Lesson 1

Open Image and Copy Background

1. Open Photoshop (From your Start Menu > Programs > Adobe Photoshop Elements or CS5)

2. Open your image by going to the File menu and selecting Open.

3. Choose the File and click Open

4. Make sure the Layers Palette is visible, if not go to Window > Layers

5. Copy your background using the keyboard shortcut CNTRL + J or Command + J

Adjust Levels

1. Click on the Cookie and choose Levels.

Adjust the sliders.

Black = Shadow, Gray = Midtone, White = highlights.

Click OK.

2. Turn on and off the visibility of the Adjustment layers to see the difference.

Crop and Straighten

1. Click on the Background Copy (Layer 1). Click on the Crop Tool in the Tools Palette (keyboard shortcut is C)

2. Draw a crop Marquee around the edges of the image image and pull the corners in to set the area that will be cropped (the area inside the crop mark will be left and the area outside will be discarded)

3. Make sure the Perspective box is not checked

4. To straighten the image, move your cursor just outside the marquee near a corner. Your cursor icon will change to a double-pointing curved arrow indicating that you can rotate the marquee.

5. Rotate and move the marquee so that one edge follows a horizon line.

6. After you get that one edge aligned with the horizon, reposition all four edges to mark the exact crop area.

7. Press Return or Enter on your keyboard to crop the image.

Add a border using the crop tool

1. First select the background color by clicking on the Set Background Color Square in your Tool Palette. Choose your color and click OK.

2. Next make a crop selection and drag the borders outside of the document area.

3. When you're happy with the selection press enter.

You will see a colored border added to your photo.

Rotate & Flip

1. Using the cropped image, go to the 


Image Menu > Rotate Canvas > 180 degrees

2. go to the Image Menu > Rotate Canvas > 90 degrees CW

3. go to the Image Menu > Rotate Canvas > 90 CCW

4. go to the Image Menu > Rotate Canvas > Flip Vertical

5. go to the Image Menu > Rotate Canvas > Flip Horizontal

Merge Down

Click on the Levels Layer and hold down CNTRL + E or COMMAND + E to merge down.

Save the image:

Save your image by going to the File menu -> Save As

(Choose JPEG for finished images, PSD for unfinished images).

For JPEG save the image at the highest size (Size 12).

Advanced Students

watch this video:

http://www.deke.com/content/photoshop-cs5-top-5-common-sense-enhancements

Content Aware Fill (New in CS5)

[Make sure you are working on a Flattened image]

1. Drag out the crop tool to match the boundaries of the image.

2. Rotate the crop tool so that the corners are outside of the image.

3. Click Enter to apply the crop.

4. There should be some spaces that are filled in with the background color, where there was no image. Circle one of those areas using the Lasso tool.

5. Click Delete or Backspace to bring up the Fill dialog box.

6. Choose Content Aware Fill. Click OK.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 for the remaining areas.

images for lesson 1

video for digital photography class:

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/sally-mann

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/collier-schorr

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/cindy-sherman

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/hiroshi-sugimoto

Digital Photography Syllabus (January/February)

The University Settlement

Digital Photography: Projects Class

This course will help students develop their photography skills by pursuing individual projects of their choice.  Students will pick a topic of interest to pursue for the duration of the class and photograph on their own outside of class. Each week students will present work in class for a group critique.

The class will include a combination of elements including technical instruction, formal discussion, conceptual development and peer feedback. I will introduce photographic history and references as appropriate to individual projects.

Note: Students may photograph in digital or analog. Students must either print work and bring it to class, or bring a CD of digital files to the class to be projected (recommended: 8x10 inches at 300 dpi). Students should have 7-10 images to share each week. Class is open to all levels.

Class #1

1. Introduction to the course, student and instructor introductions.

2. Project Ideas

3. Discuss Camera Settings, technical elements of student cameras

4. Work Flow & Downloading

Class #2

1. Students present work for group critique

2. Group discussion and brainstorming for the upcoming week’s project.

Class #3

1. Students present work for group critique

2. Group discussion and brainstorming for the upcoming week’s project.

Class #4

1. Students present work for final critique  

Photoshop Syllabus (January/February)

University Settlement Photoshop (January/February):

This course will be centered on improving your Photoshop skills.  The class will include a mix of beginning and advanced students, and I may divide the group at times to make sure everyone is challenged. If you are new to Photoshop you will be introduced to the basic skills necessary to organize and edit your images.   Advanced students will review previous material and learn new techniques available in CS5 for improving their images.

It is very important that you have access to a computer with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to practice outside of class. There will be lessons posted on the class blog.  I would like everyone to practice the techniques in the lesson for homework and bring in an example of his or her work each time we meet.

Week 1 (January 11)

Proper Camera Settings

Organizing Files

Adobe Bridge or Photoshop Elements Organizer, Opening files

Beginning Students: Introduction to Photoshop

Tools Palette: Zoom, Cropping, Straighten, Rotate, Flip,

Layers Palette, Undo (History)

Image Size, Save, Save As

Advanced Students: Review of Tools Palette, RAW files, Adjust multiple Raw Files at one time, Open JPEG in Camera Raw, New Tools in CS5

Week 2 (January 25)

Layers Palette: Automatic Adjustments, Adjustment Layers: Exposure, Saturation, Black & White, Contrast, Levels, Curves, Opacity Slider

Tools Palette: Brushes, Stamp Tool, Zoom, Hand Tool, Burn, Dodge, Sponge, Eraser

Week 3 (February 8)

Layers Palette: Merge Down, Flatten Image, Merge Visible,

Tools Palette: Quick Selection, Marquee Tools, Magic Wand, Lasso, Feather Selection, Move, Blur, Sharpen, Smudge, Text Tool

Week 4 - (February 22)

Layers Palette: Adjustments to selections, Copying & Pasting selections,

Masks and Channels, Free Transform, Color Balance

Tools Palette: Healing Brush, Patch Tool, Pen Tool

Preparing the image for print, Image Size, Border, Canvas

Winter Classes
January 11 - February 22

Photoshop
1pm-3pm

Digital Photography
3pm-5pm

University Settlement, Classroom 4

Classes meet every other week, starting January 11

Schedule:

Wednesday, January 4 Off                                           Wednesday, January 11

Wednesday, January 18 Off                                        Wednesday, January 25

Wednesday, February 1 Off                                        Wednesday, February 8

Wednesday, February 15 Off                                      Wednesday, February 22

Late Fall Classes 2011

Photoshop
11AM-1PM

Digital Photography: Bookmaking
1PM-3PM


Wednesdays, November-December 2011

University Settlement Photoshop:

This (8)-week course will cover basic Photoshop concepts and techniques, including introduction to the tools palate, layers palate, adjustment layers, various file formats and creating a work-flow that works for you.

The focus of this course will be improving straight images, particularly images you have already taken and have problems with that you would like to resolve.

* Note: Students should have access to a computer where they can practice working on Photoshop outside of class.

Students will also need a flash drive or external hard drive for saving their work.

Course Plan:

Class #1

1. Introduction to the course, student and instructor introductions.

2. Introduction to the Tools Palette

3. Opening files

4. Working in Layers/ Adjustment Layers

5. Undo (History),

6. Save, Save As, JPEG, PSD

7. External Hard Drives and Flash Drives

Class #2

1. Review of Week 1

2. Crop tool, Move Tool, Hand Tool

3. Selection Tools - Marquee selection tools, Lasso tools,

4. Free Transform

5. Zoom in/Zoom Out

Class #3

1. Review of week 2

2. Quick selection/Magic Wand tools,

3. Copy and Paste Selections

Class #4

1. Review or week 3

2. Eraser tool, Brush tool

3. Opacity slider/ Blending

Class #5

1. Review of week 4

2. Clone Stamp

3. Dodge & Burn

Class #6

1. Review of week 5

2. Text Tool

3. Borders/Framing

4. Resize / Image Size

Class #7-8

1. Final Presentation of students finished images.

2. Group critique.

3. Review of all topics covered

University Settlement Digital Photography:

Bookmaking:

Making a book is a great way to organize photographs and create a portable work of art.  You will choose a theme, select and edit your images, create a sequence, write an artist statement, and then layout your book.  Students can purchase a scrapbook-style photo album and insert printed images into it or layout the book on their computer and have it printed. We will discuss which styles and formats best display your images.  If students choose to have their book printed online two suggested printers are Blurb.com or iphoto.  It is highly recommended that students come to the first class with a series of images or a particular project in mind.

I think it's best if everyone works together on blurb, unless anyone has a strong preference to make their book by hand or in iphoto.  Blurb has an online layout system so you can access your book at home and from the computers at University Settlement. If you have a moment you can check it out:

Here is the blurb website:

http://www.blurb.com/

If you are working on your own laptop and bringing it with you, you can download their software here:

http://www.blurb.com/make/booksmart

If you want to work with the online system that you can access anywhere you can look at it here:

http://www.blurb.com/make/bookify

We will work out the schedule together depending on if we will meet 6 or 8 weeks.

Early Fall classes at University Settlement:

11AM-1PM Photoshop CS5


SEPT 14 -CLASS AT UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT


1PM-3PM  Digital Photography: Natural Light, Shadows and Reflections 


SEPT 14 - VISIT TO METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

University Settlement Photoshop

University Settlement Photoshop:

The focus of this course will be improving straight images, particularly images you have already taken and have problems with that you would like to resolve.

This is a great course for orienting yourself with Photoshop and also if you want to improve on the skills you already have. It is highly recommended that you have access to a computer with Photoshop to practice.

There will be weekly lessons posted on the class blog, and I would like everyone to practice the lesson at home and bring in an example of their work each week.

Keyboard shortcuts will also be on the class blog.

Week 1 (September 7)

Introduction to Photoshop:

Tools Palette, Opening files, Undo (History), Cropping, Straighten, Rotate, Flip, Layers Palette

Save, Save As

Week 2 (September 14)

Brushes, Stamp Tool, Zoom, Hand Tool, Burn, Dodge, Sponge, Eraser

Week 3 (September 21)

Automatic Adjustments, Exposure, Saturation, Black & White, Contrast, Levels, Curves,

Week 4 - (September 28)

Marquee Tools, Magic Wand, Lasso, Feather Selection, Move, Blur, Sharpen, Smudge,

Week 5 (October 5)

Paint Brush, Paint Bucket, Eye Dropper, Default colors

Week 6 (October 12

Adjustments to selections, Copying selections, Merge Down, Flatten Image

Week 7 (October 19)

Masks and Channels, Free Transform

Week 8 (October 26)

Filters, Healing Brush, Patch Tool, Pen Tool

Preparing the image for print, Image Size, Border, Canvas

Natural Light, Shadows and Reflections in Photography

 The University Settlement

Natural Light, Shadows and Reflections in Photography

This 8-week course will explore the use of natural light, shadows and reflections as essential compositional elements in photography. Slide presentations will be used for reference and inspiration. Some historical and contemporary photographers that will be discussed include Eugéne Atget, Lee Friedlander, Adré Kertész, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andrzej Lachowicz, Jessica Todd Harper, Mikiko Hara, and Tierney Gearon.  In addition to slide presentations, guest speakers and gallery visits will serve to further inspire student work. 

Students will be asked to photograph on their own outside of class and present work in class for a group critique. It is suggested that students photograph in the early morning or late afternoon to make use of peak hours for beautiful natural light and dramatic shadows. Students may photograph any subject matter they choose, as long as natural light, shadows, or reflections are incorporated into the composition.

Note: Students may photograph in digital or analog. Students must either print work and bring it to class, or bring a CD of digital files to the class to be projected (recommended: 8x10 inches at 300 dpi). Students should have 7-10 images to share each week. Class is open to all levels.

Lesson Plans

Class #1 – September 7

1. Introduction to the course, student and instructor introductions. (10 minutes)

2. Slide presentation of early photographers working with natural light, shadow, and reflection. Focus on natural light. (20 minutes)

3. Review technical elements of student cameras, materials they plan to use, and technique. Instructor handout of recommended places to print work and purchase photographic materials. (15 minutes)

4. Practice shoot outside, focusing on natural light, with guidance from instructor. (1 hour)

5. Return to classroom for questions and comments. Brainstorm subject matter students would like to photograph over the week using natural light. (15 minutes)

Class #2 - September 14

1. Students present work for group critique on natural light. (1 hour, 15 min)

2. Slide presentation. (30 min)

3. Group discussion and brainstorming for the upcoming week’s project. (15 min)

Class #3 - September 21

1. Students present work for group critique on shadow. (1 hour, 15 min)

2. Slide presentation on photographers using reflection. (30 min)

3. Group discussion and brainstorming for the upcoming week’s project. (15 min)

Class #4 - September 28

1. Students present work for group critique on reflection. (1 hour, 15 min)

2. Slide presentation on all three topics (15 min)

3. Students select topic from the previous 3 weeks for final project. (30 min)

Class #5 - October 5

1. Students share progress towards final project. (2 hours)

Class #6 – October 12

1. Students share progress towards final project. (2 hours)

Class #7 - October 19

1. Students share progress towards final project. (2 hours) 

Class #8 - October 26

1. Final Presentation and critique (2 hours)

Questions for Natural Light Class

Write down locations in your home where you often observe light or shadow or reflections:

Is there anywhere in your daily routine where you notice light, shadow, or reflections?

Are there any special places you have visited where you remember seeing vivid light, shadow, and reflections?

Is there a particular time of day when you like the light in your home or neighborhood or other place where you spend lots of time?

Do you feel that light, shadows, or reflections play a part in your daily life / affect your mood?

artist references (natural light class)

Alessandra Sanguinetti

http://www.yossimilo.com/artists/ales_sang/

Tierney Gearon

http://www.yossimilo.com/artists/tier_gear/

Adam Bartos

http://www.yossimilo.com/artists/adam_bart/?show=0&img_num=0#title

Martina Mullaney

http://www.yossimilo.com/artists/mart_mull/

Nicholas Nixon

http://www.yossimilo.com/artists/nich_nixo/?show=0#title

Sugimoto

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/sugimoto/clip2.html

http://video.pbs.org/video/1239603168

Michael Kenna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWM_0-tlmO4

Jessica Todd Harper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIYGFGDo1G4

http://www.jessicatoddharper.com/

Julia Margaret Cameron

http://sunpictures.com/www/

Henry Wessel

http://www.robertmann.com/artists/wessel/image_01.html

Matthew Pillsbury

http://www.matthewpillsbury.com/

Amy Arbus

http://www.amadorgallery.com/Amy%20Arbus.html

Current Exhibitions:

MOMA New Photography

http://moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1199

ICP

http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/upcoming

Met

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={4F9E1DE0-D720-40FF-ACF3-ACFA8C4673A7}

Aperture

http://www.aperture.org/gallery/

Danziger

http://www.danzigerprojects.com/exhibitions/2011_9_edward-steichen-the-last-pri/

Robert Mann

http://robertmann.com/exhibitions/upcoming.html

Sasha Wolf

http://sashawolf.com/artists/elinor-carucci/closer/
l

Clamp Art

http://clampart.com/artists/wilkes/wilkesdin.html

images for final exam!

photo3e

photo2e

photo 1e

images for lesson: text, gradient

workflow

dpBestflow® is the new guide for every aspect of digital imaging technology from ASMP, the leader in education for the professional photographer. Let us know what you think of the site by filling out this quick eight question survey.

http://www.dpbestflow.org/