Multimedia Photography Professional Course

With the Multimedia Photography Professional Course, you’ll learn to analyze the various needs of different types of client, and you’ll be able to produce photographic images which are capable of satisfying the demands of the market, both advertising and editorial.

Create solid practical and theoretical foundations in commercial photography, and move towards the professional world with this Photography and Multimedia course! Analogue and Digital photography, photo-retouching, shooting and editing will no longer hold any secrets for you.

Together with Photography you’ll also learn the basics of Digital Graphics, Web Design and Video Production, thus completing your training, and professional preparation in commercial photography.

Program

The study plan sub-divides the course into four specific technical modules:

Part 1 (4 months): Photography

Here you’ll learn the techniques, technologies and secrets of various categories of photography: Analogue Photography and the Dark Room, Digital Photography, Architectural Photography, Still Life, Photojournalism, Portraiture (Fashion and Narrative Art), the Portfolio.

Part 2 (2 months): Graphics

In which you’ll learn the basics of photo-editing, digital manipulation of the image, and web graphics, from both a technical and compositional point of view.

Part 3 (2 months): Video

In which you’ll discover the basic techniques of shooting, and video-editing, with a focus on the use of photography in video, and on the creation of a photographic Portfolio.

Part 4 (1 month): Web Design

Where you’ll publish an online photographic portfolio, and promote your work through a WordPress website.

The modules can be studied individually, without necessarily having to follow the entire study plan.

Program – Part 1 (PHOTOGRAPHY)

You’ll master all the secrets and techniques of photography, from image capture to composition, and shooting techniques, to the point where you will be in full control of your camera. You’ll move from Analogue to Digital photography, blending photojournalism, still-life, landscape, narrative and fashion, until you build up a rich and complete portfolio, with which to start your new profession.

• The Camera.
• The Darkroom.
• The various types of camera, and their formats.
• The Large Format camera.
• The Reflex camera.
• The Rangefinder camera.
• The Aperture.
• The Shutter.
• The Lens and its characteristics.
• Film and exposure.
• Black and White film: characteristics and composition.
• Film sensitivity.
• Film grain.
• Film formats.
• Roll film and sheet film.
• Spectral sensitivity.
• Exposure in analogue photography.
• Correct exposure of a photo taking into account light intensity: The Sunny 16 Rule.
• Daylight.
• The quality of Daylight.
• Artificial light.
• Exposure with Flash.
• Light Meter and its correct use.
• Reading the Grey Card.
• Exposure Value.
• Exposure factors.
• Reciprocity rule.
• The K factor.
• Photographic Filters and their use.
• The Darkroom: Development processes.
• Developing black and white roll film.
• Developing Large Format film.
• Exposure scales and paper grades.
• Graduated photographic printing papers.
• Multigrade printing papers.
• Gloss and Fiber-based papers.
• Contact printing: tests.
• Printing enlargements.
• Pre-exposure in printing.
• Condenser enlarger and Diffuser enlarger.
• The Darkroom: Advanced techniques.
• Pre-exposure.
• Fine grain and High acutance developers.
• Dodging and burning during printing.
• Developing with Warm tone and Cool tone.
• Retouching.
• Conservation.
• Practical exercises.

Digital Photography

• The Analogue camera: functions, characteristics and types.
• The Digital camera: functions and characteristics.
• The Digital Sensor: functions and characteristics.
• The Digital File and Bit Depth.
• Digital formats: RAW, TIFF, JPEG.
• Managing the RAW file.
• The Shutter: shutter speed scale, Motion Freeze, Selective Blur and Panning.
• Aperture and Depth of Field.
• Photographic Exposure: Pairing Time / Aperture.
• Light Meter and the Grey Card.
• Sensitivity of the Sensor: ISO measurements.
• Exposure reading of the digital camera: Spot, Center-weighted, Matrix.
• Exposure modes of a digital camera: M, A, S, P.
• Taking a photograph with a digital camera.
• Reading the Histogram.
• The creativity of Manual exposure.
• Bracketing and its uses.
• The Lens: Focal length and perspective.
• Fixed and Zoom lenses.
• When to use Automatic features.
• Framing and image composition.
• White Balance in a digital camera.
• Digital Noise and high ISO.
• Using a scanner.
• How to manage digital Work Flow.
• Software for file management: Lightroom and Bridge.
• The Digital File.
• The Digital Darkroom: Photoshop and post-production.
• The importance of the Monitor.
• Digital Fine Art printing.
• Practical exercises.

Architectural and Landscape Photography.

• Photographing your surroundings as Social Comment.
• Optical bench and Large Format cameras.
• Lenses for Large Format.
• Off-centre and Tilting.
• Perspective Control.
• Depth of Field and the Scheimpflug principle.
• Using a Tripod.
• The Spot Meter.
• An introduction to Ansel Adams’ Zone System.
• The architectural ruin according to Simmel.
• Investigating Landscape in American photography.
• Photographing Architecture with a DSLR camera.
• Tilt-Shift lenses.
• Natural and Urban Landscapes.
• Photographing Interiors with natural light.
• Photographing Interiors with artificial light.
• Practical exercises.

Still-Life

• The Studio.
• Artificial light.
• Principal lighting methods in a studio.
• Artificial light – Continuous / Flash.
• The Still-life table and Background.
• The Still-life Set.
• Street-Still-Life, a new way of looking at reality.
• Enhancement of Form using light.
• Lighting principles and controlling the quality of light.
• Dressing a set for Still-life photography.
• The Optical Bench camera in Still-life photography.
• Chemical toning and Still-life Fine Art photography.
• Practical exercises.

Street Photography and Photojournalism

• Behaviour, issues and legal problems.
• History of Photojournalism with analysis of the work of the masters of the genre.
• Henri Cartier Bresson and the French Humanists.
• American Photography: Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander.
• Technique and Equipment.
• The camera of a Photo-reporter.
• The Rangefinder camera, Leica.
• Reflex camera.
• Compact camera.
• Lenses for Reportage.
• The 50mm and the visual field of the human eye.
• The medium wide-angle, the perfect lens.
• Telephoto, the discreet lens.
• The Zoom lens.
• Flash.
• The guide number and the square rule.
• Flash exposure.
• Direct and reflected light, hard and soft light.
• Fill-in light.
• Portraiture with flash in reportage.
• Artificial light, fixed and portable, for the Portrait set.
• Available light exposure in Reportage.
• Available light portraiture in Reportage.
• Choosing the right scene, and waiting for the right protagonist.
• Emotional and intellectual involvement in the story that you want to tell.
• People-relations.
• Telling a story with pictures.
• Choosing the right lens.
• Framing and view-point.
• The Rule of Thirds.
• Black and White, or Color?
• Practical exercises.

Portraiture: Fashion and Narrative Art

• Artistic trends in the history of Fashion photography.
• The photographic Portrait.
• Lighting for the photographic Portrait.
• The Studio.
• Choosing Backgrounds.
• Flash light and Continuous light.
• The Portrait in available light.
• Setting up the Portrait.
• Narrative Art and the dream stories of Duane Michals.
• Studio portraiture with a large format camera.
• Retouching a 4×5 negative with a thick pencil.
• Retouching a portrait with Photoshop and other specific software.
• Lighting techniques for Fashion photography.
• The aims of Fashion photography.
• Photographic genres in Fashion photography.
• The Editorial photo-shoot.

Portfolio: Editing e Storytelling

• The Objective.
• Commercial path.
• Authorial path.
• Background idea.
• Conceiving a photographic project and developing the theme.
• Subjects, arguments and themes.
• Awareness of the story’s central idea.
• The Intention.
• Aesthetic.
• Documentative.
• Conceptual.
• The Photographic Shoot.
• The central idea behind the shoot.
• The intention of the shoot.
• The analysis of what has been photographed.
• First edit, emotional choice.
• Second edit, conceptual choice.
• Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis.
• Analysis of the narrative structure of “American Photographs” by Walker Evans.
• Montage Theory of Eisenstein.
• Montage of Attractions, Intellectual Montage.
• The Dialect of Opposites.
• Analysis of the narrative structure of “The Americans” by Robert Frank.
• Reduction and Edition.
• The Pile, The Group, The Series, The Sequence.
• Editing for Construction or Destruction.
• Pillars and Partitions.
• Choosing the narrative structure.
• Aesthetic, Documentative, Conceptual.
• Choosing the narrative philosophy.
• Descriptive narrative assumptions, chronolgical temporal, emotional poetic, formal aesthetic, conceptual.
• Progression of sequence.
• Static, Cyclic, Sliding, Incongruous.
• The Rhythm of Sequence.
• Regular, Syncopated, Irregular.
• The Three Unities – Aristotle.
• Unity of Action, Unity of Place, Unity of Time.
• Classical Order.
• Introduction, definition of context, opening, build-up of history and conflict, continuation, climax, resolution, closure.
• Presentation of a Photographic Portfolio.
• Mounting of a Photographic Exhibition.

Program – Part 2 (GRAPHICS)

In which you’ll learn all the secrets of photo editing, color correction and adjustment, bitmap and vector graphics, digital painting, the creation and development of logos, icons, illustrations and typographic effects. You’ll discover how to manage and print files correctly, to optimize your production of web and paper graphics. You’ll learn all the secrets of graphic processing software such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

• Theory and image design.
• Color in the digital environment.
• Bitmap graphics.
• File formats and print settings.
• Photo editing.
• Selections, photomontages, alterations.
• Matte painting and digital painting.
• Vector graphics.
• Graphics for web.
• Icons and web layout.
• Logos.
• Flyers.
• Creation of editorial graphics, for paper and web.
• Restyling/creation of web graphics.
• Digital Illustration.

Program – Part 3 (VIDEO)

Where you’ll learn to use a video camera in the correct way, to frame quickly and safely; to manage light and audio sources; to film by hand, and on fixed supports, and/or using stabilized mobile supports. You’ll also learn how to manage shooting and multimedia resources; to select frames, to cut at the right point, and to put them together in editing.

• Pre-production.
• Define the Subject.
• Draw up the storyboard.
• Find the location.
• Put together a team.
• Organize the production office: permits, releases, program.
• The Production.
• Director’s concept.
• The Shoot.
  • The Equipment:
    • Videocameras and digital shooting devices.
    • Supports and accessories.
  • Creating the images:
    • Rules of Framing.
    • Camera controls.
    • Audio recording and Microphones.
    • Lighting the set.
  • Recording settings:
    • Shooting formats and configurations.
    • Manual and Automatic settings.
  • Practice shooting sessions.
• Multimedia sources: audio, photo, graphics, video.
• Editing.
  • Organize the Editing.
  • Digital Editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro CC).
  • Assemble the filmed and other material.
  • Watch the filmed material.
  • Tools of digital editing.
  • Select the clips.
  • Put the clips together.
  • Add sound effects, narration and music.
  • Regulate audio volume.
  • Apply fades and filters.
• Post-production.
• Revise the edit.
• Color correction.
• Insert titles and graphics.
• Export the film.

Program – Part 4 (WEB DESIGN)

In which you’ll get to know WordPress, the most widespread, and amongst the most powerful Content Management Systems (CMS) in the world. Creating a website in WordPress is relatively simple, and above all it’s free, but the installation of the CMS is just the first step in a long journey to arrive at having a professional, rich and versatile site.

We will offer you a basic overview of the more technical aspects of installation and programming, to then focus on the creation of a portfolio, and the publication of periodic updates.

1. Choosing a Domain name and Hosting plan.
2. Installing WordPress.
3. Localization in Italian.
4. Control Panel.
5. Permalink and other basic configurations.
6. User management.
7. Use of Templates.
8. Pages and Posts: write, format, modify.
9. Use of images.
10. Categories, tags and comments.
11. Sidebar, menu and widgets.
12. Plugins.
13. Content sharing.