Updated January 26.

Information for participants in the Graceland University photography class.  If you aren’t in the class but have the text, feel free to follow along with the readings and do the assignments on your own.

Information, syllabus, and preliminary assignment are here.  DPED = Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies.  Revised assignments follow, along with an outline of what we did each day in class.

Photos of the class and by the class are located in this gallery.

***   ***   ***

Revised Assignment List

Assignment 1A in class Jan 10. Helene Center – outside in sunlight, one scene with many tones. DPED: pages 49-50. Meter blue sky, grass, red brick in the sun, white brick in the sun, red brick in the shade, and white brick in the shade. Photograph the left side of the building (including all six tones that you metered, and photograph the building six times with the 6 exposure settings.

***

Assignment 1B in class Jan 9. Experimenting with exposure compensation. DPED: pages 51-52. Upload all 25 photos to your Flickr account.

***

Assignment 2 – Portrait Assignment in class Jan 10. Inside, soft, directional, window light portraits. Upload your three best soft, window light portraits (one of each person) to your Flickr account.  This is a substitute assignment for Assignment 2 in DPED pages 88 and 89. If you did the softlight portrait assignment, you don’t need to do the DPED assignment.

***
Assignment 3A, 3B, 3C, in class, Jan 10. Photographing an animal with white fur in frontlight, sidelight, and backlight. Upload your best frontlit, sidelit and backlit photo to your Flickr account.  This is a substitute for the DPED pages 108-113 assignment.

***

Assignment 3D Portraits in class  Jan 10. Outside portraits  – using backlit rim light. Upload your three best backlit, rim-light portraits (one of each person) to your Flickr account. This is a new assignment.

***

Assignment 4. Color temperature exercise. Do this on your own.  DPED:  page 124. Steps 1-4. (Skip step 5.) For step 6 take a photo in the early afternoon and again the middle of the afternoon. Steps 7-8.

***

Assignment 5A in class Jan 11. DPED: pages 150-151 (adjusting apertures – monitor and room photos). Upload both photos to your Flickr account.
Assignment 5B in class Jan 11. DPED: page 175  (outside, 4 objects, 3 apertures at two focal lengths). Upload all 6 photos to your Flickr account.

***

Assignment 5C on your own.  Create one interesting photo with maximum depth of field and one interesting photo with minimum depth of field. Upload both photos to your Flickr account.  This is a new assignment.

***

Assignment 6 in class  Jan 12. Hyperfocal distance vs infinity focus. DPED: page 175

***

Assignment 7A on field trip Jan 10 and 13. (On Main Street, looking west between 5:40 – 6:00 pm)  Upload your three best “late evening street photos” to your Flickr account.

***

Assignment 7B in class Jan 13. Pan and blur.  DPED: pages 190-192

***

7C – Extra credit. Moonlit landscape. On field trip, Jan 10. Upload your best moonlit landscape photo to your Flickr account.

***

Assignment 8A. Using exposure compensation with fill flash. Meter the  ambient light as the main light source for the bright side of the face. Use the flash as the fill light on the shaded side of the face.  Set the flash exposure compensation to 0, +1, and -1.  To see how your flash works and determine the amount of fill flash you like to use. Experiment with different amounts of flash exposure compensation.  Upload three photos that show different amounts of compensation.

***  ***   ***
Assignment 8B. Flash and white balance.  Take several portraits using flash as the main light source. Use all of the white balance settings on your camera to change the color of the skin. Upload several examples.

***   ***   ***

9 – Extra credit. Creativity Exercise. Upload your best examples to your online portfolio.

***

10 – Extra credit. Painting with Light. Upload your best examples to your online portfolio.

***

Assignment 11
Create 3 “standard” portraits for your final portfolio.

Assignment 12
Create 2 landscape photos for your final portfolio.

Assignment 13
Create 1 “event” photo for your final portfolio.

.Assignment 14
Create 4 additional photos in the genre of your choice (other than standard portraits) for your final portfolio.  Flowers, closeup, architectural, wildlife, pets, car lights on main street at night, painting with light, and sunset portraits with flash are all options.

Upload your final portfolio to your online account no later than the end of the day, Tuesday January 24.

***   ***   ***

DAILY CLASS OUTLINES

Thursday, January 26

Review.
Continue reviews of Final Portfolios.
Legal and practical considerations for photography in public places.
Digital sensor design, camera CPUs and advanced exposure considerations.
ISO speed and noise factors.
RAW vs Jpeg overexposure considerations.
Steps to becoming a better photographer.

Art Show with the other art classes.

***   ***   ***

Wednesday, January 25

Review.
Review of Final Portfolios.
Advanced exposure considerations and “exposing to the right”.

***   ***   ***

Tuesday, January 24

Review.
Q&A.
Post-Test.
Photographing Events
Event photography exercise in class.
Preliminary Portfolio Review.

***   ***   ***

Monday, January 23

Review.
Portraits tips.
“Monet and Snow” exercise in class.
Low Light Photography.
Panorama exercise in class.
Landscape Photography.

Reading: DPED Chapters 17 & 13.

***   ***   ***

Friday, January 20

Review.
Flower photography.
Assignment in class: closeup photos of flowers.
Composition: rule of thirds.
Sports and Action photography: location, peak of the action, expressions.

Reading: DPED Chapters 14 & 15.

***   ***   ***

Thursday, January 19

Review.
Wildlife photography.
Closeup photography.
Closeup tools.
Single element closeup filters for normal focal length lenses.
Double element closeup filters (Canon 500D, Nikon 6T) for long focal length (telephoto) lenses.
Extension tubes for lenses of all focal lengths.
Macro lenses.
Close magnification.
Eye closeup example.
In class closeup exercise using closeup filters.

Reading: DPED Chapters 12 & 16.

Assignment: Photograph a caribou in a local cornfield (or, if you prefer, a squirrel in a local tree).

***   ***   ***

Wednesday, January 18

Review.
Mid-course test.
Portrait and Event photography.
In class exercise: Painting with light (flashlight).
In class exercise: Window light portrait.

Reading: DPED Chapter 11.

You can see a limited selection of portrait and event photos here, and a more extensive selection of photos here and here.

***   ***   ***

Tuesday, January 17

Review D.O.F.
Review Flash One.
Flash, Part Two. Mixing flash and ambient Light.
Creativity exercise.
Using flash accessories for on and off camera flash.

Reading: DPED Chapter 10
Read this article.

***   ***   ***

Monday, January 16

Depth of field review
Shutter speeds, Part Two
Light:
Quality
Intensity
Direction
Color temperature
Working with the light
Changing the light
Flash, Part One
Guide Numbers
Determining the true GN for your flash
Assignment 8A in class. Using exposure compensation with fill flash.
Assignment 8B in class. Flash exposure and white balance.

Reading: DPED Chapters 5 and 10

***   ***   ***

Friday, January 13

Review.
Depth of field quiz.
Exposure compensation, f-stops, and shutter speeds
Depth of field review: hyperfocal distance charts and infinity focus depth of field.
Color Temperature and White Balance.
Color temperature, time of day and degrees Kelvin.
White balance settings and color temperature.
Using the camera’s “K settings” to alter the look of your photos.
In class exercise: using aluminum foil for fill light in soft light and sunlight.
In class exercise: using the camera’s white balance settings.
Shutter Speeds:
“Normal” shutter speeds.
Freezing fast subjects that the eye cant see.
Recording the passage of time in a photos in a way the eye/brain can’t record time.
Normal waterfalls.
Freeezing water.
Blurred water.
Angel hair waterfalls.
Panning and blurring subjects.
Assignment 7B in class. Blurring the subject against a sharp background.
Sharp subjects against a blurred background.
Slightly blurred subjects against a very blurred background.

Field Trip Tonight – 5:30 pm.
Main and Maple.
Assignment 7A.

Reading: DPED Chapters 8.

***   ***   ***

Thursday, January 12

Review of Depth of Field Part One: Apertures, focal length, focused distance, sensor size, and print size.
Depth of Field, Part 2. Hyperfocal distance charts and infinity focus depth of field.
Exposure “reciprocity failure” at long long shutters speeds, ultra high shutter speeds, and ultra short flash durations.
Creating “natural sunstars”.
Main street silhouette photos.
Mixing flash and ambient light in low light conditions.
Moonlit landscape photos.
Light “fall off” with flash and ambient light sources.
Filters:
UV filters
Skylight filters
Polarizing filters
Yellow/Blue polarizing filters
Preferred brands
Multi-coated vs mono coated
Portrait lighting examples in “Casablanca”:
Main, fill, and hair light
Rembrandt lighting
Butterfly lighting
Weak side lighting
Strong side lighting
High key and low key lighting
Low and high contrast lighting
Backlighting
Rim lighting
Reading: DPED Chapters 7, 5 and 10
Assignment 6 in class:
Depth of field with a hyperfocal distance chart
Depth of field with infinity focus

***   ***   ***

Wednesday, January 11

Question and Answer
Review Metering Quiz
Depth of Field Part One: Aperture, focal length, focused distance, and sensor size.
Reading: DPED Chapter 6
Assignment 5A in class. DPED: pages 150-151 (adjusting apertures – monitor and room photos). Upload both photos to your Flickr account.
Assignment 5B in class. DPED: page 175  (outside, 4 objects, 3 apertures at two focal lengths). Upload all 6 photos to your Flickr account.

***   ***   ***

Tuesday, January 10

Question and Answer
Metering Quiz
Metering Part Two:  gray card metering,  Basic Daylight Exposure (BDE) and exposure compensation
Metering for portraits
Portraits Tips (point of view, “best side”, focal length, focal point)
Outdoor Backlit Portraits
Soft, Window Light Portraits
Metering White Toned Animals
Metering for portraits
Reading: DPED Chapters 3-4
Assignment 1A in class (Helene Center – metering one scene with many tones).
Assignment 3C in class  (portraits  – using backlight). Upload your three best backlit, rim light portraits (one of each person) to your Flickr account.
Assignment 3a, 3B, 3C, Wildlife Assignment in class (photographing an animal with white fur in frontlight, sidelight, and backlight). Upload your best frontlit, sidelit and backlit photo to your Flickr account.
Portrait Assignment in class (soft, directional, window light portraits). Upload your three best soft, window light portraits (one of each person) to your Flickr account.

Field Trips Tuesday Evening, January 10:
5:30 pm  Main Street and Maple (street photography – assignment 7A)  Upload your three best “late evening street photos” to your Flickr account.
7:00 pm  Parking lot SE of the Helene Center (moonlit landscapes). Upload your best moonlit landscape photo to your Flickr account.

***   ***   ***

Monday, January 9

Overview
Pre-Test
Metering Part One: exposure’s Big 3, using a reflected light meter, and exposure compensation
Reading: DPED Chapters 1-2

Assignment 1B in class (experimenting with exposure compensation). You should have 25 photos that look something like this. Upload all 25 photos to your Flickr account.

Post assignments to your Flickr account.