Basic Photography Syllabus
MCOM 1123 CRN 11384
Fall 2015
T/TH 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Instructor: Mark Zimmerman
School: University of Central Oklahoma
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Mass Communication Building
Classroom: COM 105
Instructor’s Office Phone: 405-974-5174
Department’s Phone: 974-5303
Office Fax: 974-5125
Email: [email protected]
Office: COM 103D
Office Hours: Monday 1-2 p.m., Tuesday 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Wednesday 12-2 p.m., Thursday 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Final Exam scheduled for 9 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8
Note: The instructor reserves the right to amend the syllabus at any time. The
contents of this syllabus are subject to revision 24 hours a day, seven days a
week through the entire semester. Students are put on notice as the contents of
this syllabus may change during the course of the semester. Changes, if any, will
be e-mailed through D2L.
Course Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite(s): Enrollment is open to Mass
Communication, Studio Art, Art Education, Applied Liberal Arts majors, and
students minoring in Mass Communication only.
Course Description: Basic Photography focuses on taking, developing
(digitally), and printing photographs suitable for publication. Additional
components include illustrating the news, creative photography and photographic
appreciation.
Students will apply photographic concepts as a means of visual communication.
The evolution of photography and its contribution to society are covered. Basic
photography emphasizes practical uses of photography as a vehicle for
communication.
Textbook: Recommended. “A short course in Digital Photography” London and
Stone ISBN-10: 0-205-64592-5.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of the Basic Photography course, the
learner will be able to compose, work with, and process photographs. An
emphasis will be placed on technique, critical discussion, and a historical and
contemporary look at the medium of photography. Competency will be
determined by successful completion of all assignments and by earning at least
70% of the points available in the course.
Specific or Enabling Objectives:
· Demonstrate how to operate a fully manual camera;
· Explain composition of photographic images;
· Describe how light affects photographs;
· Identify the differences between film and digital photography;
· Demonstrate how to critique and discuss images.
Instructional Methods: Basic Photography will be presented via lectures, audio-
visuals, demonstrations and student-produced projects.
Transformational Learning Outcomes
University of Central Oklahoma is a learning-centered organization committed
to transformative education through active engagement in the teaching-learning
interchange, scholarly and creative pursuits, leadership, global competency,
healthy lifestyles, and service to others.
This course addresses 5 of the university’s transformative learning goals.
Leadership – This course requires that each student lead a discussion on
their projects during a critique of their work.
Research – Students will be required to research and write about topics
concerning different types of view camera photographs.
Creative and Scholarly Activities – The assignments in this class require
the students to think creatively and conceptually while building a portfolio that
will help them with future employment opportunities.
Global and Cultural Competencies – Students will study and research
photographs and photographers from throughout the world, exposing
them to different cultures and social issues.
Health and Wellness – Photography is a subject that allows for students
to discuss, challenge and document items that fit into the category of
certain health issue. Students are encouraged to think about health and
wellness topics while researching project ideas.
EXPECTATION OF WORK
Full-time college students are expected to spend approximately 40 hours
each week in class attendance and study outside of class. According to
Regents’ policy, for each hour in class a student is expected to spend two
(2) to three (3) hours studying for the class. (OSRHE II-2-34)
Grading
scale:
A=90-100 B=80-89
C=70-79
D=60-69
F=59 and below
Grade
Requirements:
900 points total
4- Individual photography projects (100 points each)
1- writing assignment (100 points)
1- Exam (100 points)
5- mini assignments (20 points each- 100 points total)
Final Project (200 points)
Critique Participation:
It is important that everyone participates in critiques. Your contribution (or lack
of) will be determined during project evaluations.
The final course points are subject to change as they will reflect the
amount of classroom activities assigned during the semester.
Therefore, the final grading scale will be determined by the total
possible points. Consequently, a final grading scale near the end of
the semester will be posted. Basically, 90% or better of total points
constitute an A, 80% of total points is a B etc…
Grading Rubric
D2L
I will use UCO's D2L system to post all grades and critiques. It is your
have any issues.
Any written papers will need to be submitted to the proper Dropbox in D2L. Make
sure you cite and reference your research papers using APA style.
Class Critiques:
All projects that you shoot and hand in will be critiqued and displayed during
class time.
Attendance:
The instructor’s definition of attendance is arriving to class on time and staying
until class is dismissed.
You are entitled to only 3 absences during the semester. These absences should
be reserved for circumstances beyond your control, such as surprise
transportation problems, illness, family emergency, funerals, etc.
After the third absence, each additional absence will result in a 10 point
deduction from your final average grade.
The only excused absences will be for school-sponsored activities, jury duty, or
short term military duty that requires your absence from class; you must present
official documentation for these absences either in advance or within one week of
the absence in order for it to count as an excused absence. Doctor’s notes do
not count.
Note: Leaving class early will be counted as an absence. Coming in
more than 15 minutes late will be counted as an absence.
Required Equipment and Materials:
NOTE: Photography equipment and supplies can get expensive!
Access to a digital SLR camera with at least a 6 mega-pixel chip is the
preferred for this course. Non-DSLR’s that can be used fully manual is also
an option if approved by the instructor.
This camera must be able to be used on manual “M” mode; Other photo supplies
will be discussed later in class.
Digitizing
Projects will need to be digitized and uploaded to a local file server in the digital
photo lab, room 105C. Projects not saved on the server will not be graded and
will be considered late or incomplete and eventually could lead to a “0” for the
project.
Other rules
All phones must be turned off or put on silent while class is in session.
Do not answer your phone or send text messages during class.
No laptops can be used during class unless you have prior approval from the
instructor.
NOTE: You must have your student ID to be able to use the computer labs.
Image Quality
This is a college-level photography class. I will grade on the following standards:
sharpness, creativity, composition, concept, lighting, correct color, proper
exposure, and use of equipment.
Extreme digital post-processing will not be allowed. See me for
further details.
Note: late assignments will receive a 10-point deduction each day they
are late. All assignments will be due at the beginning of class
Cheating in photography courses
Each student must use his or her own photograph(s) and video(s) during each
project. You cannot use photographs from your archive or images you find on the
Internet. You must have taken all images this semester. Failure to follow these
guidelines will result in a zero for the assignment and possibly failure of the class.
Photography Projects
I will upload detailed assignment sheets to D2L. Please follow all instructions
carefully and pay attention to deadlines. Some assignments will be critiqued in
class.
Project 1- Documentation of a place-50 digital images, 5 final images
100 points
Project 2- Portraiture: Insider/Outsider-‐ 50 digital images, 5 final images
Project 3-Still Life‐ 50 images, 5 final images
100 points
Project 4-Documentary-‐ 50 images, 5 final images
100 points
Project 5- The Photographic Narrative-‐ 50 images, 8-‐10 final images
200 points
You will present your final project during FINALS If you do not attend the critique,
a “0” will be given for the project
Writing Requirement
100 points
Write a 2-page paper on a particular area of interest within photography.
Exam
100 points
An exam will be administrated later in the semester. It will consist of questions
concerning camera operation, identification of photographs and important
information of photographic history. No makeup exams are given. If you miss
this test, you will receive a “0” for the grade.
Photo Mini Assignments-
20 points each- 100 points total
Five mini assignments will be given throughout the semester. These will need to
be uploaded in jpeg format before class starts on the due date. Any deadlines
missed, no points will be given. These are similar to “pop” quizzes and will not
appear on the schedule below.
Course Outline
Subject to Change
week 1
8-18 Introduction to course, requirements, Q&A, Why photography?
8-20 Camera basics adjustments, camera parts, light
week 2 (you must have your camera by this week)
8-25 Cameras continued, focusing, focal length, Camera obscura, small group
exercise
8-27 Apertures, shutter speeds, determining exposures-small group exercise Lab
week 3
9-1 Outdoor photography
9-3 Mini Assignment 1 Due. Composition, Lighting, basic exposures- small
group exercise Motion: freezing and blurring, small group exercise
week 4
9-8 Mini Assignment 2 Due Video discussion
9-10 mini group project
week 5
9-15 Computer lab- editing
9-17 Project 1 Due- critique
week 6
9-22 Writing assignment due-Mini Project 3
9-24- Writing Assignment discussion
week 7
9-29 History of Photography
10-1 night photography lecture- Low light demo/
week 8
10-6 Lowlight in-class photography
10-8 Project 2 Due- critique
week 9
10-13 Photojournalism
10-15 Fall Break
week 10
10-20 Project 3 -Editing in Lab. Hand in photos on server.
10-22 Documentary photography/Street Photography
week 11
10-27 Project 3 Due- critique
10-29 Lab Day for Project 4
week 12
11-3 Mini Assignment 4 Due Final Project
ideas 11-5 Final Project discussion
week 13
11-10 Final Project discussion
11-12 Project 4 Due- critique
week 14
11-17 Mini Assignment 5 Due Group 1- Photoshop demo
11-19 Group 2- Photoshop demo
week 15
11-24 Final project in-class editing
11-26 Thanksgiving
week 16
12-1 Final project in-class editing
12-3 Project 5 Due Critique
Finals Week
Final Exam scheduled for 9 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8
Policy on Issuance of “Incomplete” Grades:
Only under severest of conditions and with the recommendation of a student’s
Academic Advisor will a grade of “I” be issued and only then IF the student is
doing passing work at the time the request for the “I” is made.
Department of Mass Communication Policies – Fall 2015 College of Liberal Arts
University of Central Oklahoma
Departmental Phone: (405) 974-5303 Website: http://www.uco.edu/la/masscomm/
UCentral Student Media has an app! Go to iTunes to download it for free! Follow the department Twitter account @UCO_MCOM “Like” the UCO - Department of Mass Communication Facebook Page!
MCOM Majors Email: The department, the college, and the university utilize the UCO email address assigned to each UCO
student. Official information will be emailed through the UCO system. Students have the option of forwarding their UCO email to a personal email account if preferred. For information, go to http://www.uco.edu/technology/student/email/index.asp. If students do not check their UCO email, they risk missing vital information. If you do not use your UCO email account,
please forward your UCO email to an email account you check frequently.
Student Advisement
MCOM has two Student Success Advisors for MCOM majors. Each student is responsible for seeking advisement information each semester in order to graduate in a timely manner.
• Ms. Heather Peck
o Office: COM 103 A o Phone: 974-5108 o Email: [email protected]
• Mr. Gary Parsons o Office: COM 103 o Phone: 974-5108
o Email: [email protected]
UCentral Student Media: http://www.uco.edu/la/masscomm/ucentral/index.asp
UCentral is the student media network at the University of Central Oklahoma, featuring traditional media (television, radio, newspaper) and new media (web, netcasts, social networking) created by students majoring in professional media. UCentral is located within the Mass Communication Department on the campus of UCO.
Fall Events
• Monday, August 17: First Day of Fall Classes! • Monday, September 7: Labor Day
• Friday, September 25: TEDxUCO, 9:00am-4:00pm, Constitution Hall, UCO@125 Event • Friday, October 2: Strategic Communications Fusion Conference
• Wednesday-Thursday, October 7-8: Media Ethics Conference: Reporting & Living Through Life-Changing Stories • Thursday-Friday, October 15-16: Fall Break
• Thursday, October 22: UCO@125 End of Year Gala • Saturday, November 7: Homecoming Football Game • Wednesday-Sunday, November 25-29: Thanksgiving Break • Monday-Friday, December 7-11: Finals Week
• Saturday, December 12: Graduation (Probable date for MCOM/CLA Graduation Ceremony)
Grade Information 16-Week Session: Aug 17-Dec 11 Block I: Aug 17-Oct 7 Block II: Oct 8-Dec 11 Grades Submitted by Faculty
No Later than Noon on December 15
No Later than Noon on October 12
No Later than Noon on December 15
Grades Posted to Transcript, Available to Students after 5:00pm
December 15 October 12 December 15
Undergraduate Degrees Posted on Transcripts, Available to Students
December 18 December 18 December 18
Expectation of Work
Full-time college students are expected to spend approximately 40 hours each week in class attendance and study outside of class. According to Regents’ policy, for each hour in class a student is expected to spend two (2) to three (3) hours studying for the class (OSRHE II-2-34). For each three-credit hour course, the Regents expect students to study/prepare 6-9 hours per week.
UCO Student Code of Conduct
Students are responsible for all information in the Student Code of Conduct 2015-2016. This can be accessed on the Student Affairs Publications website at http://www.uco.edu/student-affairs/conduct/index.asp.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND PLAGIARISM:
The UCO Student Code of Conduct describes Academic Dishonesty and outlines the steps for disciplinary action in the Guidelines for Alleged Academic Dishonesty. This information can be found in Section III, C, 3 & 4.
Academic dishonesty: Includes but is not limited to the “giving” and “taking” of improper assistance in examinations and
assignments; not adhering to correct procedures for identification of sources in reports and essays and all creative endeavors; intentional misrepresentation; cheating; plagiarism; and unauthorized possession of examinations. The UCO
Student Code of Conduct provides further details. Additionally, any work submitted as an assignment for one class may not
be submitted for credit in another class, without prior permission of the professor. Any work so submitted will receive an automatic "0."
Plagiarism: When a student submits any assignment for a course (written, oral, videotape, audiotape, photograph or Web
Site), the student will submit entirely original work or will properly cite all sources utilized in the preparation of the
assignment. Without proper citation, the student is guilty of plagiarism, which is not tolerated at UCO. As a student, you are responsible for understanding what constitutes plagiarism. You should talk to your professor to ensure that you can recognize and avoid all types of plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs in two primary ways:
1. Word-for-word copying, without acknowledgement, of the language or creative work of another person. Having another person complete all or part of your assignment is plagiarism and is clearly forbidden. But, in addition, the student should include NO written, video, audio, or photographic material from an existing source, no matter how brief, without acknowledging the source. When using the written words of an existing source in your assignment, either place the borrowed words in quotation marks or set the quotation aside as a block quotation. Additionally, you must include the citation for the material in your assignment. This applies to even the briefest of phrases if they are truly distinctive. 2. The unacknowledged paraphrasing of an author’s ideas. The student should no more take credit for another person’s
thoughts than for another person’s words. Any distinctive, original idea taken from another writer should be credited to its author. If you are not sure whether or not an author’s idea is distinctive, you should assume that it is: no fault attaches to over-acknowledgement, but under-acknowledgement is plagiarism. Most style manuals (e.g., Publication
ideas and writings of existing sources.
Students may be dismissed from the university for plagiarism. University guidelines provide a range of disciplinary
action dependent upon the severity of the offense including but not limited to: requiring a substitute assignment, awarding a reduced grade, awarding a failing grade for the assignment, awarding a failing grade for the course, or expelling the student from the university. Acknowledging that instances of plagiarism may range from minor to severe, the Department of Mass Communication allows the course professor to determine the severity and the disciplinary action for the first instance of plagiarism committed by a student in the professor’s course. However, if that student commits plagiarism a second time in the course, departmental policy requires that the student receive both a failing grade (“F”) for the course and a referral to the UCO Student Conduct Officer. Students should make sure they understand professor expectations for sources and content to be cited.
Turnitin.com Plagiarism Syllabus Statement: UCO subscribes to the Turnitin.com plagiarism prevention service.
Students agree that by taking this course, all required assignments may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com restricted access reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such assignments. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com website. Turnitin.com is just one of various plagiarism prevention tools and methods which may be utilized by your faculty instructor during the terms of the semesters. In the UCO Student Handbook, there is a process for contesting any plagiarism allegations against you.
ADA Statement Regarding Special Accommodations:
The University of Central Oklahoma complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations must contact Sharla Weathers, B.S., C.S.R. in Disability Support Services [[email protected]] in room 309 of the Nigh University Center, (405) 974-2549. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor as soon as possible after DSS has verified the need for accommodations to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
Transformative Learning: http://www.uco.edu/central/tl/
“At the University of Central Oklahoma, we help students learn by providing transformative experiences so that they may become productive, creative, ethical and engaged citizens and leaders contributing to the intellectual, cultural, economic and social advancement of the communities they serve. Transformative learning is a holistic process that places students at the center of their own active and reflective learning experiences. All students at UCO will have transformative learning
experiences in five core areas: leadership; research, creative and scholarly activities; service learning and civic engagement; global and cultural competencies; and health and wellness.”
Class Attendance: (Taken from the Faculty Handbook)
The university expects students to regularly attend classes in which they are enrolled. Faculty members are expected to establish specific attendance policies governing their classes. Attendance policies must appear in the course syllabi. Faculty members may require appropriate documentation to verify absences. Students are responsible for work missed due to absences. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate a request to make up class work or examinations missed. Individual policies must allow for a reasonable but not unlimited, number of excused absences, for legitimate reasons. Excused absences approved by faculty members should be consistently applied to all students. An excused absence means that an instructor may not penalize the student and must provide a reasonable and timely accommodation or opportunity to make up exams or other course requirements that have an impact on course grade. Excused students should be allowed the same opportunities as students who were present in class.
Faculty members are obligated to honor the following circumstances as excused absences:
a. travel considered part of the instructional program of the university and requiring absence from class (e.g. field trips, research presentations, etc.);
b. invited participation in activities directly and officially sponsored by and in the interest of the university (e.g. athletic teams, debate teams, dance company, etc.); in cases of student athletes, refer to UCO Compliance Policy Manual for Athletics or contact the Faculty Athletic Representative;
c. jury duty;
d. military obligation (See Appendix K in Faculty Handbook.)
e. serious illness, medical condition, pregnant and parenting students’ rights (as outlined in Title IX), accident, or injury; and
f. death or serious illness in immediate family
Additional policies for this course are included in the Fall 2015 UCO Student Information Sheet and Syllabus Attachment that can be accessed at http://www.uco.edu/academic-affairs/files/aa-forms/StudentInfoSheet.pdf
