Digital Photography

This course exposes students to all of the steps required to take full advantage of what their digital cameras have to offer. The course begins with an introduction to digital photography and teaches basic artistic techniques which help a student take better pictures using their camera. Approximately half of the course is spent manipulating and enhancing images using Adobe Photoshop Elements software. The balance of the course is spent downloading, printing, organizing, backing up and ordering pictures on line. Please note that a $100 fee applies to this course. Specific topics include:

Buying Cameras and Taking Better Pictures

• Digital camera terminology
• Buying a new digital camera
• Learn artistic principles that will help you take better pictures
• Use your own camera to take close up photos, adjust lighting, control your flash, take movie clips, use the self timer etc.

Understanding the Photo Processing Chain

• Download pictures from your camera to your computer
• Create folders and use Windows Explorer to organize your images on your computer
• Make backup copies of your photos on CD’s DVD’s
• Print your photos at home
• Resize and e-mail your photos to friends
• Order photos on-line

Using Adobe Photoshop Elements to enhance your photos

Introduction to Photoshop Elements

• Use Open, Save and Save as functions
• Use the Navigator, File Browser, History Palette and Colour Palette

Apply Image Enhancements to the Entire Image

• Use “Quick fix” functions such as: Smart Fix, Lighting and Colour tools
• Use “Full Edit” functions such as: Brightness / Contrast, Levels, Hue / Saturation / Lightness to refine an image, make sepia tones, watermarks and other creative effects
• Rotate, straighten, crop and resize images
• Compensate for lens and perspective distortions

Adjust Parts of an Image

• Remove Red Eye
• Create a Vignette
• Change Tool Preferences 
• Use the Polygonal Lasso, shape selection and magic wand tools to selectively apply effects to an image
• Use the Clone Stamp or healing brush tools to remove blemishes
• Add to or subtract from a selection

Use Layers & Special Effects

• Copy & Paste selections from one image to another
• Add Text and use special effects & filters to achieve artistic effects (make a photo look like a water colour painting or blur the background of an image to make a person appear to be moving faster etc.)