Critiques are where everyone shows their photographs and everyone else comments on them. The idea is for everyone to work together to make all the photographs better. There is no one point of view that is correct in the Art world. It takes input from everyone in the class for us to learn how our photographs are being received. It is a matter of communication. If the feedback you are receiving is close to what you intended your photographs to say, then you are doing well. If you are getting a very different response, or people are missing your point, then you need further refinement in aesthetics and technique.
You should be constantly posting photographs and looking at what everyone else is posting. This class is based in experiential learning. You can not learn how to do this just by reading about it. You have to DO it, receive feedback, and then refine your work.
OVERVIEW
Here is an overview of what has to be accomplished during the next week, and during all critique weeks in the semester. It may look like a lot when all viewed at once, but take it one day and one task at a time and it is easy.
Monday
Every third Monday is the due date of the next Critique. The posting should be done by 5 PM.
Before this date you should go through everything that has been posted on-line (there should be more that the minimum number of prints already on-line) and edit down to the actual number of prints due (or a little bit over if desired).
- the full number of prints required for the critique should now be uploaded
- reorganize the photos by content
- add numbers above each of your prints so people can easily vote for their favorite
You have a day to look at what everyone has posted for their critique and formulate ideas about what they have done. You then have to make commentary on the photos of your classmates. The commenting period ends at 5 PM on Tuesday.
- look at other people’s photos and comment on them
- base the commentary on 3 criteria: content, form, impact [3 Disciplines]
- > Commenting & Voting
- tell any story that the photos remind you of:
(sharing personal experience: resonance)
- cast a vote for each person in the class indicating which shot you think is their best
note: no one will want to comment on your photos if you do not comment on theirs.
This is another variation of the Golden Rule.
Wednesday
You have another day to review all the comments you have received and write a Self-Evaluation that presents a synthesis of these reviews. The self-evaluations are due by 5 PM.
- review all the comments you have received
- write a synopsis of that commentary, again based on 3 criteria: content, form, impact
- there is a handout explaining how to write a self-evaluation using these concepts
- determine which of your prints is the best (according to peer voting)
• The votes cast by your classmates in their comments on the class blog
will help you determine which photo is the ‘best of the week’
• This photo is designated your POW (Picture of the Week)
- include the POW in the Self-Evaluation document
• start the document with a header as follows:
Your Name
Smartphone Photo 2831-section #, Crit 1 - B&W: Mystery
• name the file in a similar manner:
your name_self evaluation - crit 1 - section#.docx
• e-mail the finished Self-Evaluation document to the professor in MS Word format
Thursday
This is the time to prepare your ‘Picture of the Week’ for web display (different than blog posting). The web versions of your best ‘photo of the week’ are due by 5 PM. These photos will be presented on a separate web site that features the best photos of all students in all of the professor’s classes.
• prepare that print for the web (thumbnail and web picture to spec)
- there is a handout for this task that details all the specs of the files
- > Web Picture Preparation
- this is something you will have to do on a computer using any software that can resize a picture, from Photoshop, through Lightroom down to iPhoto or even Preview. This work can be done in the Tech Center if you do not have access to these applications. There is a Graphics Lab that has computers that are specifically configured for visual artwork, however, any computer in the Tech Center can perform simple resizing of photos.
- add your POW, prepared for the web, to your Digital Portfolio folder in OWLbox
Friday
Finally you will post a recipe for your most interesting photograph. This may or may not be the same as your ‘Picture of the Week’ photo. Recipes should be posted to the Smartphone Recipes blog by 5 PM.
• there is a recipe that explains the fine points of what a recipe should include
Fridays are the introduction days of new topics including aesthetics, techniques, ways of shooting, ways of processing (apps), etc. You should study and absorb this information quickly and, in a day or two, start shooting, processing and posting your photos to the class blog. You should shoot and post every day. That is part of the routine of this class.
You can only really learn about photography by thinking, shooting, and posting on an ongoing manner [think, make, share]. This is an Art Studio course and it utilizes ‘experiential learning’ that is quite different from the ‘book learning’ as in most academic classes. Because of this, it is not possible to cram for a studio class. You cannot wait unit the day before the Critique is due to shoot everything. If you try this you will never learn how to shoot properly let alone how to think about what you are shooting or feel what your photos are expressing. Do not cheat yourself out of the education you are paying for.
note: All students must participate and complete all phases of each Critique cycle. Failure to complete any segment results in failure of the entire critique.
No comments:
Post a Comment