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Fundamentals of Digital Photography- Grades 8-12

Class Length:

One Semester

Class Size:

Minimum of 6 students, maximum of 12 students each semester

Description:

A 15 week course concentrating on learning the Fundamentals of Digital Photography

Texts will include: Fundamentals of Photography by Tom Ang (approx $25), the SECOND BOOK I will use is an online e-book by Dennis Curtin called Using Your Digital Camera - A Guide to Great Photographs. Here is the ONLINE LINK TO THE COURSE. You may use it online free of charge or you may choose to purchase a full Adobe PDF copy for yourself (and download it) for about $20. There are also Camera specific course available for sale by Mr. Curtin if you are interested.

Requirements:

Ability to purchase the book, a desire to study and participate actively in class and reliable Internet access are required for this course. Some free online software downloads will be required, the first of which is Google's excellent photo processing program, Picasa (available for PC and MAC platforms). Also, the student will have access to a DIGITAL SLR (Single lens reflex) CAMERA. These cameras are not inexpensive but are an excellent investment. There are many suitable entry level models out there ranging from the Nikon D40, D50, D60, D70, D80, D90, D100, D200, D300, D700 as well as the Canon 20D. 30D. 40D, etc. There are other manufacturers as well. Please contact me at clsinfo@comcast.net BEFORE you purchase a camera if you have doubts as to whether it is a good model. It is possible to purchase these kinds of cameras used from reliable sources like KEH.com and BHPhotoVideo.com. The more adventurous families may try CraigsList.com or EBay.com

Special Note:

If you do not have a digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera and the ability to pay for some digital image processing ( probably in the $30-40 range to cover the whole semester) then this course may not be a good match for you. The purpose of the course is to get the students actually on their way to taking excellent photos and this requires have some good equipment.

Description:

This course will familiarize the students with the essentials of Digital Photography. This will include a fully hands on approach where the students will actually work with their cameras in class, learning how to change settings, make accurate exposures, etc. Each week there will be specific reading, research and photographic assignments that are expected to be completed at home. The photographic assignments will be accomplished by the student in time for them to go to a local photo processing center (Costco, Sam's, CVS, Ritz, Target, Walmart, etc) and get some 4x6's prints to be turned in at class the following week. In addition, the students will learn how to email me their assignments. By the end of the course the students will have learned digital photography workflow, how to use their cameras accurately, artistically and creatively, and how to affordably process their images.

This will be my third time teaching this course. I have taught individuals and apprentices for many years and have received many requests for this course. I have been a successful professional photographer for 10 years and would like to be able to pass on some of my experience to others who want to learn how to take good photographs. Here is a list of some of the topics I intend to cover:

We will have a basic PHOTOGRAPHIC SHOW with the students' work at the end of the semester, location, date and time to be determined

Tutor: Christine Schaeffer

updated 2/08/2010