FE680 See the Dog: Developing Your Photographic Vision

This photography class is unlike any of my other courses. We combine all of our knowledge — how to use a camera, how to set exposure, how to compose an image, how to process an image — and use it to create an image that says what you intend it to say. You will not learn any new tools, but you will learn to make better use of the tools you already have.

Course Details

Note for 2022: This class has an unusual ending date. I am photographing the UKI U.S. Open Agility championship in November and the last few days of class fall on the first few days of the event. With FDSA's permission, there will be NO CLASS on November 10-11. Instead, the session will be extended to make up those last two days on November 14-15, which is after the event.

This change will only affect Gold students. All course materials will be released before November 10, so Bronze students won't notice the change. If you plan to register at Gold and have questions or concerns about this deviation from the normal FDSA session schedule, please email me ([email protected]) and I am happy to clarify it for you.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Course Description.

In this class, we step beyond the technical aspects of photography into the creative side. We'll learn to deconstruct the photos we see online in order to better understand how to construct our own photos. We'll talk about how the fundamentals of photography support our creative choices.

If the word "creative" scares you, that's okay! We'll talk about what creativity really is and why it's not something you find but something you choose. We'll share our inspirations and talk about what we see and experience in each other's images.

If you've taken this class before, no you haven't. There will be all new assignments and discussion topics. Very little of the original curriculum will be reused in this version.

Teaching Approach

There will be (short) discussion/writing assignments as well as weekly photo assignments. Feedback from the instructor will be generated by the questions the student asks, not from a pre-determined set of criteria. Group participation is a critical element of this class for students registered at Gold.

There is no TA for this class.

Syllabus

This is a tentative syllabus. The order of the topics may change, but they'll all be included.

Week 1 - Inspiration and Imitation

- who inspires you?

Week 2 - Is it real or is it Photoshop?

- deconstructing images to understand your own photography

Week 3 - Intention and Anticipation

- "Chance favors the prepared mind." (Louis Pasteur)

Week 4 - See Different

- seek new experiences instead of new subjects

Week 5 - It Depends

- the gear and settings you choose depend on your intention

Week 6 - Body of Work

- how to approach creating a body of work instead of a single image

Prerequisites & Supplies

This class is intended for advanced photographers. You are expected to know how to use manual exposure to take a properly exposed image. You are expected to know how to use Lightroom (or other similar software) to develop your images in the digital darkroom. You should know what the basic elements of composition are, even if you're not 100% sure how to apply them.If you have taken my other courses, you have all of the equipment you will need. This includes, but is not limited to, a DSLR or mirrorless camera with full manual controls and lens(es) appropriate for the subject you want to photograph. You should be working with a color-calibrated monitor. (Psssst, if you haven't calibrated recently, be sure to do that before class starts.)

Sample Lecture

"A picture is worth a thousand words.”

I don’t know who the first person was to say this was, but there are an awful lot of photographers who take this literally.

One of the things I notice in beginning photographer’s images is how much they put in the frame. They are trying to tell the Great American Story in one photo. They want every single one of those thousand words to be seen in their photo. Nothing is left to the viewer’s imagination.

As we mature as photographers, we learn that we can say more by saying less. Our story is stronger with fewer elements in the frame. We learn how to tell part of the story in an image, not the whole story. We figure out that maybe a picture doesn’t have to be worth a thousand words.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

We have talked about the elements of storytelling in photography. I think where we get into trouble with our photos is when we try to include too many characters and too much context in a single image. If you look at your image and your list of characters is more than two or maybe three, you’re probably trying to do too much. If the context in the frame is busy and overpowers the characters, you should consider including less of it. Exclusion is as important as inclusion, if not more so.

What are some ways to simplify your images?

You all have enough technical photography knowledge that you should be able to answer this. I am mostly interested in how you simplify the image in-camera, not after the fact. Yes, there are many Photoshop tricks and tools that can be used to simplify images, but if we can avoid putting them in the frame in the first place, we save ourselves a lot of time and energy.

Take some time to think about ways to simplify images. What are things you can try in your sketch images to make your story more straightforward? Consider your gear as well as the elements in the frame. Now put these ideas to use in Photo Lab 2.

Instructor

Amy Johnson

Faculty

Amy Johnson (she/her) is the official show photographer for many of the premier agility events in the United States, including the AKC National Agility Championships, AKC Agility Invitational, USDAA Cynosport World Games, UKI US Open, and NADAC Championships, as well as numerous local trials, regional events, and breed national specialties. She has photographed a wide variety of dog sports, including agility, obedience, rally, and conformation. (Click here for full bio and to view Amy's upcoming courses.)...

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