The School of the Arts · visual, musical & performing arts
Photography & Digital Imaging
Exposure, light, and editing: how to make photographs on purpose rather than by accident.
Aperture, shutter, ISO, and focus: the four decisions behind every deliberate photograph.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~16 hours
Unit I — The Exposure Triangle
Aperture and depth of field · Shutter speed and motion · ISO and noise: the honest trade
Unit II — Focus and Lenses
Focal length and what it does to space · Focusing modes and where to aim · Prime versus zoom, without dogma
Unit III — Out Shooting
Metering modes and when they lie · Exposure compensation · A structured assignment: one subject, ten decisions
Hard, soft, warm, cool: reading light you find and shaping light you make, one flash at a time.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~18 hours
Unit I — Reading Light
Hard and soft · Direction: front, side, back · Color temperature and white balance
Unit II — Working Natural Light
Window-light portraits · Golden hour and blue hour · Reflectors and negative fill
Unit III — Making Light
One flash, used well · Modifiers: umbrella, softbox, grid · A one-light portrait session, planned and shot
The frame as an argument: what to include, what to cut, and how to order a series.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~14 hours
Unit I — The Frame
Edges and what they cut · Thirds, centering, and when rules earn exceptions · Foreground, midground, background
Unit II — Order Inside the Frame
Lines and shapes that lead the eye · Balance and visual weight · Simplification: what to leave out
Unit III — Series and Sequence
Shooting a theme · Editing down: ten frames from two hundred · Sequencing a small photo essay
Raw files, honest adjustments, and output: an editing practice that serves the photograph.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~20 hours
Unit I — Raw Files and Honest Edits
What a raw file actually records · Exposure, contrast, and white balance in post · The histogram as an instrument
Unit II — The Craft Pass
Local adjustments and masking · Sharpening and noise, sensibly · Black-and-white conversion done deliberately
Unit III — Organize and Output
Catalogs, keywords, backups · Export settings for web and print · Soft proofing and the printed photograph
Portrait and documentary work with people at the center — consent, craft, and the finished essay.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~26 hours
Unit I — The Ethics of Looking
Consent, dignity, and context · Captions that tell the truth · What editing owes the subject
Unit II — The Portrait Session
Directing people who are not models · Environmental portraits · Consistency across a series
Unit III — The Documentary Essay
Finding a story within reach · Shooting coverage: wide, medium, detail · Sequencing and a written statement