8-Week Digital Photography Workshop

PHOTO 1 

Photo I is the technical core of the curriculum. Students learn the mechanics of cameras and lenses as well as the elements of exposure, composition, framing, and how to understand different characteristics of light. In this course, students begin to unlock the possibilities offered by the modern digital camera. Techniques are practiced through individual assignments which are critiqued by faculty and peers. Emphasis is placed on developing practical technical skills for handling modern digital cameras and the ability to produce accurate exposures under a range of real-world and artificial lighting conditions. Students will develop a working ability to recognize and create dramatic exposures using natural and strobe lighting both in the studio as well as in the field. 

IMAGING 1 

This course is an intensive introduction to Adobe Lightroom as a RAW digital editing and asset management system as well as Photoshop as a digital darkroom tool. Once immersed in Adobe applications, students acquire key digital darkroom techniques from nondestructive editing to color and tonal control over their images. Students will also learn the process of digital workflow from RAW processing through local adjustments and output for the web. Along with lectures and demonstrations, Imaging I allows plenty of lab time for students to practice and perfect their image editing skills. 

VISION AND STYLE 

The focus of the class will be to provide students with tools for developing and defining their visual style. This class pushes students to explore their personal interests in photography. Students will define and develop a personal style and a specific area of interest studying master bodies of work while exploring different photographic genres. Students will become acquainted with the principles of composition, color, editing, sequencing, and presentation. Through writing, journaling, drawing, research, and photographic assignments, students will gain a level of self-awareness necessary to understand the origins of their ideas and start to conceive how their work might fit into the context of current practices. 

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY 

This course teaches students critical thinking skills and the visual language of photography and pushes them to explore their interests in the medium. Studying master bodies of work across many photographic genres through weekly lectures and discussions, students will be guided to develop skills in visual observation and analysis. Students learn to think in an organized and critical way as it relates to photography. 

SHOOTING LAB 

A unique hands-on course in which students develop core professional camera skills and techniques during location shoots. Covering a wide range of genres along with aesthetic, logistical, and technical challenges, students will have the opportunity to work directly with instructors, applying new skills across a range of assignments of increasing complexity.

PHOTOGRAPHY AS FINE ART 

In this course, students become familiar with current curatorial standards and practices. Students will have the opportunity to meet with and hear directly from exhibition curators and artists. They will also see firsthand the finished product of the medium while learning a diverse array of substrates, sequencing, and presentation ideologies. Instructors lecture and lead guided tours through galleries and museums in New York City and discuss artistic practices and bodies of work, both contemporary and throughout the history of photography.