For our first semester of the Photography Class, we went through the following topics.
Photography Basics:
Composition:
- Rule of Thirds
- Depth of Field
Practical Application:
- Sports Photography
- Still Photography
- Portraits
- Landscape
- Macro
Additionally, while focusing on Mac (Apple) based skill sets here, we will also be working on PC solutions that are much more affordable and accessible, as well as Android and iOS-based solutions.
As a note, and for those who want to take a look themselves, Cyberlink has their PowerDirector 365 suite that has video, photo, audio, etc. all in a subscription-based “professional” model. It comes to about $11 per month for the full suite. This is a great deal (on the surface) and I’m testing all the apps for functionality. So far, we think it may work, but contact us if you have any questions.
For those participating on the homeschooling front, we gave quizzes and a final exam at the end of the class.
To see some of the photographs taken during the competition, please scroll to the end of this post.
Photography Class 1 – Lesson 1
Photography Class 1 – Lesson 2
Photography Class 1 – Lesson 3
Photography Class 1 – Lesson 4
Photography Class 1 – Lesson 5
Photography Class 1 – Test
Photography Competition Photograph Albums
We did a photography competition at the end of the class and broke it down into 5 categories: Freeze Motion, Motion Blur, Shallow Depth of Field and Rule of Thirds, Wide Depth of Field and Landscape and Impress the Judges or Be Creative. Below are definitions for each category as well as the photographs entered into the competition by the homeschool students, with ages ranging from seven to fourteen.
- Freeze Motion
Freeze motion photography is a basic technique that suspends movement completely and keeps the moving subject in complete, or near complete, focus. This film photography technique requires a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion without blur.
- Motion Blur
Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a still image, or a sequence of images such as a movie or animation. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single frame, either due to rapid movement or long exposure.
- Shallow Depth of Field and Rule of Thirds
A basic definition of depth of field is: the zone of acceptable sharpness within a photo that will appear in focus. In every picture there is a certain area of your image in front of, and behind the subject that will appear in focus. … Some images may have very small zones of focus which is called shallow depth of field. A basic definition of rule of thirds is: In photography, the rule of thirds is a type of composition in which an image is divided evenly into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, and the subject of the image is placed at the intersection of those dividing lines, or along one of the lines itself.
- Wide Depth of Field and Landscape
A basic definition of depth of field is: the zone of acceptable sharpness within a photo that will appear in focus. In every picture there is a certain area of your image in front of, and behind the subject, that will appear in focus. … Others may have a very large zone of focus which is called wide or deep depth of field.
- Impress the Judges / Be Creative
Be as creative as you want to and try to impress the judges with the best photograph with the most creativity you can muster.
