In-Class assignment - Reflectors

For this assignment, pair up with fellow students and shoot the following scenes using a reflector.  The shots should be head and shoulder portraits.

Full Sunlight

1. Model facing the sun
2. Model facing the sun with reflector
3. Model backlit by the sun
4. Model backlit by the sun with reflector
5. Model side lit by the sun
6. Model side lit by the sun with reflector

Shade

1. Model just in the shade
2. Model with a keylight from the gold reflector
3. Model lit by an inside window
4. Model lit by an inside window with reflector

Download the photos into your Lightroom catalog and put in a collection marked "Reflector".
 Minimally process the images and output to the usual specs.

Photo Essay Ideas

There are numerous examples of printed magazines that use the photo essay, most importantly Life magazine and National Geographic.  There are also many online examples:

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/12/basketball-indiana-hoosiers-photoessay

http://www.laurengreenfield.com/

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2TYRYDDWML5P

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/06/03/business/media/20130604FAMOUSMEN.html?ref=media#1

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZJCV

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2013/06/12/190321466/capturing-life-with-cancer-at-age-28

Assignment #4 Photo Story

The Photo Essay is a related series of photos intended to illustrate a story.  The photo essay may consist mainly of photos with minimal text as explanation, or may help illustrate full text essays.

The goal of this assignment is for you to complete a full photo essay of a story that has local appeal, which will be posted to the city magazine website.  The first part of the essay will be to come up with the idea and to start writing and photographing it.  You will then have over a week to continue to photograph and edit your work.  You will then work with your fellow students to edit the work for the final presentation.

The intended audience is the LBCC student community, so the story should be appealing to them.  You may come up with a story about LBCC itself, something appealing to college students in general, or something concerning the Long Beach area.

Photo Essay ideas:

• The life of a (popular) college professor
• Student Life
• The new food court vendor
• Construction on campus
• Area businesses - targeted to students
• Local music scene

Due:

Part 1 - Tuesday July 9th 

• At least two well written paragraphs, a list of 10 photo ideas, and at least 10 preliminary photos.

Come up with a firm idea and start writing the story and start to illustrate it.  The idea is the main thing at this point.  Write at least two paragraphs on the idea, and a list of photos that you are thinking of taking.  Also, start photographing, the quality is not as important right now, just start to get familiar with the story that you have chosen.

Part 2 - Wednesday July 17th

• A completed photo essay including at least 10 well edited photos with captions, and written text of at least three paragraphs. One slideshow with opening and closing plates.

You will be working with your fellow students to edit the text and the group of photos.  The final photo essay will be due Thursday, July 18th.

Environmental Portrait Links

Here are a few links to some of the websites I showed in class for the environmental portrait assignment.

http://www.arnoldnewmanarchive.com/

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/alfred-krupp/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WoJOAj9r6w

http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/augustsander/index.htm

http://www.jonathanbielaski.com/

http://www.annedarlingphotography.com/lothar-wolleh.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=lewis+hine&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ttLSUfjwH8jmigLHgIHQAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1362&bih=749#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=cqAKcqKPi5pQxM%3A%3BCB_7nBj-KkXAOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%252F8432%252F7858610604_27b94ced68_b.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Feveryday-i-show.livejournal.com%252F178755.html%3B1024%3B820


https://www.google.com/search?q=e.j.+bellocq&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=gdPSUeTMEZHxiQL1-4DgAg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1362&bih=749#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=TxvNortHAdM5LM%3A%3B-_r5YvlNNP_OKM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhopejbellocq.files.wordpress.com%252F2010%252F12%252Fslide41.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhopejbellocq.wordpress.com%252F%3B960%3B720

In class assignment - Captions

The photo caption serves to further explain the photo.  A photo that is "stand alone" and needs no explanation is very rare.  Photo captions should be:

• Short.  One or two short sentences will suffice.
• Present tense or Past tense.  Do not mix tenses.
• Attention getting.  The use of action verbs helps with this. 
• Explanatory.  What, Who, When, Where, Why, and maybe How
• What - Explain clearly and grab the reader's attention.
• Who - Every recognizable person in the photo should be listed with his/her full name.  Very important for well-known people.  You may use terms like "from left to right" or "wearing the tie" to distinguish individuals in a photo.
• When/Where - If the time or the place is significant, then lead with that.  If not, it usually goes at the end.  Use "Friday July 5, 2013" instead of "yesterday."
• Why - Explanations are only necessary if the reason is significant, such as "because of the transit strike, the highways were jammed."
• How - Rarely necessary.  Use to explain special photo techniques, such as forced perspective, time lapse, or photo illustrations were used that may mislead the viewer.

Photo captions should avoid:

• Flowery adjectives and adverbs.
• The term "pictured above."
• The obvious, such as "firefighter fighting a blaze."

 AP Photo Caption Guidelines:

• The first sentence of the caption describes what the photo shows, in the present tense, and states where and when the photo was made. 
• The second sentence of the caption gives background on the news event or describes why the photo is significant.

 Whenever possible, try to keep captions to no more than two concise sentences, while including the relevant information. Try to anticipate what information a newspaper editor or reader will need.

Example:

The Mississippi River flows through a hole in the Sandy Island, Ill., levee, flooding farmland and homes 10 miles south of Quincy, Ill., Sunday, July 25, 1993. About 2,000 people were evacuated from the 44,000 acres that flooded. (AP Photo/Bill Waugh)

In Class Assignment. 

Write photo captions for 10 different photos.  You may use any of your own photos, or may use photos found on the internet (making up the facts, but writing the captions correctly).  Place the photos in a collection in your Lightroom catalog marked "Captions."

-All photos submitted from now on will need to be captioned. 

Assignment #3 Environmental Portrait

An environmental portrait is a portrait of a person or animal in which that person's environment is included in the photo to help the viewer understand the defining characteristics of the subject.

Assignment:
Photograph two different people, each in their unique environment.  Make sure that the viewer can see how each of the environments relates to the subject.  Include at least 3 variations of different poses/compositions of each subject.  NOTE:  Photograph two people who are strangers to you, not your friends or family.

Some good examples of whom to photograph:
-Craftsmen   Photographed in their studios with their work
-Workers   Our careers often define who we are as a person
-Collectors  Photographed with their collections
-Musicians  With their instruments or other props

Due:
Due Tuesday, July 9th
At least 6 .jpg files of two different subjects in their environment (at least 3 files of each subject).  Files should be post-processed (cropping, color balance, sharpening, density/contrast etc.) for maximum quality.   See the file specs blog entry for the file size specifications.

Tips:
--Talk to the subject.  Ask them about their work, their environment and/or the tools they use.  This will help put the subject at ease making for a better photograph.  It may also help you come up with new ideas for the photo, such as the environment to shoot in, and tools (props) to use.

--Lighting.  You may use portable studio lighting.  Remember that sometimes the ambient lighting may be better, such as north facing windows.  You are the photographer and you are expected to make the best portrait possible, and that includes mastering the lighting.

--Choose an environment that adds interest to the photo and also helps "explain" the subject.  Remember that you can move around furniture and manipulate the light if needed.  You should "make" a photo, not "take" a photo.

--Composition.  Remember to look at all the areas inside the frame.  Think about the Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, Symmetry, Negative Space, Repetition of Form eg. eg.  Remember to "Watch the Background!"

Blog Links

http://startwiththefirst.blogspot.com/

http://mattbites.com/2011/11/04/behind-the-scenes-working-at-jordan-winery/

http://www.aphotoeditor.com/

http://vervephoto.wordpress.com/

http://blog.tompaiva.com/

http://www.lenscratch.com/

http://www.co-mag.net/2012/interview-aline-smithson/?

utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+busdraghi%2Fcameraobscura+%28CameraObscura%29

http://topsitesblog.com/blog-websites/