Physics Photo Project
Purpose: To find phenomena that embody key themes from this course and to capture and
present them impactfully through photography.
Themes: The three themes are shown below. Below each theme are “enduring understandings” to
hopefully spur your thinking as to what concepts could be related to each theme.
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Force Interactions: The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by
forces.
○ Objects with 𝛴𝐹 = 0 are in equilibrium.
○ The acceleration of an object interacting with other objects can be predicted using
𝑎=
○
○
○
𝛴𝐹
.
𝑚
Objects interact through exerting equal and opposite forces on each other.
At the macroscopic level, forces can be categorized as either long-range (action-ata-distance) forces or contact forces.
Massive objects interact over a distance through creating and interacting with
gravitational fields.
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Change: Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems.
○ Work done on a system changes the energy of the system.
○ Impulse exerted on a system changes the momentum of the system.
○ Interactions with other systems can change the momentum or energy of a system.
○ Systems under the influence of restoring forces experience oscillatory motion
governed by some of their properties.
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Conservation: Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by
conservation laws.
○ The energy of a closed system is conserved.
○ The momentum of a closed system is conserved.
○ Systems consisting of multiple objects can contain potential energy and kinetic
energy.
○ Energy can exist in both mechanical and non-mechanical forms.
*Finding New Concepts: You may choose to do some research and incorporate concepts that we
didn’t cover in AP Physics 1. However, you must ensure that you can connect that concept clearly
to one of the themes. For example, you could choose to include concepts related to light,
electricity, thermodynamics, fluids, or magnetism. (Note that this is not a requirement, nor is it
needed to achieve exemplary work!)
Submission Requirements:
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Final Pieces: You are required to submit four finished photographs with at least one
pertaining to each theme. If you are in a pair you need seven photos with at least two for
each theme. For a group of three, you need nine photos with at least three for each theme.
You cannot work in groups of more than three. Phenomena should not be duplicated in
multiple pieces. For some pieces you may choose to submit a set of two or more photos
collaged or placed beside each other. If you choose to do this, it counts as a single piece.)
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Titles and Artist Statements: Each piece must be titled. Each piece must be
accompanied by an artist statement that describes the phenomenon in the photo and
connects it to relevant concepts and the theme. The artist statement should also highlight
the most important artistic or photographic techniques that were employed. Aim for 4-6
sentences in length. These are intended to be printed and posted for display along with
your final pieces.
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Process Photos and Reflections:
○ In addition to the final photograph you should submit >5 process photos per piece
that illustrate the process you went through to create each piece. Process photos
can be rejected shots, photos of you building setups, photos of brainstorm
sketches, etc.
○ Process photos must be accompanied by written reflections that go into detail about
the creation of your piece. This should focus on both the ideation of the piece
(selection of the phenomenon) as well as the shooting process. This should be
longer and more reflective than the artist statement. Use this as an opportunity to
show me the thinking and work that went into your piece. Spell out what you did
and why --make it easy for me to give you an A.
*Tip: Use your Process Photos, Reflections, and Artist Statements to help show me how you are
meeting the rubric criteria!
Organization and Submission: We will use google drive, but not google classroom.
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Someone in your group should create a google drive folder. This should be shared with me
and with all group members.
○ Title your folder with this format: “PPP: Your Names, (Your Block)”.
○ All work will be placed in this folder.
○ Update the folder and documents throughout the process of this project. Do not add
in everything at the end.
○ Make sure to organize the folder in your own drive for easy access.
Have one person in your group make a copy of the Artist Statement/Process Photos and
Reflection document. This should be editable by everyone in your group and placed in the
shared folder.
High-resolution photos should be placed in this folder. The file name of each piece should
be changed to match the title of the piece.
If you wish, you can create additional folders if you want a place to store rejected
photographs or other brainstorm information (although a lot of this work will likely be placed
in your process photos and reflections doc.)
Assessment Rubrics: You will be assessed on two different rubrics (both are in one document).
● Selecting and Connecting Phenomena
● Employing Photography and Composition Techniques
*You will get the same grade as your group members. When the project is finished, the rubric will
be copied and pasted into the top of your group’s artist statement/process photos and reflection
document and scored there.
Contrived vs Natural Phenomena: A contrived photograph is of a phenomenon that you
intentionally set up and design. A natural photograph is one of a phenomenon that exists on its
own. Your subjects can be either natural or contrived for this assignment. However, if you do
contrived photos I encourage you to think outside the box; I don’t want to see photos of lab
equipment for example!
Tips for Taking Better Photos:
Phone Photography:
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Shoot in High Resolution and HDR: Ensure that you are shooting the highest-quality
pictures possible. For iPhone this means you should go to: Settings→ Camera→ Formats→
[Switch to “Most Compatible”]. You should also make sure that HDR (High Dynamic
Range) is turned on.
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Turn Off Live Photos (If you have an iPhone): Based on the research I’ve done it seems
like using live photos reduces the quality. It also means the algorithm won’t perform as well
to capture a single still image.
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Do Not Use Digital Zoom: Digital zoom simply makes the pixels larger on your phone.
Many phones have multiple cameras with different optical zooms.
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Keep the Lenses Clean: Clean the lenses of your phone with a clean cloth. You can use
cotton to do this, but don’t use your finger or dirty clothing.
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Consider Focus and Exposure: Make sure your subject is not unintentionally back-lit.
Tapping on different parts of the screen before you take a photo will help the camera adjust
its exposure as well as its focus. If you notice that some parts of the photo are
overexposed, try manually adjusting the exposure before you take photos.
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Hold Your Phone Steady: Your photos should not be blurry. You may want to consider
borrowing or buying a tripod. You can also try bracing your phone against benches,
tabletops, etc if you need to make it more stable. Bracing your elbows on a surface or
leaning your body against a surface while holding your phone in two hands will help
stabilize. Note that for longer exposures this is increasingly important so be especially
mindful if you are taking photographs without a lot of light.
Composition:
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Turn on the Grid: This will help you intentionally position subjects in the frame and make
sure you’re not holding your camera crooked. Go to: Settings→ Camera→ [Switch on “Grid”]
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Use Leading Lines: Long lines that cut through different parts of the photograph can draw
the eye and can have a lot of aesthetic appeal.
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Consider Balance: Do you (should you) utilize the rule of thirds? Are subjects well placed
in the photograph or is there too much on one side (or in the foreground/background)?
Have you considered utilizing lines of symmetry?
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Consider Edges: Take care not to have objects cut off awkwardly at the edges.
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Avoid Distracting Backgrounds: Everything in the frame should be intentional. It is
especially important to ensure that your subject isn’t lost in a confusing background. This
can be especially distracting if there is another object directly behind your subject (like a
tree growing out of someone’s head).
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Use Burst Mode: If you are taking photos of a fast-moving subject, consider utilizing burst
mode and then going back to decide which photos to keep. Tracking the moving subject
will keep the subject sharp and will blur the background instead of the subject.
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Don’t Be Lazy: Try different angles: crouch down, get up high, move side to side, get
closer or farther away. Remember, you can take a lot of pictures and don’t have to use
them all.
Extras:
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Editing: I don’t expect you to do much editing, but if you have a good photo that you think
could look better or you want to play around, I recommend utilizing Adobe Lightroom. It is
one of the best mobile apps for photo editing and has a free version. Snapseed is also
good and easy to learn.
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Get Creative! Do a bit of research and consider applying some interesting techniques
○ Portrait Mode: Use this to blur backgrounds and highlight subjects. iPhone now
has a lot of adjustments that can be made in this setting.
○ Long Exposure: This allows the sensor to absorb light over a longer time period.
This can be used at night or to intentionally blur a moving subject. Note that you
can actually use live photos on an iphone to make a sort of fake long exposure. To
do this, take a photo with live photos on, then swipe up on the photo. Then, scroll
over to long exposure. (You really need to have a tripod or a stable place for your
phone for this to work well.)
○ Photo Collage: Want to combine multiple images together? Find an online tool or
an app that lets you build a photo collage.
Helpful Youtube Videos:
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Mobile Photography Tips and Tricks
5 tips for your BEST IPHONE Photography!
Take Better Shots with Your iPhone
8 IMPORTANT Composition Tips for Better Photos (This one is a bit more advanced, but
really good!)
Need Inspiration? The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) hosts a physics photo
every year and this is partially what inspired the idea for this project. Scroll down to the bottom and
use the drop down menu. (Note that these photos do not pertain to physics 1 concepts and the
artist statements do not follow the same guidelines I expect from you.)