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10/21/2008 03:57:15 PM · #1 |
I'm looking for some ideas for assignment topics for a college-level photography class. These topics are NOT the general ones like aperture, depth of field, technique, composition, lighting, etc. I'm looking for some unique assignment ideas that teach specific concepts that do not relate to general photography class topics.
For those of you who are professional and advanced amateur photographers, what sort of 'issues' have you run into in the real world that aren't 'textbook' in their solutions? I have a list of ideas in mind, but I would like to hear some others to help improve a local college curriculum. |
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10/21/2008 04:42:32 PM · #2 |
Leading Lines(making sure nothing in your photograph takes the readers eye out of the photograph)
Thats a huge one that I've been working on lately. Not sure if that is "textbook" or not.
Portraying Emotion to the viewer (huge in keeping someone looking at it)
Portraying Movement (half second or quarter of a second exposures on street photography)
Not sure if thats what you are looking for, but just a few that came to mind.
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10/21/2008 04:46:32 PM · #3 |
I used to require my students to hang their camera around their necks, focused at hyperfocal with a WA lens, strapped around their waist with a bungee cord, cable release mounted, and to walk around taking pictures of what they saw with their eyes, to escape the tyranny of the viewfinder. Does that help?
R. |
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10/21/2008 06:01:27 PM · #4 |
| I had a class where we got very open ended, conceptual assignments. For example, one was "The Chair - Use photographs to illustrate the idea of a chair." A similar assignment was to create an interesting photograph about onions. |
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10/21/2008 06:13:06 PM · #5 |
one of the last courses i took had us all dntown
we were assigned streets (in pairs or trios) + shot 'interesting' things / street people signage, some with fill flash , dusk & bringing out the colors of twilight |
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10/21/2008 06:54:50 PM · #6 |
I once had to take 100 pictures of eggs. The point was: after you get past the obvious, where do you take your imagination. Subpoint: take lots of pics and try lots of things- film days.
Oops - nevermind - that was Textbook
I'd like to see a discussion of moral responsibility. Is it taking advantage of a homeless person to take his photo? What if you pay him? What if he's your friend. Similarly, travel photos. What is exploitive? Are there lines to be drawn?
Message edited by author 2008-10-21 19:01:33. |
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10/21/2008 07:08:35 PM · #7 |
natural diagonals--created by patterns of highlight and shadow rather than placement of subject(s)
storytelling--relating to the human condition more than illustrating an actual story
use one small detail to create the bigger picture in the viewer's mind
use the camera as a tool of your will to completely domimnate your subject
deliberately mis-use the camer'as controls to add emotion to the shot
Hey, please finish the story & let us know what happened. What assignments you gave & how did they do? |
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10/22/2008 10:34:24 PM · #8 |
| There was the blind photographer wo took pictures of interesting sounds. |
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10/23/2008 12:48:39 AM · #9 |
Maybe I should try to clarify a little more...
What if the class was called "Creative Problem Solving" and you had to come up with assignments for this class?
Example: You are a studio portrait photographer. You are getting ready to start a session with a client. You have your cameras and lights set up, and you are in your studio with your client getting ready to start. You pick up your camera and your 85mm lens falls off the mount to the floor and becomes damaged. You don't have another 85mm lens, and you had carefully planned to use this lens for this shoot. How do you react and what do you do?
Example: You arrive on location for a photo shoot. You are photographing a corporate CEO for a photo spread in the company's upcoming annual stockholder's report. The original request was for photos of this person in his office at his desk. When you arrive, the CEO tells you that he would rather have photos outside in the arboretum. The weather outside is hot and sunny. How do you react and what do you do?
The above are situational examples. We could also have some hands-on creative problem solving assignments such as putting a student in a less-than-optimal situation and asking him/her to produce photographs. These situations could include improper or sub-optimal equipment, improper available light, poor weather, et cetera.
The overall objective is to create problem solving skills for photographers. As a professional photographer, when you are put into a situation that simply sucks for whatever the reason, you still have to produce images. It's a given fact that the images you produce won't be what you wanted or had envisioned in the planning process. You can't let your customer see you sweat...
Any more ideas? |
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10/23/2008 01:52:51 AM · #10 |
| Tai chi chuan, at least a semester - useful when image stabilization fails. |
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10/23/2008 02:40:36 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
The above are situational examples. We could also have some hands-on creative problem solving assignments such as putting a student in a less-than-optimal situation and asking him/her to produce photographs. These situations could include improper or sub-optimal equipment, improper available light, poor weather, et cetera. |
My first thoughts were of some common but difficult lighting, like dark cliffs by the seaside (one I just had), or maybe a mostly-backlit subject with no flash available. |
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10/23/2008 03:19:15 AM · #12 |
| "suboptimal equipment" just made me think of a cell phone/camera phone assignment. |
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10/23/2008 08:15:04 AM · #13 |
| You are asked to photograph a CEO, you don't do your research ahead of time. When he comes in he is Sudanese and blacker tnan night. How do you light him? What background do you select? |
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10/23/2008 11:02:43 AM · #14 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Maybe I should try to clarify a little more...
What if the class was called "Creative Problem Solving" and you had to come up with assignments for this class?
Example: You are a studio portrait photographer. You are getting ready to start a session with a client. You have your cameras and lights set up, and you are in your studio with your client getting ready to start. You pick up your camera and your 85mm lens falls off the mount to the floor and becomes damaged. You don't have another 85mm lens, and you had carefully planned to use this lens for this shoot. How do you react and what do you do?
Example: You arrive on location for a photo shoot. You are photographing a corporate CEO for a photo spread in the company's upcoming annual stockholder's report. The original request was for photos of this person in his office at his desk. When you arrive, the CEO tells you that he would rather have photos outside in the arboretum. The weather outside is hot and sunny. How do you react and what do you do?
The above are situational examples. We could also have some hands-on creative problem solving assignments such as putting a student in a less-than-optimal situation and asking him/her to produce photographs. These situations could include improper or sub-optimal equipment, improper available light, poor weather, et cetera.
The overall objective is to create problem solving skills for photographers. As a professional photographer, when you are put into a situation that simply sucks for whatever the reason, you still have to produce images. It's a given fact that the images you produce won't be what you wanted or had envisioned in the planning process. You can't let your customer see you sweat...
Any more ideas? |
Are you looking for strictly technical problems? In my mind, those examples are just minor technical problems that shouldn't pose a problem for a competent shooter.
Often the problem is not a technical one rather it's a concept/ideation problem where the client has some rather vague ideas about what they want and they want you, the photographer, to figure it out and make it happen.
I can give you an example of the former from my own experience:
I had an assignment to shoot a business portrait of a local Travel Agency's president for a magazine. I had 2 SLRs, lenses, strobes etc. I get the lights and camera set up in this guy's office. Oops, batteries are dead in my 1st camera. Get the backup...those batteries are dead. Well, crap, now what... Luckily, I had a 4x5 Speed Graphic, a Polaroid film holder and a pack of PN-55 in the trunk because I wanted to do some personal work with it later. I had NEVER actually used this camera before, but I went to the car, grabbed it and made it work. The subject was quite interested in my "old time" camera and it created a springboard for a nice dialog while I was shooting. The client was quite happy with the shots as well, so it was all good. |
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10/23/2008 11:50:40 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
I used to require my students to hang their camera around their necks, focused at hyperfocal with a WA lens, strapped around their waist with a bungee cord, cable release mounted, and to walk around taking pictures of what they saw with their eyes, to escape the tyranny of the viewfinder. Does that help?
R. |
That sounds pretty fun actually. I think I will try this one as soon as I get a chance and can locate a crowd.
Hyperfocal for 12mm on my crop sensor camera:
Apprx.
AP 3.4 = 7.4 ft
AP 4.5 = 5.6 ft
AP 5.6 = 4.4 ft
AP 6.4 = 4 ft
AP 8 = 3.1 ft
AP 11 = 2.2 ft
I am thinking that I will:
1. Decide on aperture/ISO based on conditions
(something resulting in a satisfactory shutter speed)
2. Manually focus @ hyperfocal
3. Set the camera to ap priority
4. Put the camera around my neck and run the shutter release up my shirt and out
a long shirt sleeve.
5. Snap away
6. Go home and view results over cocktails and chuckles.
Message edited by author 2008-10-23 11:52:34. |
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10/23/2008 04:38:39 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Are you looking for strictly technical problems? In my mind, those examples are just minor technical problems that shouldn't pose a problem for a competent shooter.
Often the problem is not a technical one rather it's a concept/ideation problem where the client has some rather vague ideas about what they want and they want you, the photographer, to figure it out and make it happen.
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Exactly. This program is designed to build competency. Most photography students don't have the level of competency or they wouldn't be students :) The example you gave is a good one along the lines of what I'm looking for. Technique, composition, and aesthetics are taught in other classes... |
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10/23/2008 04:50:44 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Are you looking for strictly technical problems? In my mind, those examples are just minor technical problems that shouldn't pose a problem for a competent shooter.
Often the problem is not a technical one rather it's a concept/ideation problem where the client has some rather vague ideas about what they want and they want you, the photographer, to figure it out and make it happen.
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Exactly. This program is designed to build competency. Most photography students don't have the level of competency or they wouldn't be students :) The example you gave is a good one along the lines of what I'm looking for. Technique, composition, and aesthetics are taught in other classes... |
In that case:
Have them shoot with unfamiliar equipment.
Tape over or switch off their LCD (no chimping)
Give them an old manual flash (the kind with the calculator dial) and a sekonic incident (not strobe) meter and have them figure out fill flash.
Restrict them to a single shutter speed. or a single aperture.
Mixed lighting, not just exposure, but color balancing too because you can't fix that in PS.
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