Four Weeks of Creative Abstract Photography

In this multi-day prerecorded class, students will learn about abstract photography.  What is it? What makes something abstract? How do you know what to photograph? How can editing enhance an image?  

We'll cover the basics, and we will practice a few different ways of creating abstract images.  We'll also learn basic editing using Snapseed (a free app).  I will provide very detailed instruction on how to set up our work area and scene, how to choose our subjects, how to photograph our subjects, and how to edit our images. Students can either follow along with the videos OR watch the videos and then create their images at a later time. Videos should be viewed early in the week to allow time to photograph and edit the images for the week.
*This class is geared toward smartphone cameras, but the lessons can easily be applied to DSLR cameras. 

Lesson #1:  What is abstract photography? How did this genre come to be? Who started it? What are different types of abstract photography?  Examples of different types of abstract photography will be shown.  The exercise for Week 1 will be to use a creative eye to view mundane objects differently and to create several images using those objects.  

Lesson #2:  Foil can be a really interesting subject for photography! We'll use foil, markers, light, colored paper and tissue paper to create abstract images.  Students will only need about a 12"x12" piece of foil. Markers and paper should be darker colors. Yellow, light pink, light blue, etc. won't show up as well. This is a fun and simple lesson. Students will create several images using foil, different colors of light, and reflections from colored paper. 

Lesson #3:  Water droplet refraction is a great way to create intriguing images! We'll use a sheet of glass treated with Rain-X (or similar water repellent) and a tablet/iPad to create stunning images.  Please ensure that the tablet has web browsing capabilities. We'll set up the glass and tablet so that there's an image below the glass that refracts through the water droplets. Water droplets will be placed on the glass using a medicine dropper. We'll focus on and photograph the water droplets with the tablet image refracting through the water.  
We'll use Unsplash.com to search for patterns to use as backgrounds in our images. 

Lesson #4:  Light!  "Photography" literally means "drawing with light".  Did you know that you can "paint" with light? We'll use a small light source to create an image by painting with light. You'll need to be able to adjust your shutter speed (which I'll teach you about), so if you're using an Android, check to see if you have Pro setting on your camera. If you don't or if you're using an iPhone, you'll need an app. For Android, look at Camera RAW or Manual Camera: DSLR Camera Pro. For iPhone, check out Slow Shutter Cam. *There might be a fee for these apps.*

Lesson videos will be posted each Saturday at 8am Central (USA). Student images should be shared to the classroom before the next video is posted. For Lesson 4, the images should be posted within six days of the final video posting. Positive and encouraging feedback will be given for all images. 

PLEASE refer to the supply list before each class!  

I hope to see you soon!

Veronica