In-class Exercise: Before & After

PART A

1. Take the assigned photo and create 2 virtual copies of it.  
2. For the first virtual copy, make global and selective adjustments to create the best possible version of that image without manipulating color or anything that substantially changes the look of the photo.  You can adjust exposure, white balance, contrast, and highlight/shadow values to get as much detail in the shadows and highlights as possible.  Be sure to experiment with selective adjustments using brushes and gradients.
3. For the second virtual copy, get creative and make any adjustments you wish to create the most interesting and visually arresting version of the image that you can.

PART B
Choose one of your own photos from this term to work on and repeat the steps above.

Submit: 6 photos total.  Name them yourlastname_beforeafter_01, 02, etc.  Your unmanipulated images should be 01 and 04.

In-class Exercise: 12 Versions of One Image

Lightroom Develop Module

In Class Exercise: 12 versions of one photo

Adopted from an exercise by Julie Verdini

After learning some basic adjustments in Lightroom’s Develop Module, use the following exercise to experiment with some of the tools in the module.

Import a photo of your choosing (or use an existing one in your catalog).  You’ll create a virtual copy for each of the exercises below from the same ORIGINAL photo.

You can do this by either right-clicking and choosing “create virtual copy” OR from the Menu Bar choose Photo→ Create Virtual Copy.

Remember: to undo an adjustment, hold down the Command key and the letter Z at the same time.  You can also use the History panel on the lower right to step back through adjustments you’ve made.

1) Using a Lightroom Preset

On the left panel there is a list of presets.  Try them all to see their effects (remember that Lightroom will "layer" these, building one on top of the next. Be sure to click "un-do" or "Command Z" to see the full effects of each).

After playing with presets, choose a pre-set that you like, but feel goes a little over the edge on a particular adjustment. Find that adjustment on the right hand panel and neutralize it by double clicking the slider point. Continue to make adjustments until it looks AMAZING. Then save these settings by creating your own custom pre-set by choosing the plus symbol. Name it and save.

2) Manually Adjusting Color Temperature and Tint

Create another virtual copy. Using the blue/yellow and green/magenta sliders, manually create a white balance effect of your choosing.

3) Manipulating Exposure

Create another virtual copy and using the Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Black Sliders, create an exposure that is very different than your original.

4)Adjusting Presence:

Create another virtual copy. Move the clarity slider only and create an image that has a different amount of clarity than the original. Note what happens when you push the slider to extremes.

5) Color Vibrance and Saturation

Create another virtual copy. Now Using the Vibrance and Saturation sliders change the presence of your image in relation to color. See if you can notice the difference between the two. How do they operate together and isolated? Try both. Then create an image that differs greatly from the original in terms of color presence.

6) Using the Tone Curve, auto adjustments :

This tool is helpful if you want to isolate adjustments relating to highlights, lights, darks or shadows. Create a virtual Copy. At the bottom of the Tone Curve menu they’ll be a pull down menu opposite “Point Curve” Select Medium Contrast and then Strong Contrast and note the affect it makes to the shape of
the line on the graph.

7) Using the Tone Curve,  s-Curve for increased contrast:
Create another virtual copy. Pull on the line itself to create an “S curve” Note how this affects the positioning of the sliders. Now continue to “pull” the line until you get a tone that you want to keep.

8) Hue/ Saturation/ Luminance, Pt 1:

Create another virtual copy. Click on Hue and move all the sliders noting how it can isolate the hue of particular colors. Pick a dominant color in your image and drastically change its hue.

9) Hue/ Saturation/ Luminance, Pt 2:

 Create another virtual copy. Repeat the same exercise but in the Saturation panel. Desaturate a dominant color in your image.

10) Hue/ Saturation/ Luminance, Pt 2:

Create another virtual copy. Now click on Luminance and alter the luminance levels of at least three colors.

11) Black-and-White

Create another virtual copy. Now click on "BLACK and WHITE" to convert your image to grayscale. Use the “b&w mix” and note how adjusting color sliders affects even “colorless” images”

12) Photographer’s Choice

Experiment with one of the adjustments we haven’t used yet to test its effects.

Export your virtual copies with our normal export settings to share results with the class.  Rename yourlastname_DevelopModule_01, 02, etc.  Keep images in the order listed above so we know which adjustments were applied to which version.

Blog Commentary #4: Branding

You have the option of commenting on this post or #3.  Due by Week 8.

 

Both commercial and consumer photographers need to be concerned with branding and brand identity, for different reasons.   

Read the following post on brand identity to get an overview of what it may mean to photographers:

Richard Wong on Developing Your Brand Identity 
 

Commercial photographers, whose main aim is to create images that sell a product, need to brand themselves in order to be hired by ad agencies and designers who want their particular "look" to be associated with a product or design.  When creating an ad or a fashion image, a commercial photographer also needs to understand the brand identity of the product (for instance: Nike = hardcore athleticism = just do it).

Consumer photographers, who work directly for clients to produce images for personal use (weddings, portraits, etc.), create a brand identity that will appeal to the particular demographic they want to hire them (for instance: wealthy young couples who think they're hip and cutting-edge). 

Choose one of the following exercises to blog about branding and photography:

 

Option One:  Local Wedding Photographers

 

Choose two local wedding photographers from the following link to compare/contrast their brand identity:

http://www.myportlandwedding.com/photographers

Start by naming the photographers and providing the URL for their websites.   Examine their websites for their stylistic approach, the wedding packages they offer, and how they present themselves to clients on their "about" pages.  Then, answer the following questions:

How does each photographer create a distinctive brand identity?

How would you compare/contrast the style of shooting for each photographer?

Based on what they say about their work and the look of it, as well as the prices they charge, what kind of couple do you think each photographer is targeting?

Option Two:  

Choose one of the following fashion photographers and examine his or her brand identity in depth:

Javier Vallhonrat -
Ruven Afandor -
Glen Luchford -
Steven Meisel -
Solve Sundsbo -
Vincent Peters -
Enrique Badulescu -
Ellen Von Unwerth -
Peter Lindbergh -
Steven Klein -
David LaChapelle -
Donald McPherson -
Nigel Barker -
Albert Watson -
Bruce Weber -
Helmut Newton -
Tim Wal

List the name of your chosen photographer and post a URL with his/her work

How would you describe the "look" he or she is trying to market?

What campaigns has the photographer worked on for which he/she may have been hired because of their brand identity?

Why do you think the photographer's personal brand identity may have been a good fit for the brand of the product being advertised?

Shooting Project #4: Wordplay

PHD101

Introduction to Photography & Design

Shooting Project#4: Wordplay

You will start this project by blindly choosing a word from the magic tupperware.  Your challenge is to represent this word visually through a process of conceptualizing a shoot, executing it, and choosing the image that best conveys the word.

Audience - Commercial/Advertising

This project is a lesson similar to how commercial advertising photographers must work.  Art Directors have an idea and it’s the job of the photographer to illustrate in photos that idea.  Advertising uses adjectives and emotions to convey associations with a “brand”.  The process of creating an ad from beginning to end is very thought out and deliberate - a more conceptual approach.

Research

Think about your 'word' and brainstorm ideas. You may want to do an inspiration sheet - pull images from other photographers that have a similar feel to your word and then try to imitate the photo.  Once you hit on something that seems right, begin to organize your photo shoot.  You may want to do a quick practice shoot and have friends or family guess your word. If they don’t, go back to the drawing board. 

It may help to think of this as an assignment for one of your favorite products and the client wants you to create an image with their product with the emotion of the word you chose. Feel free to make this feel like an advertisement.

Due:  Week 8, beginning of class – print due by beginning of class.  You’ll have a short lab period during which to submit your contact sheet and digital version of the image.  I will be going over preparing images for print and print lab specifications Week 7 in class.

For Week 7 (next week),  you should have some “test” images shot, which can then be used for our Develop Module in-class exercise.

Submit: 

·      Your strongest image conveying your chosen word, printed as an 11” X 17”

·      a digital version of that image (submitted with all of our normal specfications and named YourLastName_wordplay_yourword)

·      a digital contact sheet with all of the images you shot for the project (no specific amount of images required).

Grading: image management & use of development to enhance color and contrast, creativity of conceptualization, and visual impact/technique.

Blog Commentary #3: Iconic Photos

Assigned in class Week 5.  You have a choice to comment either on this post or post #4 (to come next week) on branding in consumer or commercial photography.
 

An iconic photograph is a photograph that becomes well-known and recognized in popular culture, so much so that it comes to stand in for the event that it captures.  For instance, Joe Rosenthal's Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima came to stand in for American victory in WWII:

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The image became, among other things, a way to sell war bonds, a postage stamp, and a bronze memorial in Washington, DC.  It also inspired this photo by Thomas Franklin of firemen at Ground Zero, which also became an iconic image of 9/11:

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 Choose one of the iconic photographs below to research (or find your own):

– Kevin Carter - Vulture Stalking a Child

-- Richard Drew – The Falling Man

-- Huynh Cong Ut – Napalm Strike

-- Dorothea Lange - Migrant Mother

--John Filo - Kent State Massacre 

-- Mike Wells - Famine in Karamoja

-- Lewis Hine - Breaker Boys

-- Photographer Unknown - 1968 Olympics Black Power salute

-- Edmund Hillary - Tenzing on Summit

-- Françoise Demulder - Palestinian Woman Pleads with Soldier

-- Alfred Eisenstaedt - V-J Day

-- Eddie Adams - Execution of a Viet Cong Guerrilla

-- Malcolm Browne - Burning Monk

-- Stuart Franklin -- Tank Man of Tiananmen Square

-- Photographer Unknown -- Hooded Man in Abu Ghraib

After conducting some research, post a link to the photo, along with the photographer's name (if known), and answer the following questions:

What year was it taken?

What event was it depicting?

How did people react to its publication?

How does the photographer feel about capturing the image/ sharing it with the public?

Why do you think this image has become iconic?

Shooting Project #3

PHD101

Introduction to Photography & Design

Shooting Project#3: Street Photography

Due Week 6, during midterm (after some in-class shooting time)

Part I:  Street Portraits

Breaking the Ice:  Photojournalists must engage, on a daily basis, with people they’ve never met before and feel comfortable photographing them and asking them questions.  Although many of their subjects are doing “newsworthy” things and may be accustomed to media attention, others are average citizens. 

 

Assignment Objectives:  This assignment has multiple objectives: 

·       Create portraits that convey a subject’s personality

·       Think more about visual communication and how to reveal something about your subject using photographic language (light, composition, symbolic elements in the frame).

·       Collect basic caption information from at least one subject – who, what, when, where, why (5 Ws)

·       Confront the fear of photographing strangers and dealing with possible rejection!

For Part I of this assignment, find and approach at least 5 people you’ve never met before, explain who you are and what you’re doing, and ask to photograph them.  Make multiple portraits of each of your subjects, using the environment, quality of light, and your perspective on the subject to convey something about them.

You may want to choose a unifying theme for your portraits such as city workers or dog owners.  This isn’t necessary, but could give you an interesting essay and a good opening line to approach your subjects (“I’m doing a project on dog owners…”).

Collect caption information covering the 5 Ws by posing some basic questions to your subject.  You may choose to ask them about a current event or something specific to the environment in which you find them.  You will write one caption for the subject of your choice.

Tips: 

·       Wear your student ID

·       approach with a partner

·       explain your intentions

·       look for receptive and friendly subjects

·       look for subjects working in public or interacting with the public

·       find one business or location and stay there

·       offer to email a portrait to your subject

·       compliment your subject, make eye contact and smile

·       take some time to converse with and engage your subject before taking out your camera

Part II: Street Scenes

Instead of approaching subjects as you did in Part I, become a silent observer and look for interesting moments of honest emotion and interaction (components of all strong photojournalistic images).  Shoot at least 50 photos of street scenes with human interest.  Watch more clips from “Everybody Street” to inspire you, or check out the work on http://www.street-photographers.com/. 

Some street photographers are confrontational, some are quiet, some find a spot and wait for the moment to come to them, and others go hunting around a location, never staying still.  Shoot in the style that feels most comfortable and genuine to you.

Tips: 

·       Don’t try to be too sneaky – if someone catches you looking, smile, make eye contact, and look non-threatening

·       Don’t be timid

·       Carry your camera as much as possible over the course of the week

·       Carry your camera at your side and raise it up only when you’re ready to shoot

·       Scout locations where there are a lot of people interacting

·       Get your camera set for the light before your start shooting

·       Don’t go too far beyond your comfort zone and stay observant of your surroundings (bring a friend or partner if it makes you feel more at ease)

·       When photographing kids, ask first if their parents are around

·       Go to an event, festival, or tourist attraction where lots of people are out with their cameras

Week 6:  We will process these images during our timed midterm Week 6.  We’ll go out for the first hour of next week’s class to complete shooting for the project, then return to class to take the midterm.  You may shoot as much of the project as you’d like for homework, but none of the submission workflow should be performed before class.

This time, you’ll submit a contact sheet of 75-100 photos (Part I & II combined).  You’ll choose your 5 best street portraits and 5 best street scenes to resize, rename, add metadata to, and submit for critique.  For one street portrait, you’ll also be required to add the 5 Ws to your caption field in your metadata.

Grading

All shooting projects are worth 50 points and are graded according to the following criteria:

·       Image management (following assignment specifications outlined during lab period)

·       Creativity of approach to concept (effort and thought demonstrated)

·       Visual impact (use of photographic seeing, basic mastery of technique)

In addition, part of the grade for the midterm will be based on the correct import/export workflow completed within the time frame.