Welcome to A Level

Photography!

Key points.

• You need your own camera – ideally a DSLR- Nikon.

• You must have your own card reader, SD cards, memory stick and back your work up in at least two places.

• You will be expected to do regular independent photo shoots outside of school in your own time.

• It is an art course. You will need to be creative.

• You will learn how to use Photoshop– IT skills are important and there is quite a lot of written work.

• You will take photos digitally and in the darkroom.

• You will be expected to put 4 hours in outside of your 4 hours of lesson time per week.

Summer Task Booklet

• Available on the school website

• Under the ‘Post-16’ tab but the details are

here too

Photography summer task

Task 1

Under the theme of Line, Tone, Pattern and Texture take 50 Photographs during the holidays.

Keep the following photographers in mind when you are taking your photographs: -

➢ Alexander Rodschenko

➢ Karl Blossfeldt

➢ Aaron Siskind

➢ Keith Arnatt

➢ Bill Brandt (no nudity please!)

You can present this in whatever way you like- but you must get creative.

Also keep a digital version of the photographs on a USB ready to also hand in.

You will need to hand this in on your FIRST Photography lesson.

Remember we can find beauty in everything around us!

Alexander RodschenkoRodschenko was a Russian artist, sculptor and photographer form the 50’s. He was one of the founders of Constructivism and Russian design.

Karl Blossfeldt

-was a German photographer, sculptor, teacher, and artist who worked in Berlin, Germany. He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants and living things.

Aaron Siskind-was an American photographer whose work focuses on the details of nature and architecture.

Keith Arnatt-was a conceptual artist who took photographs of rubbish and made it look beautiful!

Bill Brandt-was a British photographer and photojournalist. Although born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of distorted nudes, portraits of famous artists and landscapes.

Task 2

• Find a piece of work from a photographer that inspires you

and research it. Look up any terms or information you are

not sure of.

• Use the 6 ‘How to analyse a photograph’ following

slides to help you analyse your chosen photographer.

• Make sure you include the image and details of the

photographer and title/date.

How to annualize/evaluate photographs(1)

When you are writing about how you FEEL about the piece you could use…

(1)

Mood• The photograph gives the impression of…• Attitude• Focus (is there a key feature?)• Subject (what is in the picture)• The photographer gives a sense of….• There is a suggestion of…• The scene portrays a…• There is a feeling of…• The immediate impact this image has on me is…

When you are writing about the STRUCTURE of the

piece of art you could discuss…

(2)

• Composition (the layout of the piece, is it in thirds? Off centre?)

• What is in the Foreground/mid-ground/background? (where is the focus?)

• Diagonal/vertical/horizontal lines• Form (what is the shape of the key objects in the image?)• Layers (building it up, in Photoshop)• Sections (different parts, is it broken up or merged

together?)• Procedure (the steps taken to achieve the finished piece)

When you are writing about EFFECTS (filters or layers)

you could use…(3)

• Different lenses (wide angle, telephoto, macro)• Balance of Curves, contrast, colour (with lots of

expression)• Filters- Glows, Vignette, Blur, render, sketch• Collage• Saturation of colour• Cropping (this can massively change the way you read the

image!)• TONE – ( is there lots of extreme black and white or soft

mid-tones/greys?)

When you are talking about CONTEXT of art (how it

relates to other things) you should talk about(4)

• Influences (e.g. My photograph is influenced by the Photographer…)

• Does it look like any other Photographer? How?• Why did artists of this time choose to work this way?• The culture of the time• Are they influences by FILMS, PAINTINGS, THEATRE or

MUSIC

When you are writing about COLOUR use words like…

(5)• Saturated, de-saturated• Warm, Cool, atmospheric• Certain tints of one colour• The Photographer has used a very limited colour palette

(range)• Complimentary colours ( opposite on the colour wheel

and work together)• Clashing colours (confuse the eyes when put together

and work against each other)• Analogous colours (similar colours next to each other on

the colour wheel)• Sensitive (careful and with much thought)• Does it fit with the image? What does it add/take away?

When you are writing or talking about a STYLE of work

refer to Photographic genres like…(6)

• Portrait/Landscape• Surrealist (dream-like, make-believe)• Documentary (recording events, political,

informative)• Conceptual (with complex ideas and meaning)• Fashion• Media (news, magazine, newspaper)• Fine Art (geared towards galleries, can be very

experimental and abstract)

Now, pick one of the photographer’s images from this PPT.Write a paragraph to analyse the way they represent Line, tone, texture or pattern in their work.

I will be looking for you to demonstrate your ability to:1. ‘Read’ an image and creatively discuss the way they represent Line, tone, texture or

pattern.2. Identify photography skills and techniques used in an image.3. Give your opinion, with reasons.

Key words

EditedManipulated

AlteredLayeredColour

BrightnessContrast

SpaceShadows

Blur Distorted

Task 3

In PowerPoint create a research slide on each of the following technical terms in

photography. Use photographs, images and text to explain what these terms mean

and how they affect a photograph.

➢ Aperture

➢ ISO

➢ Slow Shutter Speed

➢ Fast Shutter Speed

➢ High Key Lighting

➢ Low Key Lighting

Digital SLR Camera

Trigger

button

Pop-up

flash

Hot shoe to insert

larger flashes

On/Off

switch

Dial to change

Aperture/

Shutter speed

Lens

Lens zoom ring

for adjusting

angle of view

Dial to change

shoot mode

View finder

Playback

button

Info button to

tell you all your

settings

Playback/info

screen

Dial to change

shutter speed

Menu

button to

change

most

camera

settings