9 Years Ago

Photo 101 - Help With Outline/taxonomy Of Photo Attributes/subjects/types?

My grandson is getting interested in photography. I am putting together a checklist, an outline of photographic topics/attributes.
This is the result of maybe 20 minutes work, and I'm interested mainly in the obvious omissions.
I think that filling out this sort of list is a useful exercise in itself, and that it is particularly good for "learning to see" potential photographs.
The hard part of constructing such a list is tunnel vision - how to consider entire categories that might be being overlooked.
You additions are solicited, or perhaps links to your favorite published outline. (For example, the Time/Life book series was perhaps my first exposure to such a "list", and my second was when a college girlfriend took Photography 101, with a similar list of assignments, and I helped lug her view camera and tripod, and look for good photos to fill the assignments.)

So anyway, here is list: (Tabs didn't copy very well.)

I. Relationships
II. emotions
III. Culture
IV. Nature
A. Landscapes
1. Forest
2. Pasture
3. Cultivated Fields
4. Fallow Land
5. Cityscape
B. Animals
1. Birds
2. Mammals
3. Insects
4. Non-insect �bugs�
5. Spiders
C. Plants
1. Flowers
2. Crops
V. Architecture
A. Urban
B. Roads
C. Suburban
D. Rural
E. Industrial

VI. News/Journalism
VII. Illustration
VIII. texture
IX. color
X. Specific colors
A. Cyan
B. Pink
C. Magenta
D. Red
E. Brown
F. Orange
G. yellow
H. green
I. blue
J. indigo
K. violet
XI. Symmetry
A. Point
B. Horizontal
C. Vertical
D. Multi-axis
XII. composition
A. square
B. golden mean
C. Triangle
D. circle
XIII. Exposure
A. high key
B. low key
XIV. Range
A. High Dynamic Range
B. Low Dynamic Range - Continuous greys

XV. Contrast
XVI. High Contrast
I. Low Contrast
XVII. black and white
XVIII. Sharpness
A. Motion Blur
B. Out of focus
C. Deep Depth of Field
D. Narrow Depth of field
E. Bokah

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Gregory Scott

9 Years Ago

Craig Carter suggested:
https://www.pinterest.com/julie4242/photography-assignments-challenges/

Maggie Terlecki

9 Years Ago

It's a great list but very surprised to not see Still Life on the list. Maybe because it's my favorite thing to do :-) and it's one where you can incorporate many of the other themes you have but where composition is extremely important. The fact that you have to set up your compositions makes you understand how they work and will lead you to understand what works well in all the subjects that you may choose to use.

Roy Erickson

9 Years Ago

Nice that you have interest in your grandson's interest. That list would drive me crazy. It's a jumble and some of the sub categories don't seem to belong, but should have their own sub-sub category. While there are technically just two kinds of life - plants and animals, and animals divided into two groups, vertebrate and invertebrate - we seldom think of a bug as being an animal, nor do we think of birds as animals - fish (not mammal porpoise and whales) aren't often thought of as animals either. I'll not argue the technicality of it, nor the semantics.

Rick Mosher

9 Years Ago

Um, just give him a camera and let him take pictures of what he likes?

Richard Reeve

9 Years Ago

Great idea and great list. This may make a nice gift for him too: http://lightbox-photography-cards.myshopify.com/products/lightbox-photography-cards

I am not affiliated in any way I just backed them on Kickstarter as I thought it looked interesting.

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

Mike Savad

9 Years Ago

that's all kind of complicated actually.

start with seeing anything.

move on to macro, this teaches a steady hand, lighting, and seeing things. once you get the hang of macro, you'll see the world in a different way and you'll have the patience.

then move to black and white, which teaches light and contrast balance. taking red flowers against a dk green background will make a nearly black image. and yellow against a light background will be too light. learning to see the contrast is a good thing.

you could try abstract as well to see shapes.

but ideally let the kid do his own thing. there shouldn't be a list or a guide or the images he makes may be polluted with that. he may not take a good shot because he may think he's breaking some rule or guideline. photography should simply be fun.

that list you have - colors? i don't know why that's there, high and low key, hdr, etc - are far too advanced.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

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