Homework

Weekly homework assignments are only required for those taking the course for credit or a letter grade, but are suggested for all students.

If you are taking the course for a letter grade, please email me a link to download your homework via a cloud storage server such as Dropbox or We Transfer (since they will likely be too big to email as attachments). For students not taking a grade, I will review your files in class on your laptops, no need to submit unless you have specific questions. Please email a link to files to me at studio@eringleeson.com.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS (new assignments will be posted weekly):

• Due April 6th: Shoot a series of photos (about 10) in RAW using the Manual setting on your camera. Using natural light (no flash), shoot outdoors or near a window, and focus on composition. Pay close attention to the way you frame things. Do you have a clearly defined subject? Is there overall balance? Look at all 4 corners of the frame inside your viewfinder before shooting. Look for interesting intersections of lines and shapes within the viewfinder to frame your subject. Think about the rule of thirds and try having your subject off-center. Look for color! Think about what the subject of the picture is and make sure that part is crisply in focus. Try shooting with a low number aperture (like F2.8 or F3.5, if your lens allows) so that the background is blurry.

• Due April 13th: Shoot a series of portraits both indoors (using diffused window light) and outdoors (in the shade or fog). Get some face closeups to bring to class for portrait retouching. Try standing farther away from your subject and zooming in, as this can be more flattering for facial features.

• Due April 20th: As a continuation of shooting on the manual setting, try shooting with a long exposure at night. This post details different methods you can try. But if you have a tripod, try using that and shooting with a shutter speed longer than 1/60 (perhaps something more like a half second or longer). If you don't have a tripod, try balancing your camera on a table or something steady to avoid motion blur.

• Due May 4th: keep shooting and create one layered file with both retouching and adjustment layers added. Save as a TIFF or PSD.

• Due May 11 (final class meeting): Online Portfolio: For those of you taking the class for a grade, please create an online portfolio of 10 or more favorite images and email me the link before our last meeting if possible. They would ideally be part of a theme or series, but any 10 images that you are proud of work. They can be taken anytime, and ideally you'll have used Photoshop in some way to edit them. A free online portfolio service is carbonmade.com, but feel free to use any website/blog/flickr etc to share a link with me. I share a list of options at the bottom of this blog post.