Street Photography
ART-40165
Explore the Art of Street Photography
9 Weeks | Prerequisite: ART- 40629 Photo 1: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO
Street Photography offers a raw, unfiltered glimpse into the heart of urban life, capturing the candid moments that define our cities. In this unique 9-week course, you will immerse yourself in the craft of street photography while also embracing the nostalgic art of creating photographic postcards. Drawing inspiration from renowned photographers such as Steve McCurry, Robert Doisneau, Diane Arbus, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, you will study the techniques that helped define this captivating genre. Whether it's the hustle of a busy street corner or the quiet solitude of an urban park, you’ll develop a deep understanding of how to capture fleeting moments in a constantly changing environment.
Course Details
Throughout the course, you will learn to approach street photography with both technical skill and a creative eye. Using a modified gear kit, you will experiment with various camera settings to capture the essence of light, color, shape, and shadow in your surroundings. Alongside practical shooting assignments, you’ll also dive into the rich history of the street photography genre, exploring how iconic photographers have shaped its evolution. With field trips and critiques, you will be encouraged to express your unique vision through your lens, developing your own style while adhering to ethical and legal guidelines for photographing people in public spaces.
The culmination of this course is a fun and meaningful project: creating your own postcards that capture the urban landscape. Not only will you learn to produce high-quality street photography, but you will also experience the timeless tradition of sharing your visual narrative through postcards.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a personal portfolio of images that showcase your understanding of street photography, as well as an appreciation for how this form of photography communicates stories, emotions, and the spirit of the city.
What You'll Learn
- Identify Street Photography Style: Recognize the distinctive elements of street photography and apply them to your own work.
- Master Technical Settings: Utilize appropriate aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings for both black-and-white and color street photography.
- Create Impactful Urban Imagery: Capture the unique qualities of urban life using light, color, and composition in dynamic and authentic ways.
- Understand Postcards as Artifacts: Appreciate the historical and communicative value of postcards as a reflection of society’s interpersonal norms.
- Develop a Personal Street Photography Portfolio: Build a cohesive collection of images that express your personal vision of the urban landscape.
Course Information
Equipment/Software: All types of cameras are welcome including cell phones. Creative Cloud Photography Plan required (or full Adobe Creative Cloud plan). Lightroom Classic needed (not Lightroom Creative Cloud) and Photoshop needed. Tripod and external hard drive recommended.
Flexible Enrollment: This course is an elective for the Photography: Images and Techniques Professional Certificate but is open to all students, even if you're enrolled in the Certificate Program.
Academic Calendar: The Academic Calendar shows the open enrollment dates and term start dates for each quarter. Courses do not necessarily start on the first day of the term.
- This course was previously titled: Postcards from the City: Exploration with Artistic Photography.