PHOTOGRAPHY RESEARCH PROJECT

“Unless you photograph what you love, you are not going to make good art.”

– Sally Mann  

For this project you are being asked to consider a type of photography that interests you.  

Each student will then select two photographers who work in a photographic style that interests them, research their life, and

analyze three of their photographs.

A minimum of six photographs should be included in your presentation

(3 photographs by each photographer).

This project is due next week and is worth a total of 100 points toward your final grade.

Photography Research Assignment Guidelines

•  In-Class Presentation of two photographers working in a similar style.

•  Your presentation should include a title slide featuring the name of the assignment and/or the photographers you have chosen to research.

•  One slide should be included for each photograph •  (a total of 6 slides/6 photographs)

Photography Research Assignment Guidelines continued…

•  Your presentation should feature the following information (somewhere in it – with text):

•  Date of birth/Nationality of each photographer

•  Typical subject matter of photographs made by each photographer (i.e.: portraiture, war photography, fashion photography).

Photography Research Assignment Guidelines continued…

•  What the photographers themselves said/say about their work (quotes OK).

•  What others have said about the work of these photographers (quotes OK).

•  How each photographer has influenced photography at large/the field (genre) they are working in.

•  Photography Research Assignment Guidelines continued…

•  One or two sentences explaining what design elements and principles make their individual photographs effective.

•  What do you appreciate about this person and/or his/her work?

•  Your opinion of the work and anything else you find important to share about the work of your chosen photographers.

Genres of Photography

If you are having a hard time initially narrowing it down to two photographers, that’s fine--- we are going to look at a list of types

(genres) of photography.

Narrowing down the genre of photography you are interested in is the first step.

From there, step two is to start to investigate photographers who work in that style.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Photography_by_genre

Types of Photography (There are more than this – this is just a starting point)

•  Advertising – Taking pictures of products (food, cars, etc.) for commercial purposes. Fashion photography is considered a separate field.

•  Aerial – Pictures captured from a high altitude, such as planes, balloons, parachutes, skyscrapers, etc.

•  Architectural- •  Baby/Child – A special field of portrait photography focusing on

babies and young children.•  Celebrity – A special field of portrait photography focusing on

candid shots of famous people.•  Cityscape – Photography that focuses on cities and urban areas.

Types  of  Photography    (There  are  more  than  this  –  this  is  just  a  star6ng  point)  

 

•  Fashion – Captures models in a glamorous light and displays fashion items such as clothes, shoes and other accessories.

•  Forensic – Photography taken at an accident or crime scene for legal purposes.

•  Landscape – Shows spaces within nature, usually involving little or no human activity.

•  Long Exposure – Using a very slow shutter speed to capture stationary subjects in sharp focus, while blurring the moving elements.

•  Macro – The art of photographing very small and/or close-up objects.

•  Night – Photography taken outdoors between dusk and dawn.

Types  of  Photography  con6nued…      

•  Photojournalism – Capturing images in order to tell a news story.•  Portrait – Photographs of a person (or group of people) that

captures the expression, personality, and mood of the subject.•  Sports – Capturing important moments during sporting events.•  Still Life – The depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a

small grouping of objects.•  Travel – Photographs that capture an area’s landscape, people,

cultures, customs and history.•  Underwater – Capturing pictures while under water, usually by scuba

diving, swimming, snorkeling, or from a submersible.•  Wildlife – Photography that focuses on animals in their natural

habitat.

This project is due next week when class begin.

Each student will present their project via a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation to the class.

Come to class (on time and) ready to transfer your file to the instructor’s computer and into the desktop file labeled “Photography Research Project.” You can also email it via We Transfer.

Please label your file with your first and last name.

Since time is of the essence, we are going to take a few minutes to brainstorm so that you all walk out of here today, hopefully

with some research project direction…..