Elements of Design

This assignment will help you develop your photographic eye. To do this you must begin seeing things as they appear as elements of design. The more you do this, the more trained your eye will become and you see see things as shapes, lines, textures, values and particular compositions. Remember that these elements sometimes relate to one another!

Your goal for this project is to photograph images that represent interesting compositions based on the elements and principles of design.

You will shoot 25 photographs (5 for each element) representing the elements;
 line
shape
 texture
value 
and space (show depth).

In addition to your composition, each photograph must be shot with clean craftsmanship. This means that exposure must be correct (not too bright or too dark to where we cannot see the image) and it must be focused. Remember to consider your depth of field. Be safe, and keep the camera steady. Use your camera modes and get creative!

Think of your photo composition (these are not required but strongly encouraged for a higher quality image):
See the photo before you shoot, just don't "point and shoot" for a quick photo
Be sure the photo has a center of interest (where do you want people to look?)
Balance
Movement
Pattern or Repetition
Emphasis
Contrast
Unity
Rule of thirds - DO NOT always place your object in the center of your photograph
Seek interesting visual perspectives (think "birds eye" or "worms eye" view, from high above or way below)

Eventually you will pick one of the five photographs from each element. Therefore, you will have a total of 5 photographs printed to 5x7.

You will need to post ALL your photographs on your blog. Title your blog post "Elements of Design".

Weather permitting, THIS IS DUE FRIDAY. ALL IMAGES MUST BE ON YOUR BLOG BY FRIDAY.

photo collage progress...

Getting to work!

David Hockney inspired photo collages

We are currently working on a David Hockney inspired project! Make sure to have you images ready to assemble by Wednesday, Dec 4th. Be creative and have fun. Remember that your "shape" does not have to fit in a square. Think outside of the box! 

Portrait Music Assignment

Think of these questions as you work on your portrait photography:
What kind of emotion does your song express? happy? frustrated? Whimsical? Static? Intense? Calm? etc...
What kind of colors would you see when listening to your song...would the colors be intense? dark? bright? happy bold colors? maybe muted muddy colors? Think about how color affects you!
Maybe you have a certain memory that connects to this song...what kind of objects could you incorporate into your photograph?

Click here for 10 ways to take stunning portraits....

For your song portrait, you are required to use AT LEAST two of these below.

1. Alter your perspective
2. Play with eye contact
3. Break the rules of composition
4. Experiment with lighting
5. Move your subject out of their comfort zone
6. Shoot Candidly
7. Introduce a prop
8. Focus upon one body part - get close up
9. Obscure part of your subject
10. Take a series of shots

Hi Photo Crew,

I'm out sick today (sad face), but here's your assignment for today. I'll be back tomorrow (happy face).

NOTE: A LOT of you have not yet posted your two photographs from two different photographers, and answered the questions (see previous post on this blog). You must complete this by Tuesday to receive full credit!
If you would like to se a good example of this, see Jack's or Hunter's blog. 

Note: Dario, Emily Brist, Hunter, and Cassidy....be ready to check out cameras TOMORROW for your "To Write with Light" assignment (slowing down the shutter speed in a dark room).

Kaylee & Lillian, you may return your cameras tomorrow.

We're going to start talking about Portraits. There are obviously many different kinds of portraits, but in history they were used to tell the viewer something about the individual. We take our "school portraits" for your ID cards or school photos, we take "Senior pictures" which are portraits...but there are photographers who challenge what we know about identity by specializing in portraits. Portraits can say a lot about culture, what we find meaningful, the emotions we experience, and how we relate to one another. They are very powerful in the arts and in life.

Portrait Assignment:

1. Start a new blog post, title it, "Portraits Defined".
Complete the following questions/tasks:

a. Pretend that you have walked into the Lourve (world famous fancy pants art museum in France), and the owner has asked you to help set up an art show. They will be displaying photography from 50 famous photographers, and they want to put the definition of "Portrait" on the wall. There is no dictionary, there is no internet. So, the owner asks you to write the most well thought-out definition of portrait.

(The Lourve)

Start out your blog post by defining "Portrait".

b.  Find a portrait from the internet that tells a story and post it below your definition. Include the photographer's name below the photograph. Aside from their face in the photo, it should tell you something about the person. Create a story that goes with the portrait, and include it in your blog post...make it as interesting as you can! I'm expecting a pretty good paragraph!

c. Homework: Do your best to find a portrait of yourself from when you were younger, OR, a portrait you took before the school year started. Add it to your portrait blog post when you get home, or bring in the photograph and we'll scan it tomorrow.

(Mrs. Park, age 5)

If you finish before class ends, check out this website and play around with the camera simulator!
click here for camera simulator

See you all Tuesday!

Outside photographers

Blog assignment (10/16):

PLEASE WRITE COMPLETE SENTENCES! 

Select TWO different photos from TWO different photographers. They must be someone you can identify.

Post their two photographs, and answer the following questions about each one:

1. Who is the photographer? What is something you can share about them?
2. Does their photograph show asymmetrical or symmetrical balance? Explain how.
3. Why did you select this photograph?
4. Where do you think this photograph was taken?
5. If you were the photographer, would you make any changes to their photo?

Meet the crew: