Syllabus

Course Description
This course will serve as an introduction to the fundamentals of photography for students in Communication Design. Our curriculum will be based on operating digital SLRs and compact digital cameras, with an emphasis on composition and technical knowledge. In conjunction with digital capture we will examine and utilize file management, fundamental digital darkroom technique, and direct & archival printing.

The course will involve studio and location shooting during classroom laboratory sessions. Studio projects will include still and portrait exercises. On location shoots will be designed to put fundamental camera techniques into practice.

Course Objectives
To successful complete this course, you will be expected to develop your technical and aesthetic understanding of photographic media according to the following criteria:

For the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Evaluation methods and criteria:
Use professional vocabulary to discuss technical and aesthetic issues in photography.
Students will demonstrate competency in writing assignments and in-class discussions.
Frame and compose photographs using basic principles of design and composition.
Students will demonstrate competency by taking photographs both in-class and as homework.
Use available and artificial light to photograph still life, portrait and landscape subjects
Students will correctly expose photographs in a wide range of lighting conditions.
Analyze the aesthetic value and the technical competency of one’s own work, the work of one’s peers, and the work of professional photographers.
Students will display competency through in-class discussions and writing exercises.
Develop the skills necessary for collaborative teamwork.
Students will display competency through in-class team projects.

Teaching/Learning Methods
Class sessions will be designed to facilitate course objectives through group discussions, hands-on photo shoots, editing & printing photos, photo gallery visits, textbook readings and peer-to-peer review. Weekly assignments will supplement classroom discussions and activities, and will serve as a journal of your personal growth.

General Education Goals

General Education Goal:
How the goal is covered:
Thinking Critically: The student will demonstrate the ability to evaluate evidence and apply reasoning to make valid inferences.
Evaluate through class critique to determine how well students were able to advance their project concepts through creative, critical and technical decisions.
Social Interaction: The student will demonstrate the ability to work in teams, including people from a variety of backgrounds, and build consensus.
Evaluate the collaboration and integration of the team with a rubric for creative and critical team performance and project outcomes.
Lifelong Learning: The student will demonstrate an awareness of the resources for continued lifelong learning.
Evaluate through class discussion and written tests if students have developed a sensitivity and awareness of professional ethics.

Grading
Learning Journal/Weekly Assignments: 40%
In-class productivity: 20%
Mid-term Project 20%
Final Term Project and Presentation 20%

Note: Weekly shooting assignments, submitted via Flickr, are essential to your success in this course. Expect to shoot & upload at least 40-50 images, and share your best 4-5, every week.

In-class Productivity includes initiative on shoots, participation in classroom discussions, and quizzes.

Web Resources: Flickr & OpenLab
Flickr will serve as the primary web resource for this class. You will find all weekly homework assignments, and will be responsible for posting work in our Flickr group, which can be found at the following URL: https://www.flickr.com/groups/3053170@N21/

We will also be using the OpenLab internet application in conjunction with WordPress to provide access to course materials and stay current with course developments. Our OpenLab site can be found at the following URL: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/digitalphotod194fall2016

Required Equipment
You will need a camera to complete your assignments for this course. To get the most out of this class, you should use a camera that allows full manual control.

You may sign out cameras from City Tech’s equipment room. If you do not have full manual settings on your camera, you will be required to use City Tech cameras for at least one-third of your assignments.
If you need to buy a camera, refer to www.dpreview.com, keh.com or B&H photo. Please also feel free to email me with any questions regarding equipment.
Additional Required Materials
– Memory Card
– Portable External Hard Drive
– Inkjet Paper (Do not rush out to buy this – additional details to follow.)

Recommended Textbook
A Short Course in Digital Photography by Barbara London and Jim Stone (Second Edition), ISBN-10: 0205066429 or ISBN-13: 978-0205066421
($45 new from Amazon.com),
w/myphotographykit—special ISBN#020574503

Attendance
College and Departmental policies regarding attendance and lateness will be strictly upheld. Only two absences will be allowed. Students arriving after roll is taken will be marked late. 2 lates = 1 absence. After being absent two times or equivalent, a student may be asked to withdraw from the class (code W before the College drop deadline) or may be withdrawn from the class (code WU).

Please notify me in advance if you will be unable to attend a class session. It is your responsibility to obtain notes for missed sessions from your peers. You will be expected to email homework assignments to the instructor before or immediately after any missed sessions.

Absence from class does not excuse you from submitting homework assignments on time.

Field Trips
There are 4 scheduled field trips throughout the semester. Any student who is not yet 18 years old must have a signed permission form from their parent or guardian for each trip beforehand.

Academic Integrity Standards
Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.

COURSE SCHEDULE
Note: The following schedule is subject to change. Weekly Assignments on Flickr will serve as updates.

Week 1 – August 31: Introduction and Course Overview || A Very Brief History of Photography

For Next Week: Composition 1: Light & Shadow
Recommended Readings: pp. 3-16, pp. 58-59, pp. 147-151

Week 2 – September 7: Physics, Optics, Capture || Camera & Exposure Settings: Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, File Formats
Paul Strand, Walker Evans, Margaret Bourke-White, James Welling….

For Next Week: Composition 2: The Frame
Recommended Reading pp. 22-25, 40-49, 152-153

Week 3 – September 14: Field Trip: Brooklyn War Memorial Park (short trip
near City Tech) Shutter Speed and Aperture; Intro to Lightroom, Histograms
Eadweard Muybridge, Jacques Lartigue, Francesca Woodman, Stan Douglas….

For Next Week: Characteristics 1: Time and Movement
Recommended reading: pp. 74-75, 82, 122-126

Week 4 – September 21: Studio Lighting, Portraiture, Composition || Photographic Composition: Rule of Thirds, Perspective, Foreground/Background || RAW Conversions, Histograms
Bill Brandt, Irving Penn, Susan Meiselas, Fazal Sheikh….

For Next Week: Characteristics 2: Depth & Flatness
Recommended reading pp. 16-25, 154-155

Week 5 – September 28: Studio Lighting, Direction & Quality of Light || Digital Workflow: Color Management, Adjustment Layers, Curves
Seydou Keita, Dawoud Bey, Alec Soth, Deana Lawson….

For Next Week: Environmental Portrait 1 for Midterm Project
Recommended reading pp.158-169

Week 6 – October 5: Studio Shoot for Midterm Project

For Next Week: Environmental Portrait 2 for Midterm Project
Recommended reading pp. 76-87

***NO CLASSES – OCTOBER 12***

Week 7 – October 19: Edit and Print Midterm || Digital Workflow, Color Correction for print, local adjustments

For Next Week: Edit captions, upload Midterm Finals

Week 8 – October 26: 1st Quiz, Midterm Presentations & Critique
Recommended reading pp. 134-139

Week 9 – November 2: Studio Lighting: Still Life || Controlling Intensity, Angle & Quality of Light
Man Ray, Edward Weston, Fischli & Weiss, Laura Letinsky…

For Next Week: Studio 2: Still Life || Recommended reading pp. 140-145

Week 10 – November 9: Field Trip: Brooklyn Bridge Park || Quality and Meaning of Color
William Eggleston, Nan Goldin, Sarah Charlesworth, Barbara Kasten….

Recommended reading Chapter 10, History of Photography, pp. 173-192, pp. 193-203

Week 11 – November 16: Digital Workflow: Manipulating & Altering Images
Introduce Final Project: Series
Aaron Siskind, Cindy Sherman, Laurie Simmons, Carrie Mae Weems…

For Next Week: Ideas for Final Project
Recommended reading pp. 109-112

Week 12 – November 23: Field Trip TBD

For Next Week: Final Project, Write 3-4 Paragraph Statement for Final Project

Week 13 – November 30: Digital Workflow: Output and Color || Understanding devices and media
Work Session: Edit & Color Correct Final Project

For Next Week: Final Project

Week 14 – December 7: Contemporary Uses of Photography || Quiz 2 || Work Session: Print Final
Broomberg & Channering, Trevor Paglen, Walid Raad…

For Next Week: Finish Printing Final Project, Post Final Images

Week 15 – December 14: Final Presentations
Presentations & Critique of Final Project