2011-12 Midterm Study Guide Photography - Vocabulary and Concepts
 Review: First reading packet (composition), teacher PowerPoint presentation, in-class
lecture/discussion notes on the camera and techniques, vocabulary test, 10 Clippings test, Purposeful
Composition
project, and the Check Your Understanding project
Rule of Thirds
frame — framing your composition / subject
Frame within a Frame
vantage point / point of view / the photographer’s perspective
focal point / subject / center of interest
visualize / pre-visualize
depth of field (shallow or large/deep)
SLR (single lens reflex) vs. Point and Shoot cameras
symmetrical vs. asymmetrical balance
optics
dominant lines and directional lines
focusing versus framing
dominant shapes
lens
“hunter” vs. “builder”
shutter
merger
megapixel(s) - what are they good for?
composition
zoom - digital versus optical
viewfinder
aperture
golden hour
repetition of line and/or shape
texture/pattern
viewfinder
 Review: reading packet “A Short History of Photography,” DVD film “Photography - The Precursors,”
in-class lecture/discussion notes, and on your laptop open the Encyclopedia Britannica Ultimate
Reference Suite, then search “photography” and scroll (way) down to “History of Photography”
Consider and respond to: What is the link between photography and history?
Joseph Niepce - 1st photograph (1826)
Louis Daguerre - Daguerreotype
George Eastman – Eastman Kodak Company - roll film
Alfred Stieglitz - Pictorialism - Camera Work (magazine)
FSA - Farm Security Administration
Dorothea Lange - famous photo “Migrant Mother” - hired by Farm Security Administration (FSA) during the
Great Depression as a documentary photographer
Edwin Land - Polaroid Land Camera – processing was in the paper!
Ansel Adams - famous for pictures of Yosemite National park, started Group f/64 to move away from
Pictorialism (soft artsy focus) to sharp focus (f/64)
2011-12 Midterm Study Guide Photography - Vocabulary and Concepts
Henri Cartier-Bresson – father of modern photojournalism, co-founder of Magnum Photos, known for his
concept of the “decisive moment”
Calotype – Henry Fox Talbot – first negative-positive process, from one negative a large number of positive
prints could be made
Wet-collodion process – Scott Archer – produced at sharper negative than the calotype, but required a portable
darkroom to keep the plates wet (they had to be used immediately)
Dry-plate process – retained light-sensitivity after drying. More convenient than wet-collodion process
 From reading packet “Photography, Ethics, and the Law,” and in-class lecture/discussion - Review your
test on this info too!
4 Types of Invasion of Privacy — appropriation, intrusion, publication of private matters, false light
expectation of privacy
copyright
documentary vs. trade/advertising — the rules regarding manipulation of content
libel
ethical vs. legal
where/what can and cannot be photographed
 Re-read your Photo Critique and be prepared to write one on test day
Three paragraphs:
Literal Level - describe the photo in detail,
Compositional Content Level - describe the composition and photographic techniques,
Meaning Level - describe why you think the photographer may have taken the photo