Week 1
Lesson 1
Exposure Triangle
We will discuss aperture, ISO, and shutter speed and how these aspects work together to effect exposure.
     Assignment:  Take your camera out of auto mode and put it in M or Manual mode.  Adjust aperture, ISO, and shutter speed separately to see how they effect your photos.  Make note of what your settings are so that you can share them with the class and we will discuss.
 Week 2
Lesson 2
Bokeh
We will discuss how we use aperture and zoom to create a bokeh effect on photos.  We will also discuss how we will need to adjust the other aspects of the exposure triangle when we change our aperture.
     Assignment: Set your aperture to as low as it will go and take photos to achieve a blurry background.  Don't forget to save your settings.
 Week 3
Lesson 3
Shutter Speed
 We will discuss how shutter speed effects our photos and how to use this to create special effects in our photos.  Some of the effects we will discuss are water features, light streaks, and sports photos.  We will also discuss how we will need to adjust the other aspects of the exposure triangle when we use a slow shutter speed.
     Assignment:  Use shutter speed to create a special effect in your photo.  Be sure to save your settings!
 Week 4
Lesson 4
Taking Photos in Low Light Situations
 We will discuss how we can change the settings in our camera to maximize the lighting in darker situations.  Discussion will include adjusting aperture, shutter speed, and ISO and the pros and cons of using each of these as a priority.  
      Assignment:  Take a photo in low light but make sure that it is properly exposed. Feel free to use additional lighting on your subject but adjust your settings to get the effect you want.  Save your settings to share.
 Week 5
Lesson 5
Seeing the Light
We will discuss how to notice the direction of light, natural light, artificial light, window light, golden hour, blue hour, shadows, contrast, etc.  We will also talk more about low key photos, portraiture, using shadows.  
     Assignment:  Set up a photo indoors with artificial lighting or window light or outdoors using the natural light.  Be sure to watch shadows and high contrast.  Move around your setting to achieve exactly what you're looking for.  If the lighting is not working for you, 
 Week 6
Lesson 6
Composition
We will discuss leading lines, rule of thirds, framing, negative space, balance, and weight.  
     Assignment:  Choose one scene and take several shots of it using different rules of composition.
 Week 7
Lesson 7
Finding Your Style
 We will review all the elements discussed during the course and discuss how to find your own style when taking photos.  Find what you like in photos, yours or other people's, and figure out why you like them.  
     Assignment:  Find a photo you really like on the internet and analyze the lighting, composition, and elements of the shot and try to recreate it the best you can.  
 Week 8
Lesson 8
Review/Photo Share
 We will share our recreated photos with the group and have others analyze the lighting, composition, and elements the photographer used to set up the shot.