Course Description
Explore digital photography through immersive fieldwork, mastering camera controls, composition, lighting, editing, and printing. Engage conceptual themes while studying influential photographers. Creative assignments and critiques foster technical skill, visual literacy, and critical insight, preparing students to produce compelling images that connect technique with meaning.
Athena Title
Intro Photography Field Work
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate technical proficiency in camera controls, composition, lighting, editing, and printing through field-based photographic assignments.
- Students will apply conceptual and aesthetic principles to create images that engage with thematic content and reflect intentional visual strategies.
- Students will analyze and critique photographic works—their own and others—within historical, cultural, and contemporary contexts, using appropriate visual and technical vocabulary.
- Students will communicate ideas effectively through oral presentations, written reflections, and visual formats, supporting clarity and professionalism in critiques and discussions.
- Students will integrate research on historical and contemporary photographers into project development and artist statements, demonstrating contextual understanding.
- Students will evaluate symbolic and interpretive elements in photographic imagery, developing critical thinking and nuanced visual analysis.
- Students will collaborate constructively in group critiques and discussions, offering and responding to feedback to refine creative outcomes.
Topical Outline
- Digital Photography Fundamentals: Camera controls (aperture, shutter speed), image resolution and quality, exposure settings, and printing workflows.
- Visual Composition and Light: Principles of composition, quality and direction of light, and capturing the decisive moment.
- Fieldwork Techniques: Practical strategies for shooting on location, adapting to environmental conditions, and managing equipment in the field.
- Photographic Contexts: Introduction to historical and contemporary photographers and their influence on field-based practices.
- Creative Application and Critique: Thematic assignments emphasizing conceptual engagement, with regular individual and group critiques to develop visual literacy and communication skills.
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Creativity & Innovation
The capacity to combine or synthesize existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways and the experience of thinking, reacting, and working in an imaginative way characterized by innovation, divergent thinking, and risk taking.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
