Syllabus

Instructor: Chris Callis

The Laws of Light and How to Break Them

Fall 2014

Wednesday 10:00am-12:50pm and 3-5:50pm

Location: SVA MFA Photo Studio 

Who should take this class: 

Anyone interested in learning photographic lighting.  No prior knowledge of lighting is required. 

Class Description:

This course is an opportunity to learn the laws of light and to gain an appreciation of how important an understanding of light is to a photographer’s process. The class will begin with an exploration of the physics of light in order to explain its behavior. The weekly sessions and assignments will teach the student how to approach every lighting experience with confidence.  The purpose is to master these concepts and to ensure effective application of this knowledge. The ability to problem solve is a crucial element when faced with challenging lighting situations and without this understanding it is very difficult to move beyond obvious limitations. The ultimate goal is to be able to apply these concepts and then to see all the possibilities. 

Assignments:

Each week there will be a demonstration and a class exercise that will end with a weekly assignment. There will be a total of thirteen weekly assignments and one final project.

Each student will post their weekly assignments on their lighting blog along with a sketch and brief explanation of their results. 

Grading:

A commitment from the students is expected. Being on time, prepared with homework and ready to learn are requirements.  Active participation during the demonstrations is also required.  The student’s aesthetic approach to lighting along with the blog presentation are factors in grading.  

Schedule:

Lesson  1:   Inverse Square Law

Lesson  2:   Angle of Incident, Light Travels in a Straight Line

Lesson  3:   One Light Source

Lesson  4:   Three Light Source

Lesson  5:   One Strobe

Lesson  6:   Size Matters

Lesson  7:   Strobe and Continuous Light

Lesson  8:   Hand Flash

Lesson  9:   Outdoor Flash

Lesson 10:  Light Painting

Lesson 11:  Shiny Metal and Glass

Lesson 12:  Night Photography

Lesson 13:  Stop Action

Lesson 14:  Bring in a lighting problem to solve

Lesson 15:  Review final assignment