and spend a short while on a website called Typing Club. Then, we do an In Lak'ech which is an affirmation quote that we recite in Spanish and English. Next, we go through the slides for the day, get introduced to the incoming assignment, check out cameras and then it's photography time," said Morris.

Riley and Maddie are big fans of the class, and think that all students should consider taking it.

"I would definitely recommend digital art to any student at LCC. It is a class where you can continue to improve your skills in a low stress environment. Ms. MacKenzie is an amazing teacher as well. She really cares about each and every student and makes sure they are comfortable and in the best learning environment they can be in," said Morris.

Overall, digital art and design is a class that covers a wide variety of topics where you can grow as a student and express your creativity. It teaches skills that can help in the real world, and gives you the freedom to create what you are interested in.