Photography & images on the Interent

In this unit, you will learn the basics in digital photography; lightning, composition and editing. You will also learn about how images on the internet can be manipulated and used in order to influence us.

CONTENT

We will work with digital photography and image editing. When we shoot, the focus will be on lighting, and you will practice lighting images in a specific way. You will be both a photographer, assistant and model when we photograph. At the end of the unit, you will plan and carry out your own photography, as well as edit the photo you have taken. The unit also contains theoretical excercises and discussions where you will learn about how photographs and other images can be loaded with significance to influence what we think and feel.

TARGET

After the unit, you should be able to:

• Illuminate and perform a photo shoot using two studio lights and a photo background
• Edit a photo in GIMP
• Give examples of how images can be manipulated for a specific purpose

MATERIAL

We will work with...

• Photo Backgrounds, LED Lights, Light Stands, Photo Stands, iPads, Digital Cameras and GIMP
• ImageRaider & TinEye
• Practical exercises where you learn to illuminate and edit digital photographs
• Theoretical reviews, writing assignments and discussions

ASSESSMENT

The assessment will be based on...

• How you work during class, i. e. your ability to plan and carry out a photo shoot
• The pictures you hand in, i. e. your ability to edit images in GIMP
• Written and oral tests and presentations, i. e. your knowledge of and your reasoning about how images can be spread and manipulated to influence what we think and feel

Practical knowledge is assessed in the work you submit. Theoretical knowledge is assessed via exit and entrance tickets as well as other types of written information.

SUCCSESS STRATEGIES

• You participate activley in all tasks and excercises
• You try our best when we are using GIMP, even if it is difficult
• You plan and execute your own projects independently

Uppgifter

Mini Essay

You have written a mini essay about the phenomenon #whathappensinohio

Submission: Photograph springfeelings

Take at least 1 and up to 3 photos. At least 1 image must contain a human.

Edit the images if necessary. It is common that you need to straighten them out and cut out what should not be included. Upload the pictures here. Answer the questions in the taskGo out and take photos with your mobile or computer. Take at least 1 and up to 3 photos. At least 1 image must contain a human. Edit the images if necessary. It is common that you need to straighten them out and cut out what should not be included. Upload the pictures on Unikum. Answer the questions below.

Questions:

1. How did you interpreted the signs of spring in this task?

2. How did you go about photographing the signs of spring?

3. What in your pictures turned out well?

4. What could you have done better?

Three self-portraits

Photograph three self-portraits. One that shows how you want others to see you. The second one shows how I see myself. The third shows who I actually am. Put the pictures together into a collage. Submission by the end of the lesson.

Trace a photograph

You are going to trace the origin of a photograph. Start with choosing a photograph to trace by selecting a picture from any of these newapapers:

• The Washington Post
• The Times UK
• The Times of India
• Dagens Nyheter

You can also choose a newspaper or image of your own.

When you have found a photograph that you want to use, trace it's origin by using ImageRaider or TinEye. Answer the following questions here in Unikum, along with the photograph that you have traced:

1. In what context did the oldest version of the image show?
2. In what context is the most recent image shown?
3. Is there any copy of the image where it is manipulated (croped, edited) in some way?
4. Was it a big difference between of the places where you found the photograph?
5. Sum up your results - is the image spread in a variaty of ways, or is it used for a similar purpose where it is shown?

SUBMISSION: Portrait

Hand in the portrait you have taken and edited of a classmate. In this assignment, you are assessed on:

• Your photograph
• Your work process

SUBMISSION: A feeling interpreted in a photograph, pt. 2

Upload your edited photo here. Answer these questions:

1. What feeling have you interpreted in your photograph?
2. What do you think of your result?
3. Are you happy with the photograph, or is there something you could have done better?

SUBMISSION: A feeling interpreted in a photograph, pt 1.

You should take a photograph where you interpret one of the following emotions:

• Anger
• Sorrow
• Horror
• Happiness

The first thing you should do is decide which of the emotions you want to work with. After that, start planning your photo. You do the planning by answering the following questions directly in Unikum:

1. What feeling do you want to interpret?
2. What should your photograph represent?
3. Do you need any equipment, such as a light or a camera tripod?
4. Will you stage your photography, ie use people and objects and arrange them in a way you want it?
5. How to edit your photo?
6. How will the feeling appear, based on the motif you have chosen and your editing?

Photograph by Alexander Mahmoud. Source: https://www.alexandermahmoud.se/

HW: Did RO do the right thing?

In Sweden, comercials who is considered sexist, racist, homophobic or problematic in any other aspect can be reported to Reklamombudsmannen (in short, RO). Legal advisors at RO analyze the commercial reported and convict comercials that is considered to be unethical. If a commercial is convicted by RO, the company that have made it usualy takes it down.

In 2019, Caia Cosmetics was sentenced by RO (Reklamombudsmannen) for an image they published on Instagram. RO considered that the person in the picture was objectified, and that the person in the picture lacked a clear connection to what the advertising marketed (lipstick). Here is the picture:

Source: https://bloggbevakning.se/2019/11/08/biancas-sminkforetag-falls-for-sexistisk-reklam/

You are going to analyze the image that was convicted, and reason about the RO's descision. In your analysis, you should use the concepts we have gone through during lesson time. Remember to give examples from the picture to prove your reasoning.

Answer the following questions directly in Unikum. Reply in a text with headings and subheadings:

1. Content:

What does the picture represent? What colors do the different parts of the picture have? How is the image lit up, and how do you see this? What does the person in the picture do? How is the person's gaze? Where is the person?

2. Interpretation:

Do you think it is clear what the image is advertising for? Motivate your answer.

The picture was convicted by RO. According to the verdict from RO, the person in the picture is objectified in a way that is demeaning to women (sexist). Do you think RO's decision is correct? Motivate your answer.

REMEMBER

You can get help with the task when art room is open during lunch, Wednesdays at 11.00-12.30.

Link to RO's verdict (in Swedish, use google translate to read)

https://www.reklamombudsmannen.org/uttalande/caia-cosmetics2

Link to the picture

https://bloggbevakning.se/files/2019/11/fcf.jpg