Digital Photography

Tell Stories Through the Lens: Are you ready to see the world through a new lens? In this digital photography course, you’ll learn to capture moments, places, and people in a way that tells a story only you can tell. From exploring your neighborhood to capturing diverse cultural perspectives, you’ll create powerful images that showcase your creativity and refine your unique style. Along the way, you’ll study the building blocks of photography, including composition and the exposure triangle, while experimenting with editing tools to bring your vision to life. You will examine the work of great photographers and experiment with techniques to turn ordinary scenes into extraordinary stories.

Why Take This Course? Through discussions, critiques, and hands-on projects, you’ll explore big questions like: What makes a photo unforgettable? How can an image communicate emotion? And how can photography address real-world issues? Whether you’re just starting out or have experience behind the camera, this course will help you build a compelling portfolio that reflects your identity as a storyteller and artist. It’s also a great foundation for further study in visual arts or careers where impactful imagery is key to communication.

Required Materials:

• Students must have access to a camera that allows for changing shutter speed and f-stop (lens aperture). Cannot be a cell phone. It does not need to be an interchangeable lens camera.

• Photo editing software of your choice (Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, Pixlr X, RawTherapee).

• Google Photo or other photo storage/sharing app of your choice.

Students in GOA courses will need reliable access to a computer with webcam/microphone connections, an email address (preferably school-based), a Web-conferencing app (GOA courses use Zoom), and a Word processing app (GOA courses use Google’s G Suite). When necessary, alternative arrangements may be made. Some courses require additional materials which can be found here.

UC-approved course

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