College of Communication College of Communication The University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism School of Journalism

J316 Photographic Communication Fall 2009

(07305, 07310, 07315, 07320, 07325, 07330, 07335, 07340, 07345)

Professor Donna DeCesare

• • •

Lectures: Tuesday, Thursday 6:30pm-8pm CMA A2.320

Office hours: CMA 5.150 E Tues/Thurs. 5pm-6pm

Students must sign up on sign up sheet on office door or email for special appointment pending availability at other times.

Email: donna.decesare@austin.utexas.edu

Phone: 512 471-1980

Labs: See specific unique number for time and Instructor, CMA 6.168

Lab Instructor office Hours: 5pm-6:30 pm Tuesdays UA9 2.106.

Email: Sean Mathis seanson28@gmail.com

Spencer Selvidge    sselvidge@gmail.com

Kelly West  westkelly@gmail.com

Please contact your Lab Instructor for phone number

Note: Attendance in all classes and labs and counts toward your grade. You lose points for every missed class.

Course Description:

Visual literacy, visual image making controls and techniques and learning what makes photographs have impact or grace, the changes and challenges the digital world has brought image makers, what critics look for in great photography are among topics explored in this class. You will also practice your own photography weekly and will be encouraged to step outside your comfort zone photographing people you don't know, reaching to express something visually that can move people to want to take action for social change or that can shift the way things are ordinarily seen and perceived.

Photography is a pleasure, but mastering photographic literacy and production skills is demanding and requires committed work. This class is for beginners but it requires substantial time commitment. There are weekly readings, photographic assignments and required lab sessions to review concepts and work. Students who are challenged most often produce work they didn't imagine they could do.

I expect commitment, effort and enthusiasm from all my students. To earn a good grade you will also need to show creativity, sensitivity and respect for yourself and others. You must photograph people who you don't already know and I expect you to be active rather than passive in your search for good images. Your work must also illustrate mastery of the techniques covered in class and lab and versatile command of several of the qualities of visual language that we will learn in this course. You must also demonstrate ethical decision-making and respect for yourself and your subjects.

This class will expand the way you see. It will be especially rewarding if you are someone who wants to use photography in your life or in your work to tell visual stories and to make images that have a point of view and the power to engage emotions.

This class is a prerequisite for students who wish to major in Journalism with a specialization in Visual Narrative—still and video-- in the School of Journalism.

Learning Goals:

Student Assessment and Evaluation:

Your grade will depend on a number of factors including your skills at operating a manual camera, your understanding of basic compositional principles, your ability to identify and use the image quality concepts covered in our glossary in your own photographs. Your understanding of narrative structure demonstrated in the final photo essay, as well as the individual power of the component images in terms of craftsmanship and power as stand alone as images. Your grade will also reflect class participation and attendance in both the class lectures and the lab sections.

Projects increase in difficulty throughout the semester and will accordingly be given greater value as part of your final grade.

A+ (96-100): Exceptional work that far exceeds the requirements and shows exceptional creativity and control as well as understanding of assignment objectives. Subject matter is fresh or uniquely original. You have sought out subjects you didn’t previously know on almost all assignments. Work displays a humanistic concern for exploring realities other than your own—and visual sensitivity to nuances conveying both tragedy and joy. Images show an inspired sense of design, aesthetic rigor and conceptual innovation. Your work displays mastery of all of the elements covered in each assignment. And each image in the final project combines at least 4 distinct image qualities in each photograph.

A (92-95): Excellent work that shows creativity, control and understanding of the course assignment objectives. You have sought out subjects you didn’t previously know on almost all assignments. Subject matter is original and conveyed in creative and fresh ways. Design is well thought-out and executed. Each image in the final project combines at least 3 distinct image qualities in each photograph.

A- (89-91) Very strong work that exceeds the requirements and shows creativity and understanding of assignment objectives. Subject matter is creative and fresh. Design is consciously executed. You sought out a subject you didn’t know for your final assignment. Each image in the final project combines at least 2 distinct image qualities in each photograph.

B+ (86-88) Good work which meets the requirements of the assignment occasionally going beyond the requirements and which demonstrates effort and technical and aesthetic skill. Design is effective in regard to subject matter and assigned medium. Final project combines at least 2 distinct image qualities in each photograph.

B (82-85) Work meets the requirements of the assignment and demonstrates effort and technical and aesthetic skill. Design is most often effective in regard to subject matter and assigned medium.

Final project combines at least 2 distinct image qualities in each photograph.

B- (79-81) Work meets the requirements of the assignment and demonstrates effort and technical and aesthetic skill. Design is generally effective in regard to subject matter and assigned medium.

C (76-78): Work is of average quality; meets the requirements but technical skill is inconsistent. Creativity is seldom apparent.

C - (72-75): Work is of average quality; meets the minimal requirements but technical skill is inconsistent. Creativity is not apparent.

C - (69-71): Work is below average quality; meets the minimal requirements but technical skill is inconsistent. Creativity is not apparent.

D (60-68): Work shows lack of effort or does not display adequate understanding of technical and/or design elements. Work is incomplete or does not follow requirements.

F (59 and below): Unacceptable work that displays a lack of understanding of assignment objectives and/or is not complete.

Use of Blackboard for this Class

In this class I use Blackboard—a Web-based course management system with password-protected access at http://courses.utexas.edu —to distribute course materials, to communicate and collaborate online, to post grades, to submit assignments, and for TA staff to give you online quizzes and surveys. You can find support in using Blackboard at the ITS Help Desk at 475-9400, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., so plan accordingly.

Use of E-Mail for Official Correspondence to Students

Email is recognized as an official mode of university correspondence; therefore, you are responsible for reading your email for university and course-related information and announcements. You are responsible to keep the university informed about changes to your e-mail address. You should check your e-mail regularly and frequently—I recommend daily, but at minimum twice a week—to stay current with university-related communications, some of which may be time-critical. You can find UT Austin’s policies and instructions for updating your e-mail address at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.php.

Class Materials:

You are required to have your own manual digital SLR camera with manual controls and that will accept off camera flash and interchangeable lenses. You must also have a 1 Gig digital film card for your camera and 2 USB drives to submit your work. Details provided in the Assignment section of the J316 Blackboard site.

For those with little or no photographic experience, we recommend the basic primer: The National Geographic Photography Field Guide by Peter K. Burian. All edition’s contain the same basic information, though the first edition is cheaper and you can find used copies for sale online for less than half the price of a new copy of the current edition. Most bookstores and online booksellers carry the book. Other good books available in our library and from Amazon and highly recommended as books you’ll want to own if you plan to apply to the Journalism School for Visual Journalism are Ken Kobre’s classic: Photojournalism: The Professional's Approach, and Loup Langton’s Photojournalism And Today's News: Creating Visual Reality.

All written material that is specific to this course will be posted on Blackboard. The syllabus and Class schedule will be posted in the Syllabus section. Under Course Documents you will find Weekly Readings on the topics covered in lectures.

Assignment Guidelines

The requirements and format for submitting all assignments are covered on Blackboard in the J 316 Class Assignments Folder under Assignments tab. It is imperative that you follow these guidelines. You will be shooting 10 assignments and submitting at least 72 images for each of those assignments (more for the picture story). There are currently 150 students registered for this class, so for each assignment we can have more than 10,800 images to view each week– more than 108,000 by the end of the semester. Because there will be so many images handed in, we will not grade any assignment that does not conform to the submission guidelines. The guidelines are not complicated – please follow them.

In the Assignments Section you will find each of the class assignments with Due date. Due dates are also on the Syllabus. Some assignments include a suggested reading list of books that help illustrate that particular assignment. Your TA instructors will be uploading images to illustrate the assignments and covering these concepts in lab class as well. Blackboard is your friend. Use it.

Extra credit, in the form of dropping your lowest assignment grade on work turned in only (you cannot get extra credit to replace an assignment you failed to turn in. That grade will remain a 0), will be given if you hand in 3 book critiques by the deadlines listed in the class schedule at the end of the Syllabus. The critiques may be on any 3 photographers you choose, including those mentioned on suggested reading lists. You must use a published book for your critique; no critiques of online galleries will be accepted.

Details on the format for critiques in the form of an A level sample are posted on Blackboard in the Assignments Section.

Keep in mind; the book critiques are not required. However, if you choose to do the 3 critiques, each must be handed in by the required deadline. If you miss any deadline, you will not be eligible for extra credit, even if you have completed one or more other critiques.

There will be a number of guest lecturers during the semester. Each will address their photographic specialty and the topics we are covering in Lectures. There will also be a number of films related to photography; the films will be shown only once. You will be quizzed on speakers and films shown in class. These quizzes added together will equal one full assignment grade. That grade will be averaged in with your photography assignments to make your final grade. The quizzes will be given in your lab and announced the week before. There are no make-up quizzes.

Class Policies and Courtesy:

Once the guest lecturer has started, please do not consider leaving the auditorium before they finish. These are professional people and should have your respect and undivided attention; please do not be rude. If you cannot stay for the full lecture and Q&A that follows, please do not attend.

This is a large class with a limit of 150 students. It is unfair and very distracting for all concerned to have people coming in late and trying to get to their seat. Class starts at 6:30pm sharp. Late entries into this class are not permitted. Please do not try to enter the auditorium after the lecture has begun. If you do, you will be asked to leave. This is not an act of malice, but simply an effective way to prevent latecomers from disrupting the lecture and those who have made it to class on time. Please be courteous, and if you are late, do not interrupt the lecture. DO NOT ENTER THE ROOM LATE!

Attendance will be taken. There will be a seating chart and it will be in effect on the 12th day of class. After your 3rd cut class, the office of student affairs will be notified and you will be contacted. After your next cut class, the Dean’s office will receive a suggestion that you be dropped from this course. If you are having difficulty attending, please come to my office hours 5:00 -6:00 pm Tuesday and Thursday. Use the sign up sheet on the door to request a 15-minute time slot.

All cell phones must be turned of during class. All laptops must remain closed and if you fail to follow these rules more than once, you will be asked to leave, and will receive an absence for the class. All laptops must be put away during class. Web surfing is prohibited during class time. Please take notes with a pad and pen.

All projects will be returned to you within one week of your deadline. If this is not the case, please notify Professor DeCesare and she will remedy the situation.

Attendance will be taken in your lab section as well, and labs begin promptly at the scheduled time. Lab sections are crucial to your understanding of the assignments; they are where we delve into more specific, practical questions about assignments, and have more casual discussions of the techniques covered in lecture.

This class has the potential to be intellectually and creatively stimulating as well as enjoyable. Photography is not “easy” but by expanding your visual literacy and your mastery of visual language you will find rewards and inspiration that will spill over into your other academic subjects. Work hard but enjoy the experience and remain open to new ways of seeing the world around you.

*****************************

University of Texas Honor Code

The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.

Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty

The University defines academic dishonesty as cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Scholastic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment, and submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor. By accepting this syllabus, you have agreed to these guidelines and must adhere to them. Scholastic dishonesty damages both the student's learning experience and readiness for the future demands of a work-career. Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University.
 

All work done in this class must be original work done by the student for this class alone. The goal is creation of images that are respectful, ethical and publishable. Work produced for this class must meet these criteria. Professor DeCesare and Lab Instructors will not view work unless it meets these criteria and is work that both subject and author are willing to have shown publically. Do not hand in work that fails to meet these standards.

For information on academic integrity and plagiarism, see
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php.
 

Documented Disability Statement

The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at

471-6259 (voice) or 232-2937 (video phone).

Students with Disabilities
Please notify your instructor of any modification/adaptation you may require to accommodate a disability-related need. You will be requested to provide documentation to the Dean of Student's Office in order that the most appropriate accommodations can be determined.  Specialized services are available on campus through Services for Students with Disabilities.
 
http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/   

Attendance University accepted exceptions to

Attendance is part of the grade for this class. Only medical emergencies authenticated with a doctor’s note or family bereavement confirmed by a signed letter from one of your parent’s is an excusable absence.

Family reunions or holiday travel are not excusable absences from this class. You will lose 5 points for such absences regardless of whether you email in advance.

 If you will miss a class for reasons of religious or military observance you must let us know WELL IN ADVANCE see UT policy below, not the day before. You will still need to get assignments in a day before or after the due date. Plan ahead.


Religious Holy Days

By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time before or after the absence.


 
Absence for military service


In accordance with section 51.9111 of the Texas Education Code, a student is excused from attending classes or engaging in other required activities, including exams, if he or she is called to active military service of a reasonably brief duration. The maximum time for which the student may be excused has been defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as "no more than 25 percent of the total number of class meetings or the contact hour equivalent (not including the final examination period) for the specific course or courses in which the student is currently enrolled at the beginning of the period of active military service." The student will be allowed a reasonable time after the absence to complete assignments and take exams. Policies affecting students who withdraw for military service are given above.

http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gi03-04/ch4/ch4g.html - attendance <http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gi03-04/ch4/ch4g.html#attendance>

Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL)

If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or visit http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal.

Emergency Evacuation Policy

Occupants of buildings on the UT Austin campus are required to evacuate and assemble outside when a fire alarm is activated or an announcement is made. Please be aware of the following policies regarding evacuation:

Do not re-enter a building unless you’re given instructions by the Austin Fire Department, the UT Austin Police Department, or the Fire Prevention Services office

Q drop Policy

The State of Texas has enacted a law that limits the number of course drops for academic reasons to six (6). As stated in Senate Bill 1231:

“Beginning with the fall 2007 academic term, an institution of higher education may not permit an undergraduate student a total of more than six dropped courses, including any course a transfer student has dropped at another institution of higher education, unless the student shows good cause for dropping more than that number.”

You can find advice, models, templates, and other resources for designing your course syllabus on the DIIA website at http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/

Resources for Learning & Life at UT Austin

The University of Texas has numerous resources for students to provide assistance and support for your learning.

The UT Learning Center: http://www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/

Undergraduate Writing Center: http://uwc.utexas.edu/

Counseling & Mental Health Center: http://cmhc.utexas.edu/

Career Exploration Center: http://www.utexas.edu/student/careercenter/

Student Emergency Services: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/emergency

Class Lectures and Assignment Deadline Schedule:

Your weekly readings as well as a wealth of additional online multimedia resources are available at you class blackboard site and the areas prepared by your Lab Instructors.

Be sure to follow each week as new materials are added. I reserve the right to alter some dates on this class schedule to accommodate special guest speakers or to provide substitute works for screening in class that are relevant to the lecture topic.

Week One:

1. Thurs 08/27 Lecture: The Ubiquitous Image: Visual literacy part One. Introduction to course, class policies, supply requirements, grading and attendance policies. Extra credit book reviews explained. Bring camera and lens to lab your first lab. Labs start Friday.

Week Two:

2. Tues 09/01 Lecture: A Brief History of Early Photography and the Social Documentary Tradition followed by the anatomy of your Camera and Lens. Getting ready to make a digital image. Begin to explain Motion Assignment

3.Thurs 09/03 Lecture: Visual Literacy Part 2, Followed by overview of Optics and Lenses Exposure and using your light meter. The impact of shutter speeds revealed.

Week Three:

4. Tues 09/08 Lectures: F-Stops. Depth-of-Field and how it relates to

5. Thurs. 09/10 Screening: CLOSE UP: Portraits of Photographers

Friday Twelfth class day

Week Four

6. Tues 09/15 Lecture: Disturbance/ Proximity: Working The Frame

7. Thurs 09/17 Screening: Street vs Documentary Process—

Jeff Mermelstein vs Donna Ferrato at work

Week Five

8. Tues 09/22 Lecture: Vantage Point

September 23 12th Class day Seating chart enforced. Wednesday Last day to drop a class without a possible academic penalty.

9. Thurs 09/23 Lecture: The Language of the Image: Criteria that

distinguish superior photographs

Week Six

10. Tues 09/29 Lecture: Sense of Place

11. Thurs. 10/01 Photographer Guest: Lance Rosenfield

Texas Rodeos

Week Seven

12. Tues 10/06 Lecture: Archetypes and Metaphors

Deadline: Assignment Four Vantage Point due

13. Thurs. 10/08 Photographer Guest: Mike Andrick

Photographing Appalachia

Week Eight

14. Tues 10/13 Lecture: Decisive Moment

15. Thurs. 10/15 Screening: The Genius of Photography: Right Time,

Right Place "Being in the right place at the right time",

"the decisive moment", "getting in close", in the popular

imagination this is photography at its best, a medium that

makes us eyewitnesses to the moments when history is

made.

Week Nine

16. Tues 10/20 Lecture: Portrait

October 21 Wednesday Last day an undergraduate student may, with the dean’s approval, withdraw from the University or drop a class except for urgent and substantiated, nonacademic reasons.

17. Thurs. 10/22 Lecture: Documentary Portrait of My Father—

Alzheimer’s.

Week Ten

18. Tues 10/27 Lecture: Narrative Visual Storytelling/Sequence/ The

19. Thurs 10/29 Critical Issues in Documentary:

Screening: The True Meaning of Pictures
Addresses the issue of representation in documentary

photography by examining the work of American

photographer Shelby Lee Adams. This documentary

seeks to spend time with the subjects of Adams' work, in

order to get to know them better and address the

controversy and response Adams' photographs generate,

which involves the politics of representation.

Week Eleven

20. Tues 11/03 Lecture: The Photo Story

Deadline Assignment Eight Portrait due

21 Thurs. 11/05 Photographer Guest Mona Reeder

Week Twelve

22. Tues 11/10 Lecture: The classic Photo Stories

Deadline Assignment Nine Sequence Due

23. Thurs 11/12 Photographer Guest: Meg Louckes

Week Thirteen

24. Tues 11/17 Lecture: Multimedia Stories

25. Thurs. 11/19 Lecture about Lauren Greenfield

She will have a show at Women and their Work and a

lecture at the Blanton this week not required attendance

but recommended

Week Fourteen

26. Tues 11/24 Lecture Color and Rhythm

Viewings: The Sequence

Deadline Assignment Ten The Photo Story Due

November 26-28 Thursday–Saturday Thanksgiving holidays.

Week Fifteen

27. Tues 12/01 Professor DeCesare’s multimedia work

28. Thurs. 12/03 Viewings The Best Photo Stories

Professor DeCesare will revise the Class schedule section of the syllabus, as speakers are confirmed Please check blackboard for most up-to -date class schedule section of the Syllabus.