Photography: Theory and Practice

This is an introductory studio art course in photography designed to help students develop their understanding of the medium and their own style of photographing. The course begins with a series of lectures, demonstrations, and assignments that include an overview of the formal elements of picture making (composition, scale, focus, camera distance, and point of view), darkroom work, and class critiques. The emphasis will be on experimentation with subject matter, content, and form. We will use the technique of photograms, pinhole cameras, film cameras (35 mm preferred), and a 6MP or larger digital SLR camera with manual focus, aperture, and shutter controls. Our text will be Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes. This course is considered ART 0160 equivalent. Note: Because this is an introductory level course that meets pre-requisites for upper level courses, priority will be given to firstyears and sophomores at registration./