Digital Photography I

Course Description

PGY2801C – Digital Photography I is a 3-credit studio course introducing digital photography as an expressive medium and the computer as the modern darkroom. The C suffix reflects the required studio and laboratory component — students shoot, process, print, and critique.

The course sits at the intersection of technical craft and visual art. Roughly half the content is camera and workflow competence — exposure, focus, file management, color, and output — and roughly half is seeing: composition, light, subject, and the development of individual visual judgment. The technical half can be learned from a manual; the other half is why the course meets in a room with other people and a critique schedule.

Content covers camera operation and the exposure triangle of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO; depth of field and motion control as expressive choices; lenses and focal length; metering and the histogram; light — quality, direction, color temperature, natural and artificial; composition and visual organization; digital capture — RAW versus JPEG, sensor characteristics, and dynamic range; image processing in Lightroom and Photoshop, including tonal and color correction, retouching, and non-destructive workflow; color management and calibration; output — printing, paper, and digital presentation; archiving and file management; critique; and the history and contemporary practice of photography, so students place their work in a context.

Offered at approximately 15 Florida institutions.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

• Operate a digital camera in manual mode and control exposure deliberately.
• Explain the relationship among aperture, shutter speed, and ISO and select settings for an intended result.
• Use depth of field and motion rendering as expressive choices.
• Select focal lengths appropriate to subject and intent and describe their effects.
• Meter a scene and interpret a histogram to evaluate exposure.
• Evaluate and use natural and artificial light including quality, direction, and color temperature.
• Apply principles of composition and visual organization to photographic images.
• Explain RAW and JPEG capture and select appropriately for a purpose.
• Process images non-destructively using industry-standard software.
• Perform tonal and color correction and basic retouching.
• Apply color management principles including calibration and color space selection.
• Prepare and produce quality prints and digital output.
• Establish a file management, naming, and backup workflow.
• Participate constructively in critique, both presenting and responding.
• Produce a coherent portfolio of finished photographic work.
• Describe legal and ethical considerations including copyright, model releases, and image manipulation.

Optional Outcomes

• Describe the history of photography and its major movements.
• Discuss contemporary photographic practice and identify influential photographers.
• Use studio lighting equipment.
• Produce and process high dynamic range and panoramic images.
• Develop an artist statement.
• Describe professional practice including pricing, licensing, and client work.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• The digital camera — controls, sensor, and file formats.
• Exposure — aperture, shutter speed, ISO, reciprocity, and exposure compensation.
• Depth of field and motion — technical control and expressive use.
• Lenses — focal length, perspective, distortion, and lens selection.
• Metering and the histogram — metering modes, exposing to the right, and clipping.
• Light — hard and soft, direction, color temperature, white balance, and available light.
• Composition — framing, balance, line, shape, pattern, and point of view.
• RAW workflow — capture, import, cataloging, and non-destructive editing.
• Image processing — tone, contrast, color, local adjustment, and retouching.
• Color management — monitor calibration, color spaces, and soft proofing.
• Output — printing, paper selection, sizing, sharpening, and digital presentation.
• File management and archiving — naming conventions, metadata, and backup.
• Critique — description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment.
• Portfolio — selection, sequencing, and presentation.
• Legal and ethical practice — copyright, releases, permission, and manipulation disclosure.
• Photographic context — history and contemporary practice.

Optional Topics

• Studio lighting.
• HDR, panoramas, and image compositing.
• Artist statements and exhibition.
• Professional practice and pricing.
• Alternative and historical processes.
• Video capture on still cameras.

Resources & Tools

• Photography (London, Stone & Upton), Pearson — the long-standing standard.
• The Digital Photography Book (Kelby) — practical supplement common in introductory courses.
• A camera with manual exposure control — DSLR or mirrorless, typically required; many programs maintain a loaner pool, and students should ask before purchasing.
• Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop — the industry standard; the Creative Cloud Photography plan is inexpensive and many institutions provide lab access.
• Free alternatives — Darktable and RawTherapee handle RAW processing capably, and GIMP covers much of Photoshop's function; worth knowing when cost matters.
• Storage and backup — memory cards, an external drive, and a backup practice; students lose work every term.
• Monitor calibration device — usually available in the lab.
• Tripod — required for several assignments.
• Museums and collections — the Southeast Museum of Photography at Daytona State College is a significant regional resource with a substantial collection and exhibition program.

Career Pathways

• Photographer (SOC 27-4021) — predominantly self-employed; Florida supports large portrait, wedding, real estate, and event markets.
• Commercial and Product Photographer — advertising, catalog, and e-commerce.
• Photojournalist — a contracting field, but still an entry point.
• Photo Editor and Digital Retoucher — often steadier employment than shooting.
• Graphic Designer (SOC 27-1024) — photographic competence is expected.
• Social Media and Content Creator — where much entry-level photographic work now lives.
• Real Estate Photographer — a substantial and accessible Florida niche.
• Videographer — most working photographers now shoot both.

The course also transfers into B.F.A. programs. UNF offers a photography concentration within its B.F.A., and several Florida universities accept the A.A. plus studio coursework toward studio art degrees.

Special Information

Equipment: ask before you buy

Most programs require a camera with full manual control — the ability to set aperture, shutter speed, and ISO independently. A phone will not satisfy the assignments, though it is a fine supplementary tool. Before purchasing, check whether the program maintains a loaner pool; many Florida programs do, and an older used DSLR meets every requirement of an introductory course at a fraction of new-body cost. Spending heavily before knowing whether the field suits you is the most common mistake students make here.

Critique is the course, and it is uncomfortable at first

Studio courses are built around critique: work is displayed and discussed publicly. This is unfamiliar and often unpleasant initially, and it is also the fastest way anyone learns to see. The convention is to discuss the work rather than the person, to describe before judging, and to be specific. Students who engage seriously — including in critiquing others — improve substantially faster than those who present and stay silent.

Back up your work — this is not boilerplate

Every term, students lose a project to a failed card, a lost drive, or an overwritten folder, and there is no recovering a shoot that no longer exists. Adopt a real practice from week one: card, working drive, and a second copy elsewhere. Studios treat this as a professional obligation, and the habit is part of what the course should teach.

Course numbering and equivalency

The course appears as PGY2801C across Florida institutions under the titles Digital Photography I and Digital Photography. Note that PGY1800C and other PGY numbers cover distinct courses — SCNS equivalency applies to the same number at the same level, never across numbers, so students transferring should confirm the specific number a receiving program requires.

Software costs and free alternatives

Adobe's Photography plan is the standard and is modestly priced with student pricing, and campus labs generally provide access. Students who want to work at home without a subscription should know that Darktable and RawTherapee are capable free RAW processors and GIMP covers most introductory Photoshop tasks. Instructors vary on whether assignments may be completed in alternative software — ask early.

Ethics and copyright are practical, not abstract

Photographers own copyright in their images at creation, need releases to use recognizable people commercially, and face real limits on photographing in some spaces. Manipulation that is acceptable in art photography is disqualifying in photojournalism. These distinctions come up as soon as a student's work leaves the classroom, and the course should address them concretely.