Syllabus – Digital Photo Basics (8 weeks) 1 Schlegelmann – 10/11/10
Syllabus for Class: Digital Photo Basics
Linn Benton Community College – Benton Center
Instructor: Paul Schlegelmann [email protected]
Course Description: Overwhelmed with your digital camera and what to do with all those
digital pictures you've been taking? Take great photos with your digital camera and learn the
best ways to view, organize, print, scan and store them. Explore simple photo editing to fix
problems, enhance your photos and share them online with your family and friends.
Prerequisites: Basic computer experience recommended
Topics and Concepts covered in the class:
1. Digital photos – What are they and what can you do with them?
2. Workflow for digital photos – step-by-step process
3. Capturing new photos – using a digital camera
4. Old photo prints – scanning to create digital photos
5. Viewing, storing, organizing and backing up digital photos
6. Simple editing of your digital photos
7. Printing your photos
8. Sharing photos via email and internet
9. Special projects – slide shows, calendars, etc.
Class Materials:
Required: Digital camera, camera owner’s manual, charged battery, USB transfer cable,
memory card
Optional books
1. Digital Photography Simplified (Rob Sheppard)
2. The BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography (Amphoto Guide Series) (Jim
Miotke)
3. Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Photography Field Guide: How to Shoot Great
Photographs with Any Camera (Bryan Peterson)
Grading: Non-credit course (no grades)
Course Format: Topics will be covered in class in a logical flow building on knowledge from
previous class sessions. There will be time for hands-on work with your camera in class and for
basic photo editing. Additional time hopefully will be included for a photo shoot. Optional
assignments will be available to practice what is learned in class.
Syllabus – Digital Photo Basics (8 weeks) 2 Schlegelmann – 10/11/10
Course Overview: This is a eight week course that will cover as many topics as time permits. Additional topics that
students request will be added in as time and interest allows.
Class 1: Digital Photos – Overview
1. Digital photos
a. What are they?
b. Where do they come from?
c. What can you do with them?
2. File types/formats
3. Workflow for digital photos – step-by-step process
Class 2: Digital Cameras
1. How they work
2. Main controls, buttons, menus
3. LCD usage
4. Shooting Options – shooting modes
5. Memory cards, battery
6. Camera maintenance, protection, and
troubleshooting
Class 3: Taking Photos
1. Shooting process – shoot, review, revise, repeat
2. Exposure basics – light meter
3. Focusing basics
4. Techniques:
5. Camera orientation - vertical vs. horizontal
6. Cropping
7. Zooming
8. Background & foreground
9. Common shooting situations – portrait, landscape, action/sports, indoors, night, etc.
Class 4: Scanning, Viewing, Storing, Organizing,
Backing-up
1. Using a scanner for existing photo prints
2. Viewing photos on your computer
3. Storing digital photos on your computer
4. Organizing your digital photos on your computer
5. Backing up your digital photos to CD/DVD, external
hard drive
Syllabus – Digital Photo Basics (8 weeks) 3 Schlegelmann – 10/11/10
Class 5: Editing and Printing
1. Editing & Printing Workflow/Process
2. Using Photoshop Elements software to: a. Import photos from your camera
b. Organize photos
c. Edit photos
i. Cropping
ii. Rotation
iii. Fix common problems -
exposure, color
iv. Retouching - fixing bad spots
Class 6: Sharing Photos via Email & Internet + Special Projects
1. Sharing photos via email
2. Adding photos to documents
3. Sharing photos via the internet – photo web sites
4. Creating slide shows
5. Creating photo layouts, calendars, greeting cards, panoramas, etc.
Class 7: Photoshoot & Critique
1. Practice taking photos in class (photoshoot)
2. Review photos taken including critique
Class 8: Additional Topics on Digital Photography
1. Topics to be added based on student requests and as time allows
Recommended
