Arts Department

Essential Knowledge and Skills

Digital Photography introduces students to the world of photojournalism and fine arts photography. The law, ethics, and history of photography will complement the major units of study: operation and care of the camera, taking photographs and video, composition and management skills. Some out-of-class time will be required, including the time to shoot at least three photo assignments per grading period. The curriculum for this course includes the inventive use of light and photographic equipment to create art and to tell stories. With an emphasis on production, this course is designed to develop higher-level thinking, art-related technology skill, art criticism, art history, and aesthetics. Digital Photography aligns with the Utah State Core Curriculum, while also incorporating standard desktop photo editing tools like Photoshop and Fireworks, and newer Web 2.0 tools like Flickr, PhotoBucket, Picnik, and Voicethread.

Indicators of Student Learning Upon the completion of this course, students will:

• Learn the basics of operating a video and still digital camera.

• Understand and apply rules of composition (rule of thirds, balance, framing, leading lines, repetition of shapes).

• Gain a knowledge of technical quality (focus, lighting stopping action, depth of field, equivalent exposures).

• Understand the basics of digital photography (LPI, PPI, DPI).

• Learn Photoshop (cropping, sizing, sharpening, color correction, dodging/burning, saving in different formats).

• Create expressive photographs using art elements, including value, texture, contrast, and depth.

• Create expressive photographs using principles, including mood, emphasis, composition, and unity, to organize the art elements.

• Analyze and compare photography using a variety of aesthetic approaches.

• Evaluate photography based on forming techniques, effective use of art elements and principles, fulfillment of functions, impact of content, expressive qualities, and aesthetic significance.

• Explore how photography can be integrated across disciplines.

• Predict how photography can add quality to life and lifelong learning.

Communication

• Build an understanding of the vocabulary specific to digital photography.

• Express ideas in written and oral form using the correct terminology.

• Synthesize photo techniques to create dynamic photo essays and captions.

• Articulate the techniques and legacy of great photographers.

• Critique the photography of others.

• Share ideas and information in small and whole class discussion, visual presentations, written response and multimedia presentations.

• Write cohesive, comprehensible reports using the Judge Writing Rubric.

• Research First Amendment cases with regard to copyright and gain an understanding of Creative Commons images and licensing.

Technology

• Use a word processor to produce well-formatted written work.

• Create individual projects using various multimedia tools such as Flickr, PhotoBucket, Splashup, Voicethread and Jumpcut.

• Use the Internet as an effective research tool.

• Learn how to use both still and video cameras.

• Learn photo manipulation and the ethics of the practice

Assessment

• Demonstrate competency in digital photography by publishing work on the Judge web site, in the school paper, Literary Magazine, or yearbook, and through the creation of an individual online portfolio.

• Demonstrate competency in writing by completing at least four photo essays.

• Demonstrate competency through presenting and critiquing the works of professional photographers.

• Exhibit works of art selected by themes such as mastery of a medium, Core objectives, and significant content.