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Photography Capstone Project

Approx. 21 hours to complete

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Course Summary

This course is designed to help beginner photographers develop their skills and create their own photography project. Learn about lighting, composition, and storytelling techniques to capture images that tell a story.

Key Learning Points

Learn how to tell a story through photography
Understand lighting and composition techniques
Create your own photography project

Job Positions & Salaries of people who have taken this course might have

- USA: $32,000 - $74,000
- India: INR 200,000 - INR 500,000
- Spain: €18,000 - €36,000
- USA: $32,000 - $74,000
- India: INR 200,000 - INR 500,000
- Spain: €18,000 - €36,000
- USA: $25,000 - $92,000
- India: INR 300,000 - INR 800,000
- Spain: €18,000 - €45,000
- USA: $32,000 - $74,000
- India: INR 200,000 - INR 500,000
- Spain: €18,000 - €36,000
- USA: $25,000 - $92,000
- India: INR 300,000 - INR 800,000
- Spain: €18,000 - €45,000
- USA: $26,000 - $81,000
- India: INR 200,000 - INR 500,000
- Spain: €14,000 - €36,000

Learning Outcomes

Develop skills in lighting and composition
Understand how to create a photography project
Learn how to tell a story through photography

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

A camera (can be a smartphone)
Basic knowledge of photography concepts

Course Difficulty Level

Beginner

Course Format

Self-paced
Online

Similar Courses

Introduction to Photography
Photography Basics and Beyond: From Smartphone to DSLR
Fine Art Photography: Creating Signature Styles

Related Education Paths

Notable People in This Field

Chase Jarvis
Annie Leibovitz
David LaChapelle

Related Books

Description

The Capstone Project is your opportunity to take advantage of the knowledge you have gained through our journey in learning about photography, to develop a meaningful project of 10 well formed photographs based in your passion for artistic expression, or a subject for documentary exploration, insightful portraiture, imaging for work-related subjects, or some other aspect of photography. We are confident that it will be a project that you will be excited to share with fellow Learners. You should plan on spending more time on this Course per week than any other in this Specialization, and much of it will be in making photographs.

During the entire period of development, you and your fellow learners will be supporting each other as you work independently, by sharing your work-in-progress from the initial Project Plan to the final Portfolio. At each stage, all Learners will share comments and suggestions with each other, helping each other to gauge progress and to learn about different approaches to photography and content. By expressing your own ideas and expectations about quality in response to the work of others, you will be forming your own criteria of excellence as well. Along the way there will be multiple opportunities for sharing pictures and ideas through carefully designed Peer Review. This sharing of photographs and comments with peers, and reflecting on their comments about your photos, will be an exciting learning experience that will help you grow in understanding your own photography and that of others. Your contribution of comments to fellow Learners will not only help them understand their photographs better, but it will give you an opportunity to use the vocabulary of terms that are related to techniques, design principles, and content approaches that you have learned through your success in each of the previous Modules. A unique aspect of this Specialization is that everyone who completes the requirements will receive, in addition to their Certificate of Specialization from Michigan State University, access to substantial discounts on equipment, accessories, and membership benefits through Industry Partners from among the premier manufacturers of photography equipment and related items: Fracture, Gary Fong, Gyst, Lensbaby, LensPen, Lume Cube Lighting, Photo District News, PhotoVideoEdu, Think Tank Cases/Bags.

Outline

CAPSTONE PROJECT LAUNCH!
Planning and starting your Capstone Project
Baker Woodlot Series: A failed plan but a successful ending
Photographing Light Itself:-U-Turn
Lesson Review: "Making not Taking Photographs," from Course 3
The Capstone is a Journey, not a Race!

Learning from others
Lesson Review: "Responding to Photographs," from Course One
Analyzing the MSU Student project by Amy Davis
Analyzing the MSU student project by Haley Kooistra
MSU Student Photographer's Statements: Amy Davis and Haley Kooistra
A Sample Review of a Photograph - Mark

Learning more about critically analyzing
What is a "critique?"
Analyzing the MSU Student Project by Dennis Kennedy
Analyzing the MSU Student Project by Lauren Nalepa
Lesson Review: "Composition is a 'Map,' Balance is bike riding," from Course 3
MSU Student Photographer's Statements: Lauren Nalepa and Dennis Kennedy
The Critique/Review

Mid-Term review time!
Midterm Peer Review Process
Mark discusses the development of his Cuba photography projects - past, the present, and the future
Peter discusses the development of his photography project: Flora, Fauna, Florida
Lesson Review: Working a Scene from Course One
Capstone Success Tips from Previous Learners!
Critique Practice Quiz

Questions and Answers
The Photographer's Statement: from ideas to pictures to questions and answers
The Photographer's Project Statement: www.gyst-ink.com

Inspiration and Perspiration!
PETER discusses 2 different statements he wrote for 2 different projects.
MARK - Examples of Project and Artist Statements
Peter's 2 Statements, each created to address different audiences and very different projects

Reveal the Capstone Projects!
Our 2-part process for Capstone Project review
Checklist Quiz: Posting Project Pictures

Review, Reflect, and Go Beyond!
Go Beyond! a final lecture from Peter and Mark
Photography Competition Exhibits Questions
Reading: Books to Go Beyond With!
LINKS to Book and Competition sites

Summary of User Reviews

This photography project course on Coursera has received positive reviews from users. Many users found the course to be informative and engaging, and it has an overall high rating. One key aspect that many users thought was good is the hands-on approach to learning photography.