These resources are designed to encourage you to explore your use of the camera and it’s functions. The more you experiment and discover, the more control you will have and this will lead to more creative outcomes…
CAMERA CRAFT – exploring exposure settings
ISO – experiment with different ISO values to enhance your exposures…be wary of “noise” in your images with high ISO
White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the “color temperature” of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light.
Choose from a range of camera skills that you have learned in Week 3 and 4 and 5 to complete a new photo-shoot…
We want to see that you can explore and extend your handling of
colour (try limiting your palette of colours to : primary colours, colour harmonies, contrasting or complimentary colours if possible)
texture and surface quality (aim for contrasts : rough v smooth etc)
Show that you can adapt and control both ISO and White Balance (WB)…and even use it creatively too
exposure control
Red box shows exposure meter – the centre indicates a balanced exposure
Follow the highlighted sections of The 10 Step Process and create a blog post that clearly articulates your process and tackles these Assessment Objectives thoroughly :
Mood-board, definition and introduction (AO1)
Mind-map of ideas (AO1)
Artist References / Case Studies (must include image analysis) (AO1)
Photo-shoot Action Plan (AO3)
Multiple Photoshoots + contact sheets (AO3)
Image Selection, sub selection, review and refine ideas (AO2)
Exploring high contrast images with Keld Helmer-Petersen
Helmer-Petersen was a Danish photographer who was inspired by Albert Renger-Patzsch, the experiments at The Bauhaus in Germany and by Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind at the Art Institute of Chicago. He achieved fame for his colour photographs but he also published several books of black and white images that explore dramatic contrasts of tone. In some, we are only presented with images that are black and white. All mid tones have been removed. He created and found these images, using both cameras and flat bed scanners to achieve the effects he was looking for. These books are beautifully designed and encourage us to consider the space around the image and the accompanying text as integral to the meaning of the work.
Choose 4 x images of your own to work with
Edit the images using the THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT in Adobe Photoshop
Choose how far you “push” the image
Option : Add a “stroke” to the final image
Present your final images in a grid of 4 x square / rectangle format
Remember to Flatten Image and check file size
Blog files should be reduced to 1000 pixels on the long edge
Original Image
Threshold Adjustment in Photoshop
Adjusting the threshold level slider
Cropping the image
Rotate the image if necessary
Finished image
Create a blog post that includes your experiments, including original images, edits and final outcomes
Include key information about Keld Helmer-Petersen
Add annotations to describe and explain your process
Critically evaluate your outcomes
Print your final design A4 to Photography Printer
Task 2 (extension)
this task is designed to encourage you to explore Adobe Photoshop further and select areas of an image to reveal / conceal
You will begin to use LAYERS and LAYER MASKS
You will also use the 2 x OPACITY sliders
Original
Adapted image
METHOD
Open an image in Adobe Photoshop
Add a new layer from the LAYER PANEL > SOLID COLOUR
Reduce the opacity in the LAYER PANEL to reveal your image
Click on the LAYER MASK (white box) in your LAYER PANEL
Choose the brush tool from the TOOLBOX
Adjust the size of the brush using the {} keys
Check / adjust the opacity level of your brush (top bar)
Click on various areas of the image to create circular “holes”
Using the opacity slider in the LAYER PANEL, bring the level up to 100%
You have a completed image. Flatten the layers, save and upload.
Explore ways you can extend this basic idea
Create a blog post entitled “Conceal / Reveal”
Describe and explain your process and include visual evidence
Critically evaluate your process
Remember to use the model :
TECHNICAL -VISUAL-CONCEPTUAL-CONTEXTUAL
here are some helpful examples for you to work from…
Follow the 10 Step Process for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :
You must experiment with ease of these skill areas and produce a blog post on each key skills that includes evidence of your experiments and successes over the next few weeks…
The images should be of an abstract nature, and show an appreciation of abstract qualities such as line, shape, colour, form, texture, pattern, repetition, symmetry (the formal elements)
Choose from a range of camera skills that you have learned in Week 3 and 4 to complete a new photo-shoot…
We want to see that you can explore and extend your handling of
exposure settings
focus control
depth of field
INSPIRATION >>> choose from the following to inspire your ideas.Look carefully at the examples and aim to produce similar images that work well as a group…together.
Ralph Eugene Meatyard: ‘No Focus’
Meatyard made his living as an optician. He was a member of the Lexington Camera Club and pursued his passion for photography outside the mainstream. He experimented with various strategies including multiple exposures, motion blur, and other methods of photographic abstraction. Two of his series are particularly concerned with focus and depth of field, both stretching the expressive potential of photography, film and cameras when looking within the ordinary world.
‘Zen Twigs’
You must:
Research the work of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Saul Leiter and Uta Barth. How have they experimented with focus and depth of field in their work? Choose specific images to comment on in detail. You could also find other photographers who are interested in experimenting with focus effects.
Explore the effects of changing the aperture settings on your camera to alter depth of field. You could illustrate this with a series of photos of the same subject shot with different aperture settings.
Create a series of deliberately out of focus images. Consider the degree of abstraction in the final image. How out of focus are the subjects and are they still recognisable? Experiment with colour and black and white. REMEMBER TO USE MANUAL FOCUS AND THE INFINITY SETTING
Create a series of images which explore dramatic depth of field (selective focus). Experiment with switching between foreground, middle ground and background focus. Remember, you will need to use a wide aperture (small number e.g. f2.8) and/or a longer lens for this. Remember to share all of the images you make (including those that you deem failures) in a gallery/contact sheet.
Curate your images into different groupings (see below). Experiment with editing the images in each set differently. Give each set a title and write a short evaluation explaining your editorial decisions.
Follow the 10 Step Process and create multiple blog posts for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :
Mood-board, definition and introduction (AO1)
Mind-map of ideas (AO1)
Artist References / Case Studies (must include image analysis) (AO1)
Photo-shoot Action Plan (AO3)
Multiple Photoshoots + contact sheets (AO3)
Image Selection, sub selection, review and refine ideas (AO2)
We will aim to expand our approach to photographing things around us…whilst responding to influential approaches in the development of modern photography.
By responding to Albert Renger-Patszch and The New Objectivity you will be able to classify a greater range of your images whilst learning more about the Formal Elements and Adobe Photoshop techniques including :
Cropping
Image Adjustments
Remember to : Describe, explain and evaluate your process carefully.
Create and publish a contact sheet (evidence of a photo-shoot)
Contact sheets were an incredibly important tool and an inevitable part of the photographic process until digital photography rendered them obsolete. As Lubben notes, they constitute “a record of one’s shooting, a tool for editing, and an index to an archive of negatives.” Indeed, she continues, the contact sheet “embodies much of the appeal of photography itself: the sense of time unfolding, a durable trace of movement through space, an apparent authentication of photography’s claim to transparent representation of reality.”
Contact sheets also represent the economy of the roll of 36 frames, as opposed to the limitless numbers of shots that digital photography affords today. As such, they provide the physical marker of an era when each frame had a value, and was therefore more precious.
Then develop and publish a blog post that tackles the following…
Describe and explain what a CONTACT SHEET is…include examples like the ones provided below
Then Create a gallery / grid of images from a recent photo-shoot and upload as a contact sheet to a blog post
Answer : Why are contact sheets useful / essential ?
Try annotating / colour coding / cropping / arranging your contact sheet to show the start of a selection process
Look at the examples below which include work by William Klein and. This key photographer was known to include contact sheets as part of his final images as well as experiments.
Remember…you can Add your images to a Powerpoint, then convert to a JPEG and upload to the blog using JPEG File Interchange Format or try creating them as screen shots.
You can make a contact sheet by using the Snipping Tool (Shift + Windows+ S) and copying a gallery of images from an image folder
Or create a Contact Sheet in Adobe Photoshop
William KleinWilliam KleinA creative approach to how a contact sheet could be used…Using Contact Sheet II in Adobe Photoshop
These simple tasks are designed to encourage you to take control of an abstract experiment whilst employing your understanding of light, tone, shadow, proportion…
Take an A4 piece of plain white paper
Scrunch the paper into a ball, or make a paper plane, a set of folds or creases
Using your iphone / camera photograph the ball
Think carefully and creatively about how you can transform the shape further…
Try to show various approaches to composition and framing, exposure, lighting, movement, focus, shadow-making
Take as many different, interesting, quirky, sequential, right, wrong and intelligent photographs of the paper shape.
ARTIST REFERENCES…
Edgar Martins
Man Ray Lampshade 1938
Brendan Austin creates imaginary landscapes out of crumpled pieces of paper. He calls them ‘Paper Mountains‘. Austin examines what we mean by nature and the way humans have impacted upon it. “The isolated desert city running on oil generators, the mars like landscapes of a volcanic environment and the mountains made from paper all attempt to start a conversation concerning the loss of meaning and reality.” The resulting images appear both recognisable as landscapes but also suggest a sense of artifice. Humble materials are made to carry an important message.
Create a visual blog post that relays your experiments and outcomes clearly
Include references to any artists / ideas that have influenced your outcomes
Evaluate your process and present a final image / set of final images…
By now you should have a student login, which gives you access to The Hautlieu Creative Blog too.
TASK 1 : UPLOAD YOUR SUMMER TASK TO THE BLOG
You will be shown how to navigate the blog and of course design and publish your own blog posts. Remember…your blog posts are the equivalent of submitted work that is ready for assessment and feedback by your teacher(s).
Each blog post should be considered, critical, creative and carefully constructed. Normally, you will be expected to complete blog posts that reflect your knowledge and understanding of the topics / skills that have been covered day by day / week by week.
Convert a Powerpoint to JPEG File Interchange Format (and then upload as an image(s) to a blog post via the MEDIA LIBRARY
You will need to COPY and PASTE WORD DOCUMENTS into the blog posts…
It is YOUR responsibility to keep up with the workload, and pace your productivity in step with what is being taught each step of the way. You will receive feedback either directly in response to the blog posts you publish, or as a response to a set of tasks in the form of a TRACKING SHEET.
The TRACKING SHEET will include a list of tasks / skills / blog posts that you must produce…as well as deadlines, extension tasks and the marking criteria.
BY THE END OF WEEK 2 (FRIDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER) YOU SHOULD HAVE…Your Induction Task- “Life after lockdown…”
BLOG POST 1 = “Life after Lockdown…”
BLOG POST 2 = image analysis and interpretation / include photo vocab help sheet and image of Alfred Krupp (always include image caption to credit the photographer)
BLOG POST 3 = The Formal Elements (research and apply klnowledge and understanding to images of paper shapes)
You should all have a valid login now…which provides you with a Hautlieu Creative account so that you can start creating andcurating your own blog.
This will be your normal, everyday login details. We expect you to check your emails everyday too…and get used to using Office 365, and follow us on Twitter too (HautlieuC).
The blog provides you with a neat platform to showcase your learning, including knowledge and understanding and of course your images too.
You should have access to the Media Drive (M : Drive)…this is where you must store all of your files. Please check this!
You will learn how to adapt and organise / store your image files…and you must manage file sizes carefully.
We will teach you step by step how to use the blog…then it is down to you to look after it and present your work as thoughtfully and carefully as possible. Each time you publish a blog post…it is then available for marking and assessment. Unpublished work will not normally be marked…thus affecting your progress and success.
We will also comment on your blog posts regularly…which will appear as a new email for you. You are expected to respond to the advice and suggestions accordingly. We constantly track your approach to lesson, independent study and overall progress.
You are expected to take responsibility for your own learning, progress and success during A Level Photography…
minimum 2-5 hours per week
weekly photo-shoots (200+images) must clearly demonstrate a range of approaches, reinforcing the techniques you have learnt
complete any / all incomplete class tasks by the end of the week
contribute your own photo-assignments + research
seek out opportunities to extend your learning / skill level
if you are absent you must check the blog daily / check emails for instructions, guidance and advice and complete in accordance with deadlines for your teaching group (these may change depending on timetable).
IMAGE ANALYSIS | GROUP EXERCISE 1
Using the matrix TECHNICAL – VISUAL – CONCEPTUAL – CONTEXTUAL below work in small groups to analyse and interpret this image :
Arnold Newman | Portrait of Alfred Krupp | 1963
Who – what – where – how – why?
IMAGE ANALYSIS GROUP EXERCISE 2
Using the matrix TECHNICAL – VISUAL – CONCEPTUAL – CONTEXTUAL below work in small groups to analyse and interpret this image :
Robert Frank Trolley, New Orleans, 1955, from The Americans
How we represent individuals and groups of people, change the context or meaning, and how fair we are with our methods has huge importance on the way we work…
This induction task is designed for students who wish to study A Level Photography. The aim of this task is to ensure that the students who have chosen this option both understand the requirements of the course and start as early as possible in their journey towards completing it to a high level. The work you produce in this Induction Task will be used to stimulate a group discussion during the first session as well as form the beginning of Component 1 (coursework) in your 2 year A Level Photography course.
You can explore all / any of the genres below to express your unique ideas…
Abstract — try close ups and alternative viewpoints and extreme cropping
Landscape / Architectural — try inside or outside
Portrait photography — try people / people in places
Still Life and Objects — try interesting lighting and sharp focus
Show how you can observe, interpret, define and most importantly photograph signs of …
“LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN“
…influenced by the COVID-19 / Global Pandemic
Bruno Taveira took this photo in Cascais, Portugal. Of the photo he wrote, “Many people turn to supermarkets to buy essential goods, after the Portuguese government decreed a state of emergency.” Credit: Bruno Taveira/Public Source
You may want to explore visual aspects, or subtle and nuanced ways of photography various forms of
freedom, liberation, captivity, isolation, loneliness, care, health, separation, mental health, well-being, environmental impact, recovery, family, community, communication, social distancing, before and after etc
…that have an emotional or personal edge. There are many possibilities…some more obvious than others. You may want to compare and contrast these aspects of how our lives have been forced to change in the last few months…
You should / could start by photographing some of the following suggestions… and of course, you may already have some of theseimages so add them to your project
Research your own chosen photographer, who is he/she, what type of photography, what does it say to you?
Analyse his/her work, style, technique, meaning – aim to show knowledge and understanding
Respond – at least 3 different shoots that show development of your ideas and style as well as your understanding of abstract / portrait / landscape photography
Edit – make a first selection and cut down the three shoots to the best ten images, and justify your selection in annotation and explanations / captions.
Experiment – work on cropping / adjustments of brightness/ contrast/ colour correction and show further Photoshop / editing techniques if you can
Evaluate – describe process of experimentation and reflect on learning etc.
Present – put all work together in a digital format such as Powerpoint / Word
Select your favourite outcome, print out as an A4 image if you can and explain why you have chosen it in your final evaluation (at least 200-300 words.)
Vivian MaierTimothy ArchibaldRichard KoeningJohn Stezaker…before and afterKensuke KoikeMartha RosslerStudent ExampleStudent ExampleStudent Example
What do his / her photographs say to you?
Look at composition and its visual elements e.g. line, form, shape, colour, tone, contrast, texture, depth, balance, space, perspective, viewpoint, foreground/ mid-ground/ background, rule of thirds. Look at the use of lighting e.g. natural lighting; sunlight, overcast, soft, harsh, directional, contrast and artificial lighting: studio, flash, spotlight, side-light, backlight, reflected light, shadows, chiaroscuro (light / darkness).
Use photographic language as above in your annotation and consider the artistic merits :
Technical , Visual , Conceptual and Contextual elements
Write a short introduction about the work of your chosen photographer and the nature of their work
Issues to consider:
His / her attitude to photography and the advantages / disadvantages of the camera as a way of “seeing”
Are we looking at fact or fiction (or a hybrid of both?)
The ways in which your chosen photographer explored the formal elements in his / her work e.g. form, light, rhythm, line, texture, repetition etc.
Planning: Once you have spent time evaluating the work of your chosen photographer, plan a shoot using the same techniques and mindset.
You must: Produce a mind map showing your thought process and with breadth of thinking, and a mood board (collage of images) to illustrate the look and feel of your project.
Recording: After planning your idea, gather together what you need. When you take pictures try and think about everything that you see in the frame – what’s in the foreground, mid-ground, background. To achieve this you must think about composing your picture (use your zoom lens and/or distancing yourself from subject/object), focussing (sharp, soft focus), use creative exposure tools on camera like fast/slow shutter speed to either freeze or blur a sense of movement, different aperture settings to control the area of focus and sharpness in your picture. E.g. a high aperture setting like f5.6 will make the background soft and out of focus whereas an aperture of f16 will make everything in the picture sharp from foreground to background. Also by zooming in or using a telephoto lens you can throw the background out of focus, or conversely if using a wide-angle everything in the frame will be in focus. Crop your images carefully.
Editing: Editing is one of the most important aspects of photographic practice so be critical and selective when you choose your final selection of 5 images and then your best photograph. Think about sequence and relation between images – does your series of images convey a sense of narrative (story) or are they repetitious? Sometimes less is more!
You Must: Gather your images and select your final selection approx 5-10 images, describe each of the images, artistically and share your thoughts on what why you took and then selected the image.
You should: Show your ability to correct or adjust the images using image manipulation software, such as Photoshop, consider the cropping, adjust levels, contrast, colour correction, B/W and balance of the image.
You could: Use Photoshop to enhance your creativity and expand on the possibilities that photography gives you, include screen grabs to illustrate the techniques you have used.
Presentation: Think about how you present your work in terms of layout, scale, colour and perspective. A Powerpoint presentation is ideal for this and allows you to change and adjust your work easily.
The presentation of your photographs is just as important as your photographic images themselves. Consistency of layout throughout is paramount and try to make your work personal.
You must: Gather all of your work and present it in a logical and aesthetic manner…
A grid format could work well for this exercise
You should: Produce an individual and comprehensive response to both your chosen artist and the inspirations that the artist has given you.
Create DIPTYCHS
Evaluation: Reflect, contrast and compare the images and ideas that you have taken and make an account of how you made the photos, development of idea and what you were trying to achieve and communicate. This can be done throughout your layout as annotation or at the end as part of your final evaluation. Finally, choose your favourite image and present this separately from your series of images. Accompany this with a brief written analysis (250-500 words) explaining in some detail what it is that you think works well about this image.
Make sure you bring with you: all of your work including your best A4 printed image for your first photography lesson in September 2020.
An over-crowded British beach — summer of 2020 — social distancingMartin Parr
intro…blog / printing / expectations / outline of year
history of photography
what is photography?
Welcome to the course!
During your first lesson or two you will be expected to submit and display your summer task. As a group we will discuss the merits and limitations of the mini-projects, and your work will be assessed soon and you will receive feedback too. Your Summer Task will then form the start of your coursework…
(If you have not completed a Summer Task as a new recruit…then you have until Monday 7th September to complete the task appropriately.)
We will also discuss your thoughts and feelings / knowledge and understanding of…
Photography’s function(s)
Photography as an art-form
Photography as a science
The difference between the study of photography and the practice of photography
Henri Cartier-Bresson once said…”Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst”
What do you think Cartier-Bresson meant by this…? Discuss
Demonstrating a critical and contextual understanding of photography can be tricky, especially if the subject is relatively new to you in Year 12. The following activities have been designed to encourage you to reflect on what you know already about photography. Hopefully, some of the prompts will encourage you to further develop your understanding of photography through additional pondering and research.
In small groups, discuss the following questions. One person in the group should be responsible for making notes capturing the main ideas of the discussion:
Why do people take/make photographs?
Why is photography important?
What skills do you need to be a good photographer?
How many different kinds of photography can you think of?
How does photography help us see the world?
Can photographic images be trusted?
What are the similarities and differences between photography and other types of visual art?
When would it not be OK to take a photograph?
How do you know when you’ve made a good photograph?
Are photographers also artists?
Where is the best place to see photographs?
What kind of photography interests you most?
What confuses or frustrates you about photography?
Watch this short film in which the photographer Henry Wessel discusses his practice. Make some brief notes. What does he help us to understand about photography?
