Approved Course Outline

PGY 2401C - Photography I

College of Fine Arts and Humanities
Credit(s): 3
Contact Hours: 92
Spring 2021 (585)
Course Description
This course introduces the students to the fundamental elements of black and white photography. The course includes the study of camera operation, exposure control, film processing, printing the positive, print finishing, and presentation. Students will examine photographic compositional guidelines in the context of a series of exercises and assignments. It is through these assignments; students will have the opportunity to pursue the medium as both a personal expression and to build a technical foundation as a means to pursue a commercial application going forward in photographic industry. Course may be taken up to three times for credit.
Learning Outcomes and Objectives
  1. The student will demonstrate how to use an analog camera by:
    1. assigning f-stops to their respective focal lengths and specific application.
    2. demonstrating the ability to control the aperture and the appropriate exposure settings.
    3. assigning lens diversity to specific image objective.
    4. identifying how f-stop settings controls depth of field.
    5. describing how focal length of lens determines depth of field.
    6. describing how camera distance to subject matter controls depth of field.
  2. The student will illustrate the various principles of photographic composition by:
    1. identifying the specific design elements and how they are used for effective composition in an image.
    2. properly cropping captured images in the context of composition effectiveness.
    3. explaining how depth of field methods are used to direct viewers’ attention in an image.
  3. The student will utilize photography as a medium for effective visual communication by:
    1. identifying photographers throughout the history of photography who utilized the photographic medium to incite social reform.
    2. identifying specific photographers who conveyed social movements through the image they created.
    3. identifying photographic artists who utilized photography for expression as a result of personal experience.
    4. identifying photographers who utilized photographic science for information and education.
  4. The student will produce a body of work for a viewing audience by:
    1. developing a sequential photographic story using a visual theme.
    2. creating a diptych (side by side images) illustrating conceptual and/or visual associations.
    3. developing a coherent body of work as a specific theme and messaging objective.
Criteria Performance Standard
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will, with minimum 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by the individual course instructors.
History of Changes
Revised 8/2/83 Revised 8/84 SCN change 6/30/86 Effective Session 19871 DBT 11/12/87 DBT 12/10/87 Effective Session 19881 3 YR C&I Review 1993-94 C&I 11/24/98; DBT 12/14/98 Effective Session 19991 C&I 11/23/99; DBT 12/14/99, Eff Session 20001. 3 Year Review 2007. C&I Approval: 06/08/2010, BOT Approval: 07/22/2010, Effective Term: Fall 2010 (430).
C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Spring 2021 (585)
Related Programs
  1. Digital Photography (PGY-CT) (660) (CC Approved)