Basics of Digital Photography

Head of the studio:

Senior lecturer:

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Classes in Basics of Digital Photography are designed for first- and second-year students and last for three semesters.

In the first semester, there is a course of work in digital photography, from the setting of photographic parameters at the level of a digital camera to preparing digital files for media (screen, print). At the level of a digital camera, students learn about the settings of non-standard white balance, light measurement techniques and digital camera profiling. The next step is to edit raw files (RAW) in Adobe Camera Raw and/or Lightroom application. In Photoshop, students learn the tools and techniques for contrast adjustment and colour editing, the basics of digital image retouching tools and techniques, and prepare files for further media use (soft proof, hard proof, image scaling, screen and print sharpening, converting to appropriate profiles, using bit depths).

In the second semester, students learn about advanced tools and techniques offered by Photoshop. They learn techniques of working on image channels, creating complex layer masks, layer mixing modes, complex retouching techniques (frequency separation, dodge & burn, selective sharpening).

In the third semester, students learn advanced photographic techniques specific to digital photography, such as focusing (image stacks), editing so-called “difficult” colours (reds, greens), composite images, and advanced digital image interpolation techniques.

All aspects of digital photography and file editing are carried out as sets of exercises containing both previsualisation, visualisation and post-visualisation of the photographic image.