Photography I

Robin Michals | COMD 1340 Photography 1 OL89 | FAll 2020

Author: rmichals (Page 3 of 11)

Final Project

November 23, 2020 / / 0 Comments

The goal of the Final Project is to create a series of 10 related images on a theme.

You may choose to do either:

A series of portraits or self-Portraits OR

A still life series

OR working outside during the day a series on Mirrors (reflections) and Windows.

First decide which assignment(s) you most enjoyed. Then consider: do you have people to work with? Do you feel most comfortable working at home given cornona virus? Do you prefer to take photos outside?

Inspiration for Self-portraits:

Joel Meyerowitz did a self-portrait a day during last spring’s lockdown. Note how many use window light!

The New York Times ran a story on photographers working in quarantine. See some of the Joel Meyerowitz photos there.

Inspiration for Still Life:

A maximal approach – Lucia Fainzilber The Cookbook

https://www.luciafainzilber.com/work-1/project-two-zsmla

Inspiration for Mirrors and Windows:

  • Photographer: Martin Parr
  • Photographer: Helen Levitt
  • Photographer: Lee Friedlander
  • Photographer: SEbastian Hidlago
  • Photographer: Bruce Davidson
  • Photographer: Bruce Davidson

Deliverables and dates:

Due Week 13, December 1: Shoot 1 – minimum of 30 images in an album on Flickr

Due Week 14, December 8: Shoot 2 – minimum of 30 images in an album on Flickr

Due Week 15, December 15: Shoot 3 -minimum of 30 images in an album on Flickr PLUS

  • final 10 images selected, adjusted in Lightroom, and posted to an album on Flickr
  • a presentation to the class of the final images.

Example Projects:

Jennifer Humala – Portraits

Daniah Saifan – Photography and illustration

1. wake up

Razan Ikhais – still life

Final project part#part2 week 13

Week 12 – Portrait Basics

November 23, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Needed for this class

  • Camera or cameraphone
  • A window w/daylight

Portrait Poses

There are three basic positions for someone’s head and face in a portrait.

  1. Front view
  2. 3/4 view
  3. Profile

  • Front view.
    Photographer: Celeste Sloman
  • Three-quarter view.
    Photographer: Celeste Sloman
  • Profile.
    Photographer: Nadav Kandar

Expression

For family photos a smile is a must but not so for a portrait. It is however important that your subject look comfortable. It is your job as the photographer to talk with your subject and make them feel comfortable.

Focus

When shooting a portrait, the subject’s eyes must be in focus. Full stop. period.

Generally, portraits are shot with shallow depth of field to separate the subject from the background. Be careful to have enough depth of field so that the subject’s face from what is closest to the camera to what is farthest is in focus.

  • Photographer: Philip-Lorca diCorcia
  • Photographer: Helene van Meene

If you are shooting with a cameraphone that has portrait mode, it will blur what it calculates to be the background to simulate shallow depth of field. You can also use an app such as Focos to simulate shallow depth of field.

Wide Angle Distortion

Wide Angle Distortion is created when using a wide-angle lens AND the camera is very close to the subject. The object close to the lens appears abnormally large relative to more distant objects, and distant objects appear abnormally small and hence more distant – distances are extended. 

Focal length and proximity to the camera affect how a person’s face looks in a photograph. A wide focal length and proximity between the subject and the camera create wide angle distortion and will distort a person’s features.

Photographer: Chip Simons

Think about selfie sticks. What are they for but to get the camera away from your face? This makes the photograph look more complimentary to the subject. This is really important with a cameraphone because it has a wide angle lens. The center of the lens and the sensor cannot be very far apart given the thin design of cellphones.

Inspiration

  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Larry Sultan
  • Photographer: Abbie Traylor-Smith
  • Photographer: Rashida Z
  • Photographer: Rashida Z

Lab Exercises

Please complete the following lab exercises, creating a post on Openlab with the category indicated to share your results.

Homework Assignment

Final Project: Shoot 1

Due: December 1, 2020, 8 am

Lab: Week 11: The Background Matters

November 17, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Photograph a simple food item on two different backgrounds. Select an onion, a head of garlic, some grapes. Keep as much about the photo the same – the composition, the angle of view – and change the mood just with the background. The background must fill the entire frame. Adjust your photos in Lightroom.

Put the two photos in a post with a short description of what you used and how the different backgrounds change the mood of the two photos.

Category: Lab: Week 11: the Background

Photographed on a sushi mat.
Photographed on an old baking sheet.

Lab: Week 11: Back Light and Side Light with fill to brighten the shadows

November 17, 2020 / / 0 Comments

In food photography, a window is often used as the main light. The main light can be either backlight or side light. To make the food look appetizing, we generally fill or brighten the shadows.

The side of the food away from the main light will be dark. To brighten and soften the shadows, we reflect light from the main light into the darker side. Adding fill evens out the light. It reduces contrast. You can’t simply correct for this with software. When you do, you will lose detail in the brighter areas to get a good exposure on the areas in shadow.

The fill in a photo studio may be another light but in my home window studio I used a piece of white cardboard folded in half to stand up. You can try a piece of computer paper if you don’t have white cardboard. Use it to reflect the main light – which is the light from the window – back onto the subject. It will brighten the shadows and even out the light.

Working with a window as your main light, photograph a few small food items, using back and side light, both with and without fill.

First pick a background. Arrange the items on the background by the main light. Create a pleasing composition. You can shoot either from directly overhead or from a three-quarter angle which is between overhead and eye level. If direct sun is coming in the window, put tracing paper or computer paper over it to diffuse the light. If you are using a clamp light put tracing paper or computer paper in front of the light to soften it.

Shoot the scene with backlight and then add the fill.

Then shoot the scene with sidelight and then add the fill.

Adjust the final four photos in Lightroom bringing the shadows up to +50. Make sure to adjust all four photos exactly the same. I adjust all 4 photos below: Exposure +.5, Shadows +50, Black +50

  • Backlight. No Fill.
  • Bacl Light with fill.

  • Side Light. No Fill.
  • Side Light with fill.

Describe your process including how you set up the shot: If you are using a window or other light source, if you needed to diffuse it. What did you use to reflect light into the shadows. Did you get better results from back or side light?

Category: Lab: Week 11 – Back and side light

HW 9: Yummy!

November 16, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Working with something you think is delicious, create a series of appealing photographs to convince everyone else this food is good to eat. The goal is to make the food look appetizing.

Pick something simple and easy to work with. Take off and wrappers or labels. Odd numbers are visually more appealing than even so get three of whatever it is. Three cupcakes or donuts. Or you could use three fruits or vegetables. It will be easier if they are around the same size and shape. Three pears will be easier than a banana, grapefruit, and an apple. Or better yet try a bunch of grapes.

Pick a background to compliment your subject. A bright pink background will be perfect for donuts with colorful frosting while a cutting board will be better for fruits and vegetables.

Use side light with fill for 10 photos and back light with fill for 10 photos. You may shoot from overhead or a three-quarter view or a combination. Experiment with the composition. Each photo should have a unique composition. You may add simple props, a spoon, a napkin, a plate, a flower but keep it simple. Post the 20 photos to an album on Flickr.

Select your best two and adjust the two photos in Lightroom. Send them to the class group.

Due: November 24th at 8am.

« Older posts Newer posts »

License

Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

Unless otherwise noted, this site has a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license. Learn more.

Sharing

Logged-in faculty members can clone this course. Learn More!

OpenLab Help

Need help?
The OpenLab team offers a selection of Help materials, office hours, and support via email.

© 2025 Photography I

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

The OpenLab at City Tech:A place to learn, work, and share

The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.

Support

Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Credits

Accessibility

Our goal is to make the OpenLab accessible for all users.

Learn more about accessibility on the OpenLab

Copyright

Creative Commons

  • - Attribution
  • - NonCommercial
  • - ShareAlike
Creative Commons

top