Assignment 1: Portraying Emotion Exercise
Assignment Overview
This week's lecture focused
on emotion and making sure your subject expresses the correct emotion
for a required shot. This can be a more daunting task than you expect.
The stone-faced CEO who will not lift his or her head or the child who
will not smile are examples of the obstacles that will be waiting for
you as you begin your career as a photographer. How you interpret these
situations, analyze your subject, and communicate your agenda will be
the main factor in determining if you get your shot.
Assignment Description
This assignment has three parts:
Part 1
You will start this assignment by generating a list of ten emotions and describing the facial features that accompany these emotions. After you have generated your list, write the name of each emotion on a set of 3x5 index cards. These cards will serve as an indicator for your subject in the second part of this assignment. Below are a few ideas for emotions to portray in your images:
- Happy
- Sad
- Awe
- Confusion
- Curiosity
- Fear
- Anger
- Excited
Part 2
- For
the second part of this assignment, you will be photographing a subject
who is portraying the emotions you have written on your cue cards.
- You will take two photographs per emotion; a total of 20 images; no more, no less. If you shoot more than 20 images, narrow down your choices and only submit 20.
- Choose a new subject that you have not photographed before (5 years old and up). The subject should be the same for all photos.
- Position your model 6 feet in front of a white seamless (paper) backdrop.
- You will be producing these photographs using a two light set up (one key light & one fill light).
- The
lights must not move once set. The lights must not change in exposure.
The lights should be set with the fill light 1 stop darker than the key
light. The background should be consistent; avoid having one side of the
background darker than the other; avoid gradient light.
- Take a wide-angle photograph clearly
showing your lighting scheme, where your subject was standing, and
where the seamless paper backdrop was positioned. Students are
encouraged to use a white umbrella and/or a soft-box for this assignment
to portray a soft light. Include the wide-angle photograph in your contact sheet.
- Ensure
that all of the gear you are using is clearly displayed in the image.
If you're photographing a human model or an inanimate object, ensure
that your photo is clearly showing where your lights were in relation to
the subject. Please see the examples below:
- Use your handheld light meter to take a meter reading; bracket your shots by adjusting the aperture where necessary. Take a photograph of your handheld light meter in use in your location and include the picture in your contact sheet; similar to the image below. Please
note: If instructor is not able to read the information on the screen
of your handheld light meter, you will not receive points for using it.
Students
who are unable to meet the requirements above regarding wide-angle
lighting scheme + image of handheld light meter will run the risk of
failing the assignment.
All photos should be taken at one time. Once
your lights are set up and you have calculated your exposure, begin
showing the cards to your subject. Your subject will then express the
emotion as written on the card. You may coach (give direction to)
your subject to get an expression that you feel represents the emotion.
Make sure you have a clear photographic depiction for each emotion.
Part 3
The third part of this
assignment requires you to construct a contact sheet of your final
images. These images should be labeled with the portrayed emotion in the
image as the file name and you should only have nine images per sheet.
Students
are required to create his/her contact sheet according to course
standards; details are in a post titled "How to Create a Contact Sheet
for Class" in the Questions for the Professor section.
These
images should be labeled with the portrayed emotion in the image as the
file name and you should only have nine images per sheet. Below is an
example:
Assignment Step-by-Step Instructions
- Create a contact sheet
(as noted above) for all photographs (plus wide-angle lighting scheme
& image of handheld light meter in use and label it PH323_W2_A1_lastname_firstinitial_contactsheet.pdf.
- By Week 2, Day 5, post the contact sheet and your original descriptive document of the ten emotions to the Discussion Area.
- By Week 2, Day 6, comment and provide feedback on two of your peers' contact sheets.
Assignment 1 Grading Criteria
|
Maximum Points
|
Submitted a contact sheet that contained a subject portraying ten emotions that:
- Has correct exposure and demonstrate technical knowledge of camera and lighting control.
- Shows attention to composition and design elements.
- Follows instructions and requirements for assignment.
|
20
|
| Provided a descriptive document that depicts the ten emotions that the subject was to portray. |
5
|
| Provided
substantive feedback to at least two peers. Commented on the
composition, subject, and lighting decisions in their photographs. |
10
|
| Total: |
35
|
For assistance
with any problems you may have when completing this assignment—OR—to
offer your assistance to classmates, please use the Problems and Solutions Discussion area located through the left side navigation link.
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Respond link to post responses and materials that pertain to this assignment. Use the 