Tues Feb 28

 

                Assignments so far:

• Writing 1: Bio
• Writing 2: Setting 
• Writing 3 : Dialogue (rough draft before March break)
• Photo 1: 5 low angle 
• Photo 2 : Scavenger Hunt 
• Photo 3:  5 headshots 
• Photo 4 : Headswap Photoshop
• Photo5 : Macros 10 shots (before March Break) slideshow can be done after 

Macro Assignment:  10 of your best shots put into a slideshow for viewing. Slideshow will be done in Photostory and it should be set to appropriate music. If your slideshow is not ready on the due date you will get 0 out of 10 for the slideshow portion of the assignment. Marks: 40 ( 30 for macros, 10 for slideshow)

Criteria: Shots should have a defined focal point and be edited effectively for lighting and cropping. Looking for in focus shots. Also try to have many different shots. I do not want to see the same shots exactly from people working toether. Take some phone shots, take the camera home, use the digital slr cameras.

Macro Photography Techniques

1. Use flash. If using your phone, bring in extra lighting ( another phone, make-up mirror light, lamp, external lights, use the light box
2. Use a tripod, or set your phone up against something for stability
3. Clean up dust, hairs on subject because it will show up in the photo
4. Take plenty of shots. ...more than you need

                                        

Thurs Feb 23

 How to use the digital sir cameras

Wed Feb 22 Photoshop Assignment

 Editing Assignment NEW

HEADSWAP IN PHOTOSHOP INSTRUCTIONS  (10 marks)

1. Find/or take photo of a person.When using google to find the image, get the largest size photo possible. ( ie superman, famous model or celebrity) no animals or cartoons.

2. Bring in both photos to Photoshop. Go to IMAGE, ADJUSTMENTS, IMAGE SIZE and change the photos to both be close to the same size. If one is way bigger than the other it will be difficult to do the assignment. While under ADJUSTMENTS, you can also change both photos to BLACK and WHITE.
3. Next go to the SELECTION TOOL,( right click) and using the tool, move the tool around the head of one of your photos, then click on EDIT CUT and go to your next photo.

Note: It is probably more interesting to put the student head on the celebrity body, but it does not matter which head goes where. Also if you do not have a head shot that works for the swap, simply go out and take a shot of someone in a similar pose and distance away from the camera.

4.When on the next photo, click on EDIT, PASTE. This will put the head on the page. Then to resize the head, click EDIT, TRANSFORM, SCALE. This will put a box around the photo and allow you to change the size of the head, you can also slightly rotate the head if you go to ROTATE under TRANSFORM tool.
5. Then you want to tweak the image by moving into place with the pick/move tool, or use the eraser tool to clean up the edges.

Note: SAVING the file: If you need to continue working on the head swap, save as a Photoshop file so you can come back and work on the image. It is always a good idea, to save your edited photos as Photoshop files as a backup in case you need to go back and make changes. However, if you think you are done you can save as a JPEG ( which is save as copy) put into your M drive folder and then print out the assignment, put your name on it and hand it in.

Criteria for this assignment: Looking for a clean transition, not warped but looking accurate, limited blurring to make the face/hair work. If I cannot tell it has been photoshopped it is a 10/10. Good Luck.

Tues Feb 21

 New Photo Assignment #3: The Headshot. You are to take 5 head and shoulders shots that have a clean background and are cropped in Photoshop shoulder to shoulder. 

Criteria: clarity, in focus, clean background, cropped shoulder to shoulder. Marks: 10

Sample head and shoulders shot

 NEW  Writing ASSIGNMENT: You are going to write about a favourite place using the 5 senses. As you describe the place, I want to you to use words that create visuals, sounds, tastes, and a sense of touch. The idea here is to write to create an atmosphere or feeling. 

• You may need to build a fictional story around this place or simply begin describing it. In this assignment students are to focus on the elements of setting ( time, place, description)  using the senses and the concept of show not tell.  (10)

LINK to further reading: Setting article: more info

Example:

from "The Old House at Home" (1940)

by Joseph Mitchell (1908-1996)

McSorley's bar is short, accommodating approximately ten elbows, and is shored up with iron pipes. It is to the right as you enter. To the left is a row of armchairs with their stiff backs against the wainscoting. The chairs are rickety; when a fat man is sitting in one, it squeaks like new shoes every time he takes a breath. The customers believe in sitting down; if there are vacant chairs, no one ever stands at the bar. Down the middle of the room is a row of battered tables. Their tops are always sticky with spilled ale. In the centre of the room stands the belly stove, which has an isinglass door and is exactly like the stoves in Elevated stations.

When describing a place in fiction, think about the sounds, smells and other sense details that distinguish it from others. Here is Dickens describing the industrial city of Coketown, for example, in Hard Times (1854):

It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood, it was a town of unnatural red and black … It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye, and vast piles of buildings full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness.

From Harry Potter:The first several chapters of the book take place at the Dursleys' prim house on Privet Drive. The Dursleys' home may look polite and regular, with its "tidy front garden" (2.1) and its inhabitants' emphasis on behaving just like everyone else, but that doesn't make it a nice or welcoming place to live. In a way, it has just as much darkness and unhappiness as you might expect from a magical landscape. Nephew Harry is forced to live in a "cupboard under the stairs" (2.13) while the son of the house, Dudley, enjoys two bedrooms to himself. The Dursleys' house might look cheerful from the outside, but inside Harry sees only bleakness. Let's not forget that Whinging, in British English, means whining. Even the town they live in is annoying.

CHECK OUT THIS LINK FOR INFO AND EXAMPLES

Wed Feb 8

Review Questions to ask yourself before taking a photo: 10 QUESTIONS

Assignment #1: 5 low angle shots: Put in folder on M drive. These shots are taken at ground level or looking up from the ground.

See video below for low angle shots.  (Show 2 min)( 10 marks)

 

Introduce Assignment #2: You are focusing on composing good shots and experimenting with angles.  Each shot is worth 2 marks and should be titled and put into an album called Scavenger Hunt on the M drive (20 marks) Allow students to take a photo of this assignment so they can refer to it when they are out shooting.

1. texture (something that has a touch quality to it)
2. high angle (shooting from high up, looking down)
3. flamingo, duck or bear ( in the bottom drawer)
4. something red
5. a flag
6. rule of thirds
7. a nature shot
8. fill the frame:
9. grafitti

10. GUMMY BEAR SHOT 

Bonus: A CREATIVE SHOT 

Criteria: In focus, well composed shots trying to utilize compositional elements. Please make sure your photos have been edited. Use you editing app for cropping and lighting.

Mon Feb 6

Writing Assignment #1: Students are to write a bio telling about themselves including: interests, hobbies, likes/dislikes, favourite foods, fav. books, foods etc. This assignment should be written in third person. Ex. Jane is a shy girl who lives in Comox with her two cats named Goofy and Mittens. Jane enjoys knitting in her free time ……Length 1 paragraph

Criteria: detailed, specific writing ( 10 marks)
When finished, you are to find a partner in the class to read your paragraph to and get them to help you improve  the piece by offering suggestions. Make sure the assignment is typed and has your name on it.

Examples:https://insights.bookbub.com/great-author-bio-examples/

Thurs Feb 2

 

1.  Create a folder on  Mdrive

What is HEIC? HEIC is the file format name Apple has chosen for the new HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) Standard. Using advanced and modern compression methods, it allows photos to be created in smaller file sizes while retaining a higher image quality compared to JPEG/JPG. This new file type, however, may not be compatible with all devices. Even earlier versions of OS X (pre-High Sierra) will not be able to open HEIC files by itself.

To set your Apple devices to take photos in JPEG/JPG instead of HEIC:

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap Camera
3. Tap Formats
4. Tap Most Compatible

2. Rule of Thirds

What is the rule of thirds? The rule of thirds is a composition guideline that places your subject in the left or right third of an image, leaving the other two thirds more open. While there are other forms of composition, the rule of thirds generally leads to compelling and well-composed shots. But, once you know this rule and practice it a bit, you can break the rule.

2. Questions to ask yourself before taking a photo: 10 QUESTIONS

3. Composition : the way in which something is put together or arranged : the combination of parts or elements that make up something.

Watch beginning