Independent Study

Choose a Theme and explore it in 2 different ways.  The idea is to investigate in-depth a visual/conceptual idea over the course of the semester from two different approaches.  What you do and how you do it is up to you, but working with this theme for the semester is supposed to encourage the following:

1. experimentation and risk taking,

2. development of vision over a period of time

3. growth in terms of technical competence and skill with materials (cameras, lighting equipment, Photoshop, printers, etc)

4. refined awareness of lighting and composition

5. purposeful visual communication

This is based on how the scoring guidelines that College Board uses when grading portfolios by AP Studio Art students.  While SFHS doesn’t offer an AP studio art course, as Independent Study students, you could technically be working at the same level as AP students.  College Board looks at the following things when rating/grading portfolios:

1. The Ranges of Approach, or how you approach an idea from different perspectives, techniques, materials, etc.

2. The Quality of your work, especially in the selection of which pictures you choose in your final portfolio.  You shoot at least 50-100 pictures for each project, but you only choose 5-10 of them to print up.  Why do you choose these specific pictures, and are they in fact the best pictures to communicate you idea?

3. The Concentration or Sustained Investigation of your theme.  College Board wants to see an in-depth investigation into an idea that shows you’ve spent time considering, developing, and creating with this idea in mind.  I want to see growth!

Yes, obviously, you’re NOT in AP, but it’s good to look at what other student artists (like yourselves) are working on and working toward.  College Board has examples of high-scoring work with rational about why these projects are successful.  You should check them out: HERE is one, HERE is another.  I’ll include some specific ones in the Inspiration folder. Look through some of their work and see what makes a portfolio successful and work toward that throughout this quarter.

Week 1: Research:

Take a look at the examples linked above and in the Inspiration folder.

Write about, collect examples, look at other photographers within a field/area of topic you admire, make lists, mind maps, word association games etc. anything to help inform yourself of potential themes. No idea is a bad one at this point. Collect all your ideas in one place and submit.

Week 2: Project Proposal:

Your first challenge: Decide on a theme.  To do this, look back at your work from Digital Photo 1 and see what you enjoyed shooting/making, what you feel passionate about, and what else you want to explore more thoroughly.  Ask yourself: What ideas have you been encountering in your other classes (or in life in general) and how can you tie that into photography?  Once again, at the end of the day, this theme should be something meaningful to you because you will be working on it for the rest of the semester.   Write a paragraph or 100 words or so proposing your theme. Clearly explain what your theme is and why it's important to you. 

 Week 3: Sketching

Sketch or write the photos your plan to take. Consider how you might set up the composition and how multiple photos will look together in a portfolio. Do they all have the same compositions, will they be different. How might you unify multiple images? Take a picture of your sketches or anything your doing to prepare and submit.

Week 4: Photo Compliation Test:

Start taking pictures! Start shooting to refine your idea. Put some of them into one photoshop file to see how they are working together. Submit the compliation. I would choose between 3 to 5 of your best images communicating your theme. Continue researching and revising your theme. Share any writing or sketches you've added. I consider this a work-in-progress check-in. I want to see how your theme is taking shape visually.

 Week 5 : Testing, Testing!

Take a look at some of these ideas and utilize 1 of the techniques. Let me know what materials you need ASAP. Report your tests and findings by the end of the week. What did you try? How did they turn out? What would you do differently? Does this technique help communicate your theme?

Week 6 - 9: Editing and Adding:

Edit the photos you did take, add to your options for your portfolio aka take more photos. The more you take the better you get. My mentality when photographing: "take a hundred photos and you might get a good one."

Week 10: Printing: Several test prints. Add to them with other media, testing how they look together and in what order. Playing with composition of your display. How do you want to present your final portfolio?

Week 11: Physical Portfolio: 5 - 8 printed and with a final written artist statement. Due by May 16th