Exercise 1: In Camera Cropping

Due: Wednesday 1/20, bring files to class

The idea for his exercise is to practice seeing, in both a general and concentrated way. Photography is largely an art of selection. What happens when you get very specific about what you share with your camera? A photograph tends to be democratic...if its in the frame, it counts! Include too much and the viewer might not know what is important. A good practice is to isolate exactly what you wish to share...no more, no less. Build emphasis into the photograph through framing, or in-camera cropping.

Rules of the Game: 

• Natural light (window or outside)
• No flash (so please use plenty of light)
• Shoot JPEG (Large File, Highest Quality) or RAW
• Auto Exposure and Auto Focus is okay for now
• Shoot 50-100 images
• No camera phones (for now)—use a proper camera

Directions:

1. Look for unusual or surprising subjects that strike your eye as interesting. It really doesn't matter what the subject is, but how it looks. The subject could be a scene or landscape, an object or a person. Caveat: No pets, flowers, beer cans or cigarette stubs...be adventurous, seeking something exciting, original and/or unusual.
2. Make an initial picture of your subject 
3. In Camera Cropping. Get more specific or come closer in. What exactly grabbed your attention in the first place? Be very specific. Was it a detail? A shadow? A color? A facial expression? Isolate this specific thing by moving in closer to your subject, so that one specific thing  primarily appears in your frame, and little else. Make a picture of that.
4. Move on to your next subject

Examples:

general

isolated

general

isolated