Project Brief
In the eye of the beholder
Key concepts / Related concepts / Global ContextCommunication / Expression, Interpretation / Personal and cultural expression
Statement of inquiry
Personal and cultural expression is communicated through independent interpretation of meaning
Inquiry Questions
Factual: What makes a good photographer? What makes a good photograph?
Conceptual: How can we capture the drama that exists in the moment?
Debatable: Does a photo tell the truth? What is ethical in the digital manipulation and enhancement of a photograph?
Photographers: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Margaret Bourke-White, Hedda Morrison, August Sander
Aims: Students will develop different skills and techniques to express ideas, feelings and culture in which we live through the studies of street photography
Tasks:
1. Students will investigate the renowned documentary photographers and their works for appreciation and criticism.
2. Students will examine the nature of a single photograph.
3. Students will develop photographic concepts and technical skills such as types of photograph, effects of aperture, shutter speed, viewpoint and lighting.
4. Students will develop better aesthetic awareness and appreciation of photography such as use of rules of third, diagonal and S-Curve in composition.
5. Students will be creative and produce a series of photo documentation in the style of street photography and demonstrate their artistic intention, work evaluation and reflection in the creative cycle.
Art Elements: Iine, shape, color, texture, space, tone and value
Art Principles: balance, contrast, perspective, rhythm, repetition, unity (harmony)
Glossary: documentary photographs, street photography, informative and evocative, imageries, rule of thirds, symbolism, aperture (f stops), shutter speed, ISO, depth of fields, focal length, dominance, subordination, viewpoint and timing, indirect and direct lighting, zone system, shutter priority, aperture priority, resolution, color balance, SLR camera
Thematic Project
In the eye of the beholder
Project Objectives
l To expand students’ subject knowledge of capturing the beauty and complexities of everyday urban life in Hong Kong
l To develop students’ technical and aesthetic competency to create quality photos in a variety of cultural settings that reflect the urban environment in which we live
l To enhance students’ creative abilities through inquiry, class based critiques and hands on shooting activities in the city
A
photo can often send a message much faster than the spoken or written word, and photography is a major means of communication. All the media use photography to tell stories and sell products. There are three forms of photo styles exist in Photojournalism namely: photo-essay, documentary and street photography. Street photography requires us to approach a subject symbolically rather than tries to capture specific news events or stories. It is more like art photography. Its goal is to capture a single instant in time, when people and their surroundings come together in interesting and beautiful shapes and combinations.
In this project, you need to produce THREE distinctive photographs to demonstrate your understanding how multiple viewpoints of entire scene can be presented in symbolic ways. You will be exploring compositional and photographic skills and combine them to create a meaningful art piece.
Brief
This project requires you to develop a thematic series through the style of street photography in respond to the topic of Community. You will show your critical observation and technical competency in capturing a meaningful deceive moment.
Be inventive, take a risk, and use different perspectives to show your photo series in a unique way. Please make the series to tell your stories. Each photograph has to relate to each other in a sequence.
The format size of the photo series is 8 x 10 inches. You will be looking at 1) appropriateness of the theme, 2) technical and compositional photography skills, and 3) cropping and selection skills
Due Date: 6th March 2015
Assessment Criteria
You will be assessed on the following: / Assessment Criteria (strand)The acquisition and development of the skills and techniques of the art form studied / Bi
The application of skills and techniques to create, perform and/or present art / Bii
A feasible, clear, imaginative and coherent artistic intention / Ci
A range and depth of creative thinking behaviours / Cii
The exploration of ideas to shape artistic intention through to a point of realization / Ciii
The construction of meaning and transferal of learning to new settings / Di
The creation of an artistic response intending to reflect or impact on the world around you / Dii
A critique of the work of self and peers / Diii
Additional requirement
1. You need to submit a hard copy of work, including developmental workbook on/before the due date.
2. The digital files (soft copy) should be saved and burned to a CD-R, please backup all working files frequently and make one final copy for yours.
3. Students’ details should be labeled on the disc and other submitted materials.
Tips and Procedures:
l Make a list of at least ten topics that are important to you. Choose one of them to expand and list eight photos might make of that topic. E.g. “A day in the life of a drama student” might have images of rehearsal, bruised toes, costumes, a performance, injuries, friends, competition, disappointment, fun, etc.
l Research and study relevant photographers’ creative artworks through the use of documentary style. What is your response towards their works? Please analyze the content and message of the works.
l Lay out your thought in the format of thumbnail sketches or storyboard. This is very helpful to show and evaluate your ideas and preparations with me in advance. The storyboard also helps you to decide the camera angles and compositions you will take.
l Walk along a street and take photos that illustrate ideas and concepts. You have much freedom in this project so you can take anything from people to storefronts. Before you photograph, think about what you want your images to say. Try to develop different photo combinations in relation to mood and feeling of the sequence. Different photo exposure may result in different visual impact.
l Pay attention to aesthetic issues particularly in light and shadow (e.g. values, tonal changes), use of camera angles (e.g. wide, standard and close-up) and composition (e.g. use of rule of thirds) for various expressions. Make sure your camera len(s) can cover the desired distant and objects.
l Make colour experiments on the photographic papers and to check if the image quality is expressed appropriately.
l IMPORTANT: Don’t delete failure photos as you need to keep them for comparison and evaluation in the DW. This is the process of your portfolio!! The key to creating a photo series is to have a lot of images from which to choose. Shoot more pictures than you think you will be able to use. Professional photographers only use 10 per cent of the images they shoot, so you will want at least 10 times the number of shots you think you will actually use.
Developing Skills (Criteria B):
Formative assessment Task on Community, a street photography style photo series (Details see project brief).
Thinking Creatively (Criteria C): Word limit is 400 words and you may use visuals (e.g. vein diagram, fish bone, mind map, etc.) to support your work.
· What are your personal goals will be for your artistic intention? What do you want to show in or through
your artwork? You need to show at least THREE goals to be achieved in the thematic project.
· How you developed your ideas towards a point of realization in the creative cycle through a range of
thinking behaviours (i.e. concept development, work analysis, experimentation, modification and
evaluation)?
· You need to plan and record this process and comment on: 1) The image choice, 2) Art elements and
principles in composition, 3) The photographic shooting technique/changes and 4) message of the entire
photo series
Responding (Criteria D): Word limit is 700 words
· Does composition convey meaning of word? Does it enhance meaning of your chosen theme?
· Did you effectively use elements and principles of design? Describe the photographs that you consider to be
the best of your photo series. Why is it your best? What do you think it communicates to others? Describe the
materials or objects used in the photos and why you selected them.
· Did you pay attention to format and structure? State the photographic process and photographic techniques
you used to achieve certain effects in the final piece. Be specific, using details and the subject specific
terminologies you learned.
· What is the major consideration of your work? Any art elements such as color, texture, values, shape and
form and art principles such as contrast, balance, harmony, rhythm, movement, space, etc. being used to
enhance the visual impact?
· Based on your research, idea development and analysis in the developmental workbook, what is the final
title or theme you have come up with? Don’t forget to include that in your final work.
· Did you reflect and evaluate very often throughout the developmental processes for every single assigned
task? What kind of strategies you have applied to your work? Explain problems you encountered through
the process and how you resolved them. Use appropriate, relevant vocabulary in your response. In your
view, did you achieve the visual effect and meaning you intended? Why or why not?
· What about the reflection of your learning outcomes? Do you think your work communicates well to the
audience? Why? What else do you think you can improve in your work quality and ways of seeing? If you
would do this project again, would you do anything differently? Why or why not?
· Did you manage your time well?
· Did you reflect on the set personal goals?? Have you achieved all goals or just partially completed? Why?
Additional reading:
http://www.walkingtheworld.com/phototips/lesson1.html
http://www.johnlovett.com/test.htm
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/zone_system.shtml
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm
http://www.street-photographers.com