- Photography, 10th ed., by Barbara London, Jim Stone, and John Upton (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011).
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-71149-9
Syllabus for PHO-101
INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY
Introduction to Photography is an online distance learning course designed to help you discover and develop the skills required to use photography confidently and effectively. The course introduces you to basic photographic principles and concepts and relies on the structure of the textbook Photography, 10th ed., by Barbara London, Jim Stone, and John Upton (published by Prentice Hall). A major emphasis for the course is to improve visual awareness.
The Internet provides exciting opportunities to share rich visual experiences by viewing and studying the work of others, including professional photographers. Completion of activities requires you to interact frequently with other participants, to work with the assigned textbook and relevant Web sites, and to apply the insights you gain to your own photography.
On successfully completing this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
Required Textbook
|
|
Camera
You will need either a digital SLR camera or a 35mm film SLR camera that allows manual control of shutter speed, aperture, and focusing distance. A normal lens (e.g., 50 mm or 18–55 mm) is sufficient.
General note: Whether you use a digital camera or 35mm film camera, your camera needs to be "adjustable," that is, it must have, at minimum, the option of manually selecting the shutter speed, aperture, and focusing distances. Automatic cameras are acceptable as long as you can override the aforementioned automatic features and control them manually. Generally, this will entail having a single-lens reflex (SLR or D-SLR) camera with manual controls and interchangeable lenses. Fully automatic or point-and-shoot cameras without manual capabilities are not acceptable for this course.
Digital camera users: Ancillary supplies include a memory card, batteries (or rechargeable batteries and charger), and flash (if not already built in to your camera).
Film users: Expect to use about 10 rolls of 24-exposure 35mm color negative film. In addition to the cost of film, you will need access to a film processing service providing digitization of processed 35mm film.
Introduction to Photography is a three-credit online course, consisting of six (6) modules and a final project. Five modules center on a photographic exercise and its associated online participation (self-critique and subsequent class discussion). Modules include objectives, getting started study materials (including reading from the required textbook and a creative exercise) and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to complete five photographic exercises and their associated online participation (self-critique and subsequent class discussion), six creative exercises, an online discussion forum, and a final project. See below for more details.
Consult the course Calendar for due dates.
Introduction to Photography requires you to complete five (5) photographic exercises (in modules 1–3 and 5–6), six (6) creative exercises, and an online discussion question in module 4. The photographic exercises involve two types of activities: (1) taking, processing, selecting, editing, and displaying photos in an online photo album (hosted by an online album service of your choice and made available to all class participants for review) and (2) self-critiquing one's photos and participating in online discussions of each other's work. You will be graded on both the quality of your photos (60%) and your online participation (40%). The six creative exercises entail posting responses to activities in class discussion forums.
The Internet has a plethora of online album services, some of which also offer fine film processing services. Basic membership is often free. Possible options include:
Online ParticipationCommunication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Since we believe significant discovery occurs through studying and sharing commentary pertaining to visual materials, this course has been designed for maximum communication and collaboration among students, mentor, and contributing consultants for the course.
Our class discussions include three types of forums: (1) a "Class Lounge," where you can post comments, ask questions, and share information about course-related topics and issues at any time; (2) photographic exercise forums, where you post self-critiques of your photographic exercises and contribute constructive comments on the work of your classmates; and (3) creative exercise forums and an online discussion forum, where you post and reply to discussion topics in response to a specific activity or question.
Meaningful participation in discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.
For posting guidelines and additional help with discussion board activities, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.
Final ProjectFor the final project, you will create a portfolio of twenty (20) images that demonstrate an understanding of the techniques explored throughout the course and that express a personal or critical point of view. Accompanying the images will be a narrative (artist's statement) that:
A photography portfolio is a cohesive body of work that tells a visual story. The final project is your opportunity to apply the techniques and ideas covered in the course to the production of a portfolio of images whose subject is of your own choosing. You may elect to revisit and expand on one of the topics or approaches covered in earlier activities, or you may head off in another direction entirely. The choice is yours. Your images, however, must relate to one another. In other words, your portfolio should not be a collection of your “greatest hits” but rather a formally and conceptually unified body of work.
Suggestions for Choosing Your Theme
Your portfolio, like a well-written book, should have a unifying theme. This theme can be conceptual or it can be technical. For example, your theme could be about courage, love, urban life, rural life, garbage. Alternatively you can create a theme based on photographic technicalities. For example, you could create a portfolio showcasing all of your best wide-angle work or one that displays your best black-and-white work. The themes for creating a portfolio are only limited by your own imagination. So take your time and create a themed portfolio that means something to you.
Suggestions for Choosing the Photos
Choosing the right images to put in your portfolio will be a time-consuming process. By the nature of the portfolio itself, only your best pieces should be placed within the portfolio. If you don't have too many top picks, spend some more time photographing until you get the desired results. Your portfolio is something you should be proud of, not something thrown together out of impatience and haste. Make sure that the images are in a logical order—either chronological or through mood development.
Evaluation Rubric for Final Project
Your final project will be evaluated according to the following criteria (weights in parentheses are approximate):
For additional information on the final project, go to the Final Project section of the course Web site. (See also the course Calendar.)
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a nonarea of study course), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Study Tips
Consider the following study tips for success:
Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
Academic Dishonesty
Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:
Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized activity, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.
A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.
If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.
Plagiarism
Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
Thomas Edison State College. All Rights Reserved.