Class Syllabus: Digital Photography 101

Office Hours:	Continuous
Course Meeting Times:	Continuous

Course Description

You just bought your first digital camera and don't know the ins and outs of all those buttons. If that isn't daunting enough, the user's manual is pages thick and intimidating. Well, you've come to the right place.

Owning a great digital camera is no guarantee you will take great pictures. Over the years digital SLRs, and other powerful digital cameras, have become affordable, more powerful and much more complicated. The Digital Photography course is designed to give you a comprehensive overview of digital camera designs and capabilities, and the series of steps to take great photographs. You'll learn about lenses, when to use them and how to select the right lens for your pictures. The course takes the mystery out of pixels, megapixels, filters, flashes, exposure meters and much more.

You know how successful communication is getting your point across. Whether it's done through words or pictures, your photos will show you want someone else to feel what you do. The Digital Camera course will show you how to tell a story through pictures.

Good composition is the hallmark of any outstanding photograph. You'll learn the rules of good composition, the Rule of Thirds, background and the S Rule.

Black and white is back. Learn the tricks of professional photographers, and how you can photograph and compose stand out black and white photos.

Digital Photography teaches you ways to house your special memories forever. Should it be a family reunion, wedding, new baby or that special vacation, you'll learn how to incorporate camera tools to photograph stunning water reflections and mesmerizing sky images. Imagine creating professional looking imagery using your digital camera, the help of your PC and the Digital Photography course.

Course Requirements

No previous experience is required. This course will not demand that you own a digital camera as the course material will provide useful information for any future photographer. Using a camera is strongly recommended, however, to fully benefit from this course.

Any type of digital camera will work and can be used in this course

Course Goals

Lesson 1 What Is Digital Photography?

Lesson 2 Understanding Your Camera

Lesson 3 Digital Photography And Your Desktop Computer

Lesson 4 The Power Of Light

Lesson 5 Travel Photography

Lesson 6 Exposure And Shutter Speed

Lesson 7 People And The Environment

Lesson 8 Magical Water Photography

Lesson 9 Improving Your Camera Techniques

Lesson 10 Understanding Image Quality

Lesson 11 Black And White Is Back

Lesson 12 Portraits

Lesson 13 Creative Tips For Your Photography Hobby/Career

Course Materials

All course materials are provided in this class. There is no need to buy additional resources

Grading Policy

Each lesson will include a written and practice assignment that will directly apply what you have learned. Assignments will require you to take practice photographs to test various picture taking techniques.
.Many of the lessons will also follow up with a review quiz that will highlight aspects of each lesson for you to note. Students will successfully complete this course with 70% or better.

Learning Outcomes

By successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

Define what digital photography is.
Describe the basic functions and features of a digital camera.
Describe how digital photography utilizes the desktop PC.
Summarize the usage of light in taking pictures.
Summarize techniques used in travel photography.
Describe exposure and shutter speeds and how they affect photography.
Describe the best ways to photograph people.
Describe image quality and what to do to enhance it.
Create black and white pictures.
Demonstrate portrait picture taking, and
Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.

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