PHT 135 - Electronic Darkroom at Lord Fairfax Community College
Course Description
Effective: 2019-05-01
Teaches students to create and manipulate digital photographs. Covers masking, color corrections, and merging of illustrations with photographs. Examines the ethical and property-rights issues which are raised in the manipulation of images.
Lecture 2 hour. Laboratory 3 hours. Total 5 hours per week.
3 credits
General Course Purpose
This intermediate course builds upon the topics covered in the beginning photography course and prepares the student for the more advance courses of their final year.
Course Objectives
- The student will be able to capture and process images using Adobe Camera Raw application. (PLO 1,2,3,5)
- The student will understand the benefits of a professional imaging workflow by shooting, offloading, naming files, editing images, storing and retrieving files as needed for course portfolios, projects and assignments. (PLO 1,2,3,5)
- The student will be familiar with the uses and benefits of the Wacom tablet, graycard, digikard, and custom white balance techniques. (PLO 1,2,3,5)
- Students will be able to complete intermediate, multi-layered image editing on the Macintosh platform with the Photoshop Image editing software. (PLO 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
- The student will demonstrate a working understanding of flatbed and film scanners by using them to scan and digitize materials for use in course portfolios, projects and assignments. (PLO 1,2,3,5)
- The student will be able to create collages and montages, to repair torn and damaged photographs, and work with other multi-layered and composite images. (PLO 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
- The student will understand the relationship of the ICC Profile, bit depth and resolution, and the affect it will have as they outsource their images to print. (PLO 1,5)
- The student will demonstrate a grasp of the creative process and of problem solving strategies, as well as be able to articulate knowledge of the visual language of photography and composition by creating intelligent, visually interesting and well-crafted images. (PLO 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7)
Major Topics to be Included
- Digital camera operations to include shooting in Camera Raw.
- Custom white balance, gray card, and digikard techniques.
- Adobe Camera Raw processing.
- Intermediate Photoshop workflow, techniques, and layer management.
- Restoration, retouching, transforming, masking, and selections.
- Smart objects, clipping masks, layer styles, and blending modes.
- Scan transparent materials, objects, and reflective flat work.
- Collage, montage and appropriation.
- Wacom tablets, brushwork, hand coloring, and duotones.
- Color theory, the color of light, color as subject, and color correction.
- ICC profile for RGB color spaces, resolution, and bit depth.
- The creative process, visual problem solving, composition, and the critiquing and presenting of images.