Class Handout: Bring to every Art 114 class
Instructor: Kenji Tachibana
Primary Learning goal: Story telling
Keep it simple and personally meaningful. Tell a story that you know from deep personal experience.
Avoid forcing or over thinking an idea. Don’t drive yourself into a corner by trying to be creative,
original, or make impersonal grandiose statements. Just ‘Be’ yourself. Being true to you is the true
creative touchstone.
Quote: Hear it
Isac Asimov: On story title
He wrote 'It is the essence of a good title, that it means more after you have completed the story than before
you started. If that is not true, then either the title or the story, or both, is trivial.
The same can be said for our class. Most students who have taken Art 114 and Art 115 have experienced
phenomena of having a simple title take on much more meaning by the end of the quarter.
Creativity: Find it within…
Creativity is 90% hard work and the true creative source is within you. Only you can tell your own story with
‘authenticity’. And to tell a visually interesting story will require you to ‘draw with light’ and compose using
design, depth, and controlled movement. It helps to be lucky but it’s not reliable.
Personal Title: Must have it
All class and homework assignment images must have a unique title. This will serve the:
1. Primary learning goal
as stated above.
2. Your shooting guide
when planning and capturing the assignment image.
3. Computer file-management
for practical and display order needs (more on this later).
Requirements: The digital camera is a computer with imaging capabilities
 Image Size
2547 x 1955 x 72 dpi (practical size) or as close as possible (within 12%).
* DSLR higher resolutions such as 180 or 300 are acceptable.
 Image Quality Highest quality jpeg (image compression format created by the Jet Propulsion Lab
over 20 years ... ... and improved by Adobe about 5 years… )
 Shooting Mode Auto okay but Auto-P preferred for more control over ISO and other controls.
 Chip Sensitivity ISO 100 speed for best image quality. Using ISO 200 for an emergency only. But never use
ISO 400 or higher speeds.
* DSLR users can use ISO’s up to 800 because of their larger chip size but use the slow
speed but high image quality ISO 100 whenever possible.
 Exposure Mode Auto mode. Not Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, or Scene mode.
 Exposure Meter Matrix mode. Not Center-Weighted or Spot Meter modes.
 Aperture
Compact digital preferred f/3.2 to f/6.3 f/stop range. Do not use the Wide-Open f/2.8 or the
Fully Stopped-Down f/8. The image quality suffers at the extreme ends of the aperture
range. Tele has a different Wide-Open which can range from f/4.3 to 5.6. The range is a
result of different lens design.
* DSLR preferred f/5.6 to f/16 f/stop range. Do not use the Wide Open f/3.5 or the Fully
 Shutter Speed
 White Balance
 Focus
Stopped Down f/22. The telephoto Wide-Open is usually f/5.6.
1/125 second is the minimum speed recommended for most assignment shots using the
telephoto. If the wide is being used, 1/30 second is the minimum speed recommended to
minimize camera motion blur. Camera on a tripod minimum speed is 1/30 second.
Auto is recommended for all class assignment shots. It is simple, fast, and reliable for
95% of shooting conditions. WB is 100% predictable when using the assignment
recommended Skylight.
Auto with focus bracket positioned at the center. Although auto focus is not as reliable as
auto WB. Assume it may fail half the time so learn to use it with great care.
* DSLR users should use both auto and manual focus. When done properly, manual focus
is a lot more reliable.
Class Handout: Bring to every Art 114 class
 Zoom Lens
Instructor: Kenji Tachibana
11-24mm is the practical focal length range. The 24mm is recommended based on practical
and aesthetic reasons. Avoid using wide angle which tends to naturally distort and often
suffers from optical distortion.
* DSLR user can use 33–70mm or 33-55mm. The 70mm (or 55) is recommended based on
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practical and aesthetic reasons. Avoid using wide angle which tends to naturally distort and
often suffers from optical distortion.
Digital zoom
Never use because it’s a fake capability designed as a marketing ploy!
Flash
Not recommended for class assignment use. Plan and choose your shooting
location
and timing wisely to avoid dim light. Try to get your shooting done between 10 AM to 4-00 PM. Especially
during the winter, shooting earlier or later will
guarantee dim light.
Image Shape
4:3 ratio is the default compact digital shape. It’s the same shape as the traditional
RGB computer monitor. The new flat screens usually do not fit the 4:3 shape.
* DSLR 3:2 shape is also wider. Expect to crop your extra wide 3:2 image to the 4:3
ratio (shape) for all assignment shoots. This is another team discussion topic.
Light Quality
Soft and easy to use Skylight. Skylight is the blue sky only portion of Daylight. Daylight is
the combination of direct sun and the blue sky.
Light Direction Sidelight is the preferred light direction.
Light Quantity Single or dual source. If duel source, both lights should be of the same type.
Story & Title
Image must have a story and a title. You must also know the category:
1) People – animals, plants, and other can be included in this category depending on your
attitude.
2) Places – this category is less broad.
3) Things – people can be included in this category depending on your ‘treatment’.
4) Ideas – with story being the assignment umbrella, this dances with People, Places, and
Things.
Flesh out these categories with a story about an intersection with a traffic cop…
 Subject
 Background
 Focal Point
Something or someone that you know well. If it’s an object, portability and ownership can
make it easier to ‘draw with light’ and to re-shoot when necessary. The surface
characteristic can’t be white, black, shiny, or transparent. And for this class, shoot subjects
that do not move.
This also has the same can’t be restrictions. If you are shooting a person, the background
should be at least 12 feet away. If you are shooting a basketball size object, the
background minimum distance shrinks to about 3 feet. Although, there are many shots
where the background minimum distance is an irrelevant idea.
The physical background distance helps to contribute to ‘creating a sense of space’ in an
image. To add to that sense of space, it might also be good to include a foreground
element.
Background is also about negative space. The negative-space is about the outline shape
created by the subject. It is important to create an interesting negative-space shape. And
nothing should be in the background that is not relevant to the story.
An image must have a center-of-interest. That must be placed somewhere on the primary
subject or be the primary subject. On a person, the face is usually the center-of-interest and
the eyes are the focal point. And the focal point is where the focus bracket [ ] must be
placed.
Make Your Own: Personal ‘requireYour-first-name.doc’ (example - requireKenji.doc)
Download requireTemplate.doc. Save it to your own USB drive. Re-name it requireYourname_00.doc.
Rewrite all the remarks (text description on the right) using your own words and Save it again with a new
‘serial-save-name’ requireYourname_01.doc’.
Image Capture Process: Shooting guide
1. Your story is the starting and end-point of all your technical and aesthetic decisions. There are four (4)
different shooting categories:
2. Set your digital camera based on your own ‘require’ document.
Class Handout: Bring to every Art 114 class
Instructor: Kenji Tachibana
3. Start with a simple story and let the interaction with the real world mold it into a ‘living story’. Review the
‘Half Full’ slide series from the ‘textbk_164.pps. See the basic ID shot evolve into a full story illustration.
4. Good technique must support your story. Learn and practice high craftsmanship. Get the following stuff
right:
 Basic technique
1) Exposure – not light, dark, but of believable brightness.
2) Focus (sharpness) – check the subject sharpness using Photoshop (or other) Magnifier set to Actual
Pixels. The subject must be ‘tack’ sharp.
3) Color – use Auto WB with Skylight as the light source. Photoshop Color adjustment set to Red +6
to +9 range usually takes care of the Skylight caused Cyan shift.
 Composition – maximize negative space, and design opportunities
 Pack – place at least three story telling elements into the scenery or on the subject. Take care not to let
the packed element become too attention getting.
 Image depth by having a fore, middle, and background
 Light Quality – use broad source Skylight coming from the side to render the scene and form texture.
 Light Quantity – high brightness without direct sun. Preferably a single (1) source but two (2) sources
of the ‘same type’ are acceptable.
 Light Direction – sidelight to the ‘face’ of the subject.
 Squint-view – use the technique to analyze the scene lighting. This can also help you to compose your
shot.
5. Photography means ‘drawing with light’. So, to make a good drawing, find a scene or subject that is well
drawn with light. Help that light as needed with whatever skills you have. The first shot is to capture the
‘scene lighting’ with the lightSource.jpg.
6. Next is to shoot your first series of six (6) images of your story. Do that by:
 Composing your shot in the camera (add back the safe-image margin).
 Position the focus bracket on the focal point and press halfway down on the 2-stage shutter button to
both lock exposure and focus.
 Recompose as needed to tell your story and pay attention to the rhythm in the scene.
 The rhythm may be of the surf (tide), facial expression, body gesture, traffic light, and any other thing
relevant to your situation.
 Anticipate the decisive moment and squeeze the shutter button all the way down to capture your story.
 If your camera has shutter lag, incorporate the delay into your timing. Don’t snap the shutter or the
image will suffer from camera motion blur.
 With most DSLR, if you see the right image in the viewfinder, you have missed the shot.
7. Use the camera Playback to carefully review your craftsmanship.
 Basic technique
1) Exposure – check the Histogram. Don’t let the graph touch the right side.
2) Focus – check this by using the magnify mode (press the T on the zoom switch).
3) Color – as long as you use the proper lighting, the slight Cyan shift can easily be corrected in the
lab work process.
 Composition – crop tight and go for an asymmetrical negative space.
 Pack – this can range from wardrobe, pose, expression, lighting, color, design, or movement.
 Image depth – fore, middle, and background. Use of framing can also add depth.
 Light Quality – soft
 Light Quantity – single or double
 Light Direction – side direction on the ‘face’
 Squint-view – see the scene as an abstraction and also the tones by identifying the hot spots
Class Handout: Bring to every Art 114 class
Instructor: Kenji Tachibana
8. Important Reminder – Don’t shoot objects that are white, black, shiny, translucent, transparent, or move
quickly.
 A moving car, a bicycle, or even a jogger
 A close up of a child or a pet can also move quickly
 A person being very animated such as laughing very hard
 Getting more than one don’t-shoot compound any problem. Shooting both white and black in one shot
is asking for a nightmare scenario.
Craftsmanship & Process: It’s all in the details
1. The previous Playback review process is very straight forward and easy to do. But it only works if you do it.
And you only get better by doing it many times with strong guidelines.
2. The more difficult task is to actually see the Playback image ‘as it is’ in terms of story and composition.
3. This is easy-sounding task that may take you half the quarter to ‘do correctly’, it may take the whole
quarter, or even more time.
4. Even with a big LCD screen, it will take practice to see what is really there. The so called big camera LCD
is still tiny compared to the computer monitor screen.
5. To analyze exposure, use both your naked-eye and the histogram (exposure graph).
6. Most beginners tend to center the subject and show too much of the background. Be sure to fill-the-frame
with the subject to at least 85%. Limit the background to about 15%.
7. Remember to place the focus bracket [ ] on the focal-point of the subject. In a human face, the eye or
eyes are the focal-point.
8. Use the camera Playback Thumbnail mode to review and compare your image series. In the Playback
mode, press zoom-‘W’ to enter the thumbnail view mode.
9. Use the camera Playback Magnify mode to critically inspect the image sharpness. In the Playback mode,
press zoom-‘T’ to enter the magnify view mode.
10. After shooting half a dozen series shots, review the shots to find the Best and Next image.
- Study those images to find out why they are the Best or Next
- After you determine the successful ingredients, re-shoot to improve upon those successful ‘flavors’.
- Don’t keep shooting without purpose in this class. Just taking a lot of shot (machine gunning) hoping
for a lucky shot is not a good way to improve your skill or craftsmanship. In fact, it will only add to
your confusion during the editing process.
- It’s ultimately about being able to pre-visualize or to recognize ‘what works’ and shooting only 1 shot
to get 1 good shot.
- You must self-select with each shot and that will help you to crop in-the-camera. Although be sure to
add back 10% safe-margin image area.
- To maximize your chances of successful storytelling, shoot variations on the story line. That means to
shoot your story from slightly different vantage point by changing:
a. Camera angle
b. Lighting quality and direction
c. Composition - A,B,C or D
d. Composition - 1/3 by 2/3
e. Composition - Default horizontal, vertical, or anywhere in-between
f. Movement - left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, angle, circular, triangular,
freeform and more…
g. Prop - Big to small, color to neutral, shape, weight, and much more…
h. Costume – period to contemporary, simple to ornate, proper to improper, and more…
i. Staging
j. Location – outdoor recommended but big picture window light can be elegant…
k. Although, take care not to cross the story category boundaries of People, Places, things, or Ideas.
Class Handout: Bring to every Art 114 class
Instructor: Kenji Tachibana
Right Reference: Use a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor
You may have decided about your Best shot series on location. Although, always review your shoot on a full
screen computer monitor. The camera Playback screen is tiny compared even to a small computer monitor.
Reviewing your image on a computer monitor is a must.
Review your image at the Actual Size (100%) in the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. Although do your best
to use a CRT monitor. LCD (Liquid Cristal Display) monitors and laptop screen does not show true tone,
contrast, color, or saturation. They are not reliable for creating predictable print output.
Image Editing: Making Best, Next, and Least choices
Select out three (3) images which will serve as the:
1. Best This image succeeds in telling your story with transparent (error free) technique, soft side light,
well composed (camera crop), and a strong ‘Wow’.
2. Next This image should also tell the story without technical, lighting, or compositional flaws. Although
it’s missing something that keeps it from being the best. Please be prepared to describe that
missing factor. And this image should not be just a ‘poor’ variation of the Best shot.
3. Least This image should also tell the same story from a different point-of-view. And also be
without technical, lighting, or compositional flaws (Best from a different series).
File Management: The digital camera is a computer…
Transfer all the assignment images to Artshare > art114F > assign > date folder. I will be ‘fleshing’ this out in
more detail when you turn in your first assignment.
File Names: Please be precise
1_kenjiLight_a1.jpg – light source shot
2_kenjiBest_a1.jpg – your very best story telling image and it must have a title.
3_kenjiNext_a1.jpg – the next best choice. It sometimes becomes the best choice.
4_kenjiLeast_a1.jpg – the Best choice from a different variation series.
Breakdown – Replace kenji with your own first name. The ‘_a1’ identifies the assignment and it changes
with each assignment. Your name is all in lower case. The only capital letters are L, B, N, and L. The file
name extension (.jpg) is automatically added by the camera firmware. Do not remove it.
This is not a computer or a computer file management class. If you need to work on computing skill, please
work on it at home and at the NSCC Computer Lab.
Take Notes: This is the only class handout
There is an online resource for this class but I will not assign any reading or writing assignment from that
materials. You will have access to it and you may use it as need. You are not required to refer to any of it except
for the class Syllabus. And, download this file (0_summer09.doc) from the online Class folder and personalize
it as ‘require.doc’ for your needs. I expect you to customize your ‘require.doc’ for doing every assignment.
Final Comments: Pay attention to the Syllabus details
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Be sure to read it and it’s in the online Class folder.
Don’t be late and avoid missing any class. It will affect your learning and grade!
Late assignment grade is lowered by one full grade (B will become C).
Late class arrival will also lower the grade. Class attendance grade and any other work done during that
class session will be lowered by one full grade.
Late assignments will probably not get a serious critiqued and it negatively affects the rest of the class.
Late assignments are not accepted after one week.
Important learning happens during class ‘Feedback’. Missing that feedback will result in a loss for you and
the rest of the class.
Class and team participation is encouraged. Exceptional class and team participation will earn bonus points.
Class Handout: Bring to every Art 114 class
Instructor: Kenji Tachibana
 Come to every class, do it on time, turn in all assignment, and participating all class activities will ensure a
B grade. Doing less will result in a C or lower grade. To earn an A grade, you must do it all plus your story
telling with packed elements, basic technique, composition with depth, soft side light use must be excellent.
Mind Map: Class Textbook (textbk_164.pps – 164 slide PowerPoint show)
This PowerPoint slide breaks down the class subject into four (4) categories. Each category is equally
important to MAKING an IMAGE. Each category has fly-out topics that you need to master. And the only
way to master anything is to practice, practice, and practice some more…
You will not master any of it in a short 11 week class. But I will do my best to introduce you to all the
ingredient of good photography. To work with the ingredients, use the ‘require.doc’ from above and the Mind
Map below to help you start learning and practicing the craft and art of photography.
Get By: No later than next class
1. USB Thumb (Flash) drive right away. 2 GB is a good capacity.
And they run about $11.
2. Also get a Card Reader right away. It will add flexibility to
your file handling and transfers. You will need either a single or
a multi-reader. They cost about $10 - $20.
1. At the end of the quarter, there will be about $15 to $30 in print and
mount-board expense.