8th Grade Portraits

8th grade photography students are working on a portraiture assignment. The outline of the assignment and preparation can be found below.

Photo Assignment 3
Portraiture
Prep sheet

Assignment: You will shoot a minimum of 25 portrait photos of your model. You will choose your top four images to create a contact sheet to submit for this assignment.
Pay attention to composition and meaning in your images. As you’ve seen from reading about Annie Leibovitz and other portrait photographers, the best portraits show much more than the person’s outward appearance. Be sure to look at pages 12-15 for some good student examples.

Step 1 Choose a partner. You will alternate roles with your partner. Half of the time you will be a model, and the other half a photographer.

Step 2 Interview your partner.
Use the questions below to interview your partner. The answers on your paper should be from your partner, not your own.

How would you describe your personality?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is your favorite subject in school?
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What sports or hobbies do you participate in outside of school?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is your favorite color? _________________________________________________________________________________
Describe your favorite place. What do you like about this place?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Describe a very memorable event from your life. Why was it so memorable?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tell me at least one additional interesting fact about yourself.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Step 3 Go over the information that you got from your interview. What stands out? Identify some of the key aspects of your partner’s identity. Then, brainstorm some ways to visualize these in your portraits.
What do you want to show people about this person?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What sort of background(s) will you use for the setting of your portrait?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Will you use any additional props to help tell the story of your portrait? If so, what?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What sort of facial expressions should your model use?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How will your model position his or her body? Will he or she sit, stand, lay down, jump, etc.?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Will you use a frontal or profile view of your model?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Will you include the entire body or just part?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How will you light your portrait? Will you use sunlight or artificial light? Will the light come from the side, front, above, or below your model?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Remember that all of the answers above should reflect what you want your final photo to tell people about your model.
Also, don’t forget to use what you’ve learned about good composition and the rule of thirds.

7th Grade Surreal Sculptures

7th grade students are continuing their exploration of Surrealism and its influences on contemporary culture as they design and create a Surreal Papier-Mache Creature.

Assignment Overview:
You will be creating a papier-mâché sculpture of an imaginary creature. Your finished sculpture should be between 8-18 inches tall and free standing. You will use recycled materials to create the armature for this sculpture. The armature is the skeleton of the sculpture. It will be covered with papier-mâché and help keep the papier-mâché in the proper shape.

Step 1
Your first step is to do some brainstorming and sketching.
Create detailed sketches of at least four different imaginary creatures. You may do this in your sketchbook or on separate paper. Along with your sketches should be notes on important aspects of your creature.
Answer the following questions in the margins around your drawing.

How does it move?

What does it eat?

Where does it live?

Is it furry, smooth, or slimy?

What color(s) is it?

What happens during a typical day in the life of this creature?

What types of recycled objects could you us to create an armature that is the correct form for this creature?

Step 2
Build your armature.
Step 3
Cover the armature with papier-mâché.
Step 4
Paint and add any additional materials necessary to convey the important aspects of your creature.

photo assignment 2

Photo Assignment 2
Up Close and Abstract

Use the macro lens to shoot at least 20 images. These should be up close and may become abstract textures, rather than recognizable images. You should try to shoot each of your photo subjects from more than one angle. Remember to keep your images in focus. If you get too close or too far away (with macro) your photo will be blurry.

7th grade update

7th grade visual arts students have started their second unit of the year, "Imagining Possibilities." We have studied the art of Romare Bearden, his working methods and inspirations. We have also looked at the art of the Surrealists and the way that Surrealist art has contributed to contemporary pop culture imagery. We have studied work by Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, and Frida Kahlo.

Students are currently working on a project inspired by these influences. They are using the working methods of much of Romare Bearden's work, a combination of paint and collage, combined with the dream-like imagery of the Surrealists to create their own surreal compositions.

photo assignment 1

Photo Assignment 1
The Rule of Thirds

Use your knowledge of the rule of thirds to shoot a minimum of 10 good clear images that utilize the rule of thirds to create a strong composition. Think about the examples that we analyzed in class.

A large part of the job of any photographer is learning to edit your work. Photographers may shoot hundreds of images to get that one perfect shot, especially when it comes to digital photography.

You will use the tools in Photoshop to edit your photos and narrow your series down to your 4 strongest images. These are the images that you will turn in for this assignment.

Step1- Shoot your photos. Ten is a minimum, but it is always better to shoot more. You should think about how your compositions work with the rule of thirds as you shoot.

Step2- Download your photos into the computer.

Step 3- Use the “guided edit” functions in Photoshop to begin to learn some of the basics of Photoshop and edit your photos.

Step 4- Narrow down your edited photos to the four that you feel are the strongest and most interesting images.

Step 5- Print these four images so that you can engage in a peer critique.

Step 6- Turn in your photos along with a brief statement about how you feel that each one uses the rule of thirds.

8th Grade Digital Photography Letter

This is a copy of the letter that 8th grade students received in class. It is to be signed and returned.

ACMS

Digital Photography

Dear Students and Parents or Guardians,

It’s an exciting time in 8^th grade visual arts class as we begin our first digital photography class! We will explore a variety of photography topics and use Photoshop Elements software for basic adjustments and digital composite projects.

As a new and unique visual arts course, there are some expectations and requests of which all digital photography students and their parents should be aware.

Required Supplies

Each digital photography student is required to have a spiral notebook, a pen or pencil, and a sturdy 2-pocket folder for handouts and prints. Students may use a sketchbook in place of the spiral notebook if they wish. This notebook will be used to brainstorm ideas, complete journal assignments, and take notes on techniques for using various digital tools. The notebook should be dedicated solely to this class.

*A flash drive is also highly recommended, but not required.

Cameras

Students are not required to have their own cameras. We currently have 8 digital cameras for use in this program. Having access to their own camera will allow students more photo opportunities, since the school cameras will be restricted to use during class time. Any camera used for this class should have a minimum of a four-megapixel resolution (no cell phones).

If the student chooses to use his or her own digital camera, he or she will be responsible for keeping that camera in a secure place during the school day. The student will also need to bring the cable to download images from the camera to the computer.

If the student chooses to use one of the school cameras, he or she will be responsible for the proper handling of that camera. Should the camera be damaged as a result of improper handling, the student will be responsible for replacing the camera with one of equal value in a timely manner.

Wish List for Donations

-AA batteries

-Ink Jet Photo Paper

-Picture frames, especially 8”x10”

-Ink Cartridges – Epson 98 or 99

*These are individual ink cartridges in black, magenta, cyan, yellow, light magenta, light cyan, and light yellow.

All students must return this signed form to Mr. Edmison no later than Friday, November 13, 2009.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this. I’m looking forward to a great class!

Sincerely,

Jacob Edmison

ACMS Visual Arts Instructor

I have read and understand the requirements and expectations outlined in this letter.

_____________________________________________ ________________________________________________

Student’s Signature and Date Parent or Guardian’s Signature and Date

term 2 sketchbook/notebook checks

These are the 7th grade sketchbook due dates for term 2. 8th graders in the digital art class will not have the same sketchbook assignment, but will have notebook checks to make sure they are keeping up with all of the technical and composition related information that they are receiving in class.

7th grade students are expected to continue to complete at least 2 pages per week. At least 10 of these should be life drawings.
If it becomes necessary to change any of these due dates, students will be informed of the change in class. I will also post any changes to this schedule on the blog.

Term 2 2009-2010
Sketchbook Due Dates

12/4-5 7th grade
(at least 6 full-page sketches total, at least 3 life drawings)

12/8 8th Grade
notebook check

1/21-22 7th grade
(at least 16 full-page sketches total, at least 7 life drawings)

1/26 8th grade notebook check


2/11-12 7th grade
(at least 24 full-page sketches total, at least 10 life drawings)

2/18 8th grade notebook check


Late Work Policy
1 day late = 70% of grade earned
2 days late = 50% of grade earned
more than 2 days = 0