Description of Portrait Photography (Art 30743)
Prof. Luther Smith download as pdf
(817) 257-6718
l.smith@tcu.edu
www.luthermith.net
Office Hours
Office 014 Moudy North, inside 018 Moudy North, The photo lab
I am in my office Monday-Thursday except during class if you need additional help or just want to talk, please stop by or call for an appointment.
This is an ART course in photography. You will have the opportunity to learn digital imaging, studio lighting and natural lighting. You will produce a portfolio of matted prints and a professional website. We will explore Photography as a medium of creative expression using people as the subject. This will require a commitment from you. This is not a casual course. It requires a tremendous amount of time and much physical and mental effort.
Attendance
Attendance is required for all classes including labs. One absence is cause to lower your grade. Late counts the same as an absence. I take roll once at the beginning of class. If you miss or are late for a class that includes a demonstration or lecture, you should consider dropping the class. The university attendance policy states that regular and punctual class attendance is essential and that no assigned work is excused because of absence, no matter what the cause. If you are having problems, please come and see me.
Labs
The photography lab is a available only for students enrolled in photography classes and students with special permission. Visitors are not allowed in the lab without permission of Dick Lane or myself. Please bring visitors to the lab only if you have received advance permission and only for "a short tour."
Your ID card is your key to the lab. The university keeps a record of every time your card is swiped. Do not open the door for people who do not have their ID card. If someone needs in and does not have a card please see the person in charge.
Your grade will be determined by the following:
Final Portfolio 50%,
Class Participation 30%,
Exam 10%,
Slide Presentation 10%.
Explanation of Final grades:
A= exceptional work, perfect attendance and active class participation, an A or B on Exam
B= good work, near perfect attendance and active class participation, an A or B on Exam
C= satisfactory work, misses no more than two classes, active class participation, not lower than a C on Exam
D= unsatisfactory work
F= failure to complete all course work
Extra Credit
I will give 0.1 points for every Art Photography Exhibition you attend. The extra credit will be added to your grade. To receive credit, simply turn in a typed description of the exhibition. Please include the name of the photographer, where it was held and a short description of your opinion of the photographs using some specific photographs as examples
Readings
In addition to classroom instruction, the assigned readings in the book will be helpful in understanding principles and procedures.
Expectations
I expect to see work from all students at every critique. Assignments will be graded on Conceptual Content and Craft. A student that does most of his or her work during the last weeks of class will not get an A. Students who attend all classes have a good chance of getting an A or B in the class.
I suggest you shoot a lot and edit. To learn photography it is essential to photograph a lot and often.
Some memory work is required in this class. In the beginning before you have the opportunity to learn from experience you will need to memorize some technical controls.
As the semester proceeds, I will identify, through the discussions of assignments, the criteria used to evaluate your photographs. Please ask questions when you do not understand, and disagree whenever you think my opinions are incorrect. This process will help us to better understand each other.
Equipment Check Out and In
Dick Lane is the Photography Lab Coordinator. If you need to check out equipment see the student assistant. Please do not ask me or Dick to check equipment in or out unless there is an emergency.
Statement on Disability Services at TCU: Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 11. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at (817) 257-7486.
Academic Misconduct (Sec. 3.4 from the Student Handbook) – Any act that violates the academic integrity of the institution is considered academic misconduct. The procedures used to resolve suspected acts of academic misconduct are available in the offices of Academic Deans and the Office of Campus Life. Specific examples include, but are not limited to:
- Cheating: Copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files and listings; Using, during any academic exercise, material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge of the test; Collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test or laboratory without permission; Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized for release; Substituting for another student or permitting another student to substitute for oneself;
- Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase or obtaining by any means another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s own offered for credit. Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another’s work without giving credit therefore.
· Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing work offered for credit.
Netiquette: Communication Courtesy Code. All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. If I deem any of them to be inappropriate or offensive, I will forward the message to the Chair of the department and the online administrators and appropriate action will be taken, not excluding expulsion from the course.
TCU Campus Resources for Students: Many resources exist on the TCU campus that may be helpful to students: Mary Couts Burnet Library (257-7117); Center for Academic Services (257-7486, Sadler Hall. 11); the William L. Adams Writing Center (257-7221, Rickel Bldg. 244); Student Development Services (257-7855, Student Center Rm. 220); and University Ministries (257-7830, Student Center Rm. 111).
Email Notification: Only the official TCU student email address will be used for all course notification. It is your responsibility to check your TCU email on a regular basis.
