Project 2: Classic Themes of Photography

Requirements

• For this project you will take 5 Photos for each Classic Theme – 25 photos total
• You will edit all 25 photos using the techniques listed below - we will be learning these techniques over the next week and a half

The 5 Classic Themes:

1. Portrait

• Take in Vertical Format
• Remember to use care in cropping – always crop in between two joints, never at a joint
• Help your model feel comfortable by taking candid photos or giving them clear direction on how they should be posing – you are the one seeing what the photograph looks like, tell them how they should move to make the best, most flattering portrait

2. Landscape

• Take in Horizontal Format
• Remember the rule of thirds – the horizon line should sit on either the thirds or two thirds mark – it depends on what your focal point is.
• If the subject is the sky (interesting clouds, sunset or sunrise) the sky should take up 2/3rds of the picture
• If the subject is the landscape, that should take up 2/3rds
• Avoid overly busy landscapes - if the land has busy texture - consider breaking it up by using close-up foreground objects, or by having the land only take up 1/3 of the photograph

3. Still Life

• Take in Horizontal Format
• You arrange objects on table or other flat surface – design your own composition
• Set up Lighting – either direct light source or diffused lighting work well.  You can use the sun as your light source, just make sure you think about how the light is hitting your subject – pay attention to shadows and highlights
• We will be going over some lighting techniques - consider using some of these lighting techniques for your still lives

4. Action

• Take in Vertical or Horizontal Format – It depends on what direction the moving object is going
• If the object is moving side to side – horizontal format
• If the object is moving up and down – vertical format
• Create active space – have a moving object going into the frame

5. Macro

• Take in vertical or horizontal format
• Up close picture focusing on textures and surface quality
• Subject should take up at least 2/3rds of the frame
• Little to no background noise – try to keep the background as simple as possible – blur it out when necessary

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Editing: 

1 Dream-Like image for each CTOP*
1 Antiqued image for each CTOP*
1 Black and White image for each CTOP*
1 Double Exposure image for each CTOP*
1 Editing technique of your choice for each CTOP*, I will be posting a list of resources to search for your free choice editing techniques 

For example - you will have 1 portrait edited in the dream-like technique, 1 portrait edited in the antique technique, 1 portrait in B&W, 1 portrait as a double exposure, and 1 portrait edited in a technique of your choice. You will do the same for each of the other CTOPs as well.

*CTOP = Classic Theme of Photography

Background Blur Tutorial

Today we will be using the Quick Selection tool and learning all the possibilities of the tool.  We will be learning how to blur a background in a photograph, as well as using the tool to make image adjustments to just a part of our photographs.

Here is a photo you can practice on, or you can use one of your own. If you are using your own photograph, you should choose something with a clearly defined focal point and fairly simple edges for the sake of learning this tool. 

Practicing with Photoshop

Today, we will be beginning our work with Adobe Photoshop.  You may use one of the following images to practice adjusting levels and sharpening on Photoshop.  Click on the photo to make it larger, right click (or ctrl+click) on the image, and choose "Save Image As" and save it to your desktop.  Then, we'll drag the photo file into Photoshop and get started!

We will be learning about the interface of the program today.  We will also begin working with Photoshop to sharpen our image, and learn about adjustment layers, particularly levels adjustment layers. Here are some additional resources on these techniques:

Sharpening Photos

Levels Adjustment Layer

Straightening a Horizon 

Setting up your blog

Setting up your blog

• Go to blogger.com
• Sign in with your google account
• Create the title of your blog – name it by your full first and last name (how it appears on Illuminate).  For example, my blog would be called Lindsay Behr Photo, and the address would be: Lindsaybehrphoto.blogspot.com. 
• Post your blog link on google classroom on the assignment for your blog link
• Keep your login information – write it down and keep it somewhere important.  We will be posting our images on our blogs throughout the
• Your blog is now set up!  You can click on new post to create a post for your assignment