Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AS 289-2"
COURSE NAME: "Digital Photography"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring Semester 2012

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Soriani Paolo
HOURS: T 13:15-16:00
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This is a course in basic digital photography, composed of 14 sessions (each being 2:30 hours long) dedicated to PORTRAIT .
The students will be able to create their own Portfolio, including eight/ten photos, and a one written page explanation of their work. In this part of the course the teacher and the fellow classmates following two criteria will critique the works: Techniques and Creativity. The best pictures of all students will be presented with a multimedia slide show during the final exhibition of classes.

Pre-requisite for the course:

A ten pictures' digital portfolio has to be prepared to be seen during the first class. Photos shall be uploaded on a pendrive or on a CD-R. the size of each photo hasn't to be lower than 900x600dpi

each participant must have his/her own digital camera with a wide lens or an optical zoom 3x or more and/or 35mm TTL camera with 28/80mm lens zoom or equivalents.

Cameras need functions selector M,A,S,P ; a tripod is strongly recommended. Additional equipments: Laptop with photoshop

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
This is a course in basic digital photography, composed of 14 sessions (each being 2:30 hours long) dedicated to PORTRAIT, divided in two parts:

The first being theoretical, including sessions showing the basic functions of the camera, the use of lights, elements of composition, interaction between colours, visions of architectures and interiors, Adobe Lightroom 3.6, Photoshop CS5 and other software elements.

The second being practical including fieldworks where you will be applying what you've learned in the previous lessons.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The main objective of the course is to teach student to be prepared to face people to represent their private, social or artistic personality, and every situations where the photographer is a witness of an event to be shared through images. Studio and outdoor shooting techniques will be interlaced to new perspectives in photography given by usage of specific software. Every week student will practice about techniques with specific assignments given day by day.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
The Digital Photography Handbook: An Illustrated Step-by-step Guide (Paperback)	Doug Harman (Author), David Jones (Author)	Quercus Publishing Plc	ISBN 10:1905204140 - ISBN 13: 978-1905204144

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Photography portfolio		20
Attendance		30
Mid-term Test		20
Final Project		30

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:

The final grade is based upon the following elements:

- Attendance

- midterm quiz

- Handbook study and suggested readings

- preparation of a personal exhibition: students have to choose a topic during the class, and work about it to get to a selection of photos that must demonstrate technical capacity, creativity and expressiveness in communicating the theme.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE POLICY Students are supposed to come prepared to class and participate in all activities. Active participation is crucial, since the learning process requires considerable practice. Regular attendance is an essential component of class participation. Students are allowed three (3) absences. Additional absences will lower the participation portion of the grade considerably. Make sure your travel plans do not interfere with the class schedule. MAKE-UPS Individual arrangements for make-ups will be done only for students with medical emergencies or any other valid reasons. The Midterm and Final Exam can only be made up with approval from the Dean of Academic Affairs (Please see the John Cabot University Catalogue and Student Handbook). Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Session	Session Focus	Other Assignment
Session1	A new approach to digital photography Knowledge of the camera’s technical elements: The body, the lenses, the accessories. How to use the camera functions and settings, traditional and digital pictures, basic grammar of photography. The basic elements of the camera and the correct usage of the lenses. The different meanings of light and shadow, the exposure, relationship between shutter speed and diaphragm aperture, the depth of field
Session2	Photographic Techniques of Portrait Photography The equipment, the lenses, the balance of the image, the perspective control, the depth of field, the best natural light, the choice of point of view and angles, how to avoid the obvious
Session3	The PORTRAIT Photography I - How to take portraits using natural lights.Relationship between figures and background. Techniques indoor. Fieldwork
Session4	Masters of Portrait photography The style, the techniques, the images of the masters of Portrait Photography
Session5	The PORTRAIT Photography II - How to take portraits using natural lights. Techniques and equipments outdoor. Fieldwork
Session6	Analysis and screening of students’ photos
Session7	Midterm exam - Discuss your chosen theme Exam to evaluate knowledge taken during first half of the course and theorical knowledge studied on reading list’s texts
Session8	The PORTRAIT Photography III - How to take portraits using artificial lights.Studio techniques. Fieldwork
Session9	Visit to Photo Exhibits To be defined
Session10	Planning a photographic project/ how to use software to organize your archive. - The choice of the theme, color or B/W?, style and creativity, relationship between the picture series, skills and troubles, The choice, the topics, the formats, the quality saving, the size, the storage, photo sharing and presentation	Assignment: prepare a selection of 10/15 pictures on CD-Rom for final examination to print on photographic 8”x10” size paper.
Session11	Photoshop Lightroom elements: how to use software to enhance the quality of pictures. I Advanced corrections, use of levels, contrast, adjusting for colour, filters, Perspective,. Assignment: prepare a selection of 30 pictures on CD-Rom for final examination to create a slideshow and print on photographic 8”x10” size paper
Session12	Photoshop elements: how to use software to enhance the quality of your pictures. II Black and White gray scale, saving formats, relationship between files and prints
Session13	The slide show: how to realize a multimedia presentation for final exhibition - Organization of the exhibit
Session14	Discuss your chosen theme and the images realized Presentation of your photos selected, which will be critiqued and analyzed by the instructors of the course, ISU jury, your fellow classmates according the established criteria. Realization of the Portfolio and General review of the arguments presented.	Assignment: You will be required to realize a CD to document all of your work completed throughout this course. The CD will be left to the University Archive.