Researching a Project
When you are researching your project, I want you to generate three possible ideas for your Capstone Project and present them for feedback.
Keep in mind that you are aiming to create professional level work that exhibits strong technical skills and allows creative exploration of your concept. You can choose any topic and genre that interests you, allowing for individualization as you demonstrate your strengths and talents.
Your creative work will be accompanied by an artist statement, so make sure you choose a topic that involves creating an aesthetic and a concept that supports that aesthetic. Ideally, you'll have a heart-to-heart with yourself and create a concept that generates a strong portfolio piece to support your career goals. For example, if you want to break into photojournalism, creating a highly stylized fashion portfolio may not advance your goals.
I have provided a list of genres that may inspire you. While not a complete list, it does cover the main areas of photography you may decide on.
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Aerial
From airplane, parachute, or drone.
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Landscape
From the oceans to the mountains.
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Products
E-Commerce and Lifestyle.
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Architecture
Buildings interiors and exteriors.
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Macro
Small subjects appear life size.
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Sports
Action up close and personal.
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Cars
Vehicles of all makes and models.
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Performance
Musical, theatrical, and dance.
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Street
Candid photos of people of the city.
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Event
Private parties and corporate events.
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Pets
The cutest animals of the house.
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Travel
Either stateside or abroad.
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Fashion
Models wearing apparel.
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Photojournalism
Capturing newsworthy events.
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Wedding
Brides, grooms, and their families.
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Food
Restaurant menus or dining reviews.
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Portrait
For families or the corporate world.
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Wildlife
Survey the fauna in your county.
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Now that you have reviewed the various genres of photography you need to select the topic of your project. For instance, if you were choose the cars genre you'll want to come up with a topic for that genre. Such as the following options:
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- An HDR-style color photo series of several classic cars within an outdoor environment and a model dressed for the time period as the driver.
- A series of modern day sports cars, presented as diptychs to capture close, midrange, and wide views and shot in studio.
- A series of unique cars photographed in warehouses or garages pictured with their mechanic or eccentric owner.
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I will ask you to inform your project by researching and commenting on three examples of photography projects with a similar or related theme. This will be a good chance to connect your work to other works you admire.
You can also research other kinds of inspirational works (poetry, philosophy, painting, and so on), but make sure you include at least one photography project.
Assessing Your Goals
To help you choose the right concept, you'll start this class by creating a write-up of your professional goals after graduation. This essay will be included in the written materials you'll turn in at the end of the semester, so treat this essay as a formal assignment and you will be able to check one thing off the requirements list for your final.
Think about where you see yourself in six months after graduation and in five years.
Do you intend to send your Capstone Project out for publication, win a gallery exhibition to show it, or shop it around as a strong portfolio to magazine editors? Your goals for the project will in some ways direct your topic. Lastly, are there any concepts, subjects, aesthetic styles that you feel a strong connection to? Do you feel that you could flesh out any of these into a large project?
Showcasing Your Skills
Another factor in your project selection is the question of what skills you want to show off.
This Capstone Project is the culmination of your studies at Sessions College. You might think of it as a formal presentation of the knowledge and skills you gained in the Digital Photography program.
You'll want to develop a project that provides the best showcase for your talents. The project is your chance to showcase the range of photography and digital imaging skills you've acquired, from planning for an advanced shoot, to capturing purposeful, polished images, to editing and workflow.
It's your job to highlight your conceptual, lighting, and compositional talents while creating a portfolio piece that will shine and help launch you into your professional career.
Developing a Written Concept
As your project unfolds, you will begin developing a written presentation of your project. The ability to convey an artistic concept and technical approach is essential for any artist. Even if your main goal as a photographer is doing commercial work, you will need the ability to develop and communicate exciting project ideas to your clients.
Do's and Don'ts
Please review all final deliverables today. The items are "due" at the end of the class, but you should be chipping away at the different aspects of the project week-by-week.
It is especially important to start shooting images early on in the class. This project should be your strongest work! If you've created an image in week two that could be improved, you'll have time to reshoot it in order to finesse it before your project is due. If you leave this portion until the last minute, you won't benefit from the revisions that would take your work up a notch.
For this reason, the images created for this class MUST be photographed on different days during different photo sessions. If all 15 photographs in your final project are taken during the same two-hour period on the last week of the semester, you will not pass. It is fine for you to use the same location, same model, same style throughout your project, but I'd like to see your work changing and improving over time based on our critiques.
Begin by thinking of at least three possible ideas for your Capstone concept and present them in order of preference in the discussion section. Reply to at least two of your classmates with thoughts on their topics. Often, an idea will grow organically from the simplest of thoughts, especially with input from colleagues and advisors, so this is your chance!
The sooner you settle on a concept, the more time you'll have to shoot—and the stronger your project will be.
NOTE: Under project guidelines, you are not required to submit images until week 4 and 5. However, I would highly recommend shooting every week in this course so that you have a large body of work to pick from, so that you can winnow or cull to include only the strongest images.
In Dropbox 1 (Week 3), submit the following:
- A summary of your three initial project ideas and a polished short summary of your chosen project.
- A one-page summary of your professional goals as a photographer after graduation. (If your goals are artistic or avocational, tell me your creative goals.)
- Links to three inspirational projects along with brief comments on why you found each project inspiring or interesting.
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STAGE ONE