Photography

Students may opt to study Photography at GCSE. Students in both Photography initially explore the theme of ‘Fantastic and Strange’ in terms 1 - 3. This will be the work for their “mini project” which demonstrates their engagement with a range of materials, techniques and processes. This will include, but isn’t limited to, how to use a DSLR using priority modes and manual mode, effectively light a photograph relevant to their intentions, compose a successful image, use Adobe PhotoShop and to use physical editing techniques in their work. They will then move on to the theme of ‘People, Places and Things’ for the remainder of their coursework (60% of final GCSE grade). 

 

Why study this course?

This course aims to stretch and challenge all of our students’ creative abilities and work towards becoming proficient in a range of techniques and gain a comprehensive understanding of critical and contextual sources. The course is designed to encourage students to personalise their projects and pursue their own interests by taking creative ownership of their practice. Our course is simultaneously rigorous and supportive so that students may achieve their full potential. 

 

What does this course lead on to?

This course can lead to students accessing advanced level courses at A Level and BTEC. We aim to equip our students with skills to pursue careers in the Arts - some of which are listed below:  

Photographer, Videographer, Graphic Designer, Motion Graphics Designer, Architect, Illustrator, StoryBoard Illustrator, Art Conservationist, Special Effects Make-Up Artist, Stage/Set Designer, Art Teacher, Fine Artist, Tattoo Artist, Art Therapist, Museum/Gallery Curator, Concept Artist and Product Design.

 

Term 1:

Students will be introduced to the four assessment objectives: Develop, Refine, Record and Present. They will then work through a series of workshop lessons inspired by historic and contemporary artists which will introduce them to compositional rules, how to use and adjust the settings on a DSLR, how to focus a shot, macro photography, and portrait photography. At every stage the students will gain hands-on experience with our DSLRs to enable them to apply their learning and gain confidence with the equipment. 

Enquiry question:

Fantastic and Strange: How can an artist be inspired by artists of the past to produce a personal and meaningful body of work?

 

Term 2:

Students will continue their introduction to photography through a series of workshop lessons inspired by historic and contemporary artists. They will learn the differences in exposure (long and short exposures) and be introduced to the darkroom by making a photogram. Throughout this term our students will gain a functional understanding of Adobe PhotoShop and will learn how to perform basic editing techniques such as cropping, adjusting brightness and contrast and how to retouch their images. At this stage the students will learn how to effectively annotate and present their work to develop their creative journeys. 

Enquiry Questions:

Fantastic and Strange: How can an artist record their observations and insights relevant to their intentions to produce a personal body of work?

 

Term 3:

Students will present what they have learned so far by working towards a substantial outcome in response to the theme of “Fantastic and Strange”.To do this, they will select their preferred technique from the workshop lessons and explore it in greater depth demonstrating refined skill and understanding. 

Enquiry Questions:

Fantastic and Strange: How can an artist present a personal and meaningful response which realises their intentions?

 

Term 4:

Students will begin their sustained body of work based on the theme of People, Places and Things. The theme has been selected to allow students the freedom to explore their own ideas and interests. During this term the students will focus on developing their initial ideas by researching the work of a chosen artist.

Enquiry Questions:

People, Places and Things: How can an artist develop their ideas through investigations and demonstrate a critical understanding of sources?

 

Term 5:

Students will focus on recording their initial ideas in response to their theme and chosen artist. This should include taking their own photographs and making drawings, annotations and mind-maps. 

Enquiry Questions:

People, Places and Things: How can artists record their observations and insights relevant to intentions as their work progresses?

 

Term 6:

Students will develop their initial ideas by making sustained outcomes based on their work in the previous work. Students will need to demonstrate greater purpose in their work as it relates to their intentions as well as refined skill with their chosen photographic techniques and editing processes. 

Enquiry Questions:

People, Places and Things: How can artists refine their work by exploring ideas, and selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes?

 

By the end of term 2, Year 11 students will conclude their non-externally set assignment worth 60% of their overall grade. They will then complete an externally set assignment for the remaining 40%. Students will develop the skills which they learned in Year 10 to achieve these aims. 

 

What does this course lead on to?

This course can lead to students accessing advanced level courses at A level and BTEC. We aim to equip our students with skills to pursue careers in the Arts - some of which are listed below:  

Architect, Illustrator, StoryBoard Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Logo/Branding Designer, Art Conservationist, Special Effects Make-Up Artist, Stage/Set Designer, Art Teacher, Fine Artist, Tattoo Artist, Art Therapist, Museum/Gallery Curator, Concept Artist and Product Design.

 

Term 1:

Students will be developing their ideas towards a final piece for their 60% coursework project and will need to focus eclectically on the 4 assessment objectives. At this stage the students should start to refine their initial ideas and work towards a final piece. This can be achieved through purposeful experiments inspired by their chosen artists. 

Enquiry Questions: 

People, Places and Things: How can artists present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language?

 

Term 2:

Students will work through a series of final experiments as they work towards a final piece. The experiments should include expanded sections, enlarged versions of their initial ideas and material experiments to become proficient in their chosen technique, e.g. photo weaving or PhotoShop. 

Enquiry Questions:

People, Places and Things: How can artists present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language?

 

Term 3:

Students will start their externally set assignment which is worth 40% of their overall grade. AQA publishes a booklet which contains 8 possible themes which the students are required to choose from as the basis for their projects. The students typically have 14 weeks to complete an entirely new project in this time which meets all of the assessment objectives which were previously covered in their coursework component. All students will begin their new projects by mind mapping initial ideas, identifying an artist which they will research and collecting relevant source material. 

Enquiry Questions:

Externally set assignment: How can an artist develop their ideas through investigations demonstrating critical understanding of sources?

 

Term 4:

Students will be focused on developing their initial ideas using the source material which they collected previously. They will need to develop their ideas through more purposeful photoshoots and editing processes. This may include a greater focus on PhotoShop editing techniques or methods of physical editing such as embroidery. 

Enquiry Questions: 

Externally set assignment: How can artists record their observations and insights relevant to intentions as their work progresses?

 

Term 5:

Students will refine their initial ideas through a series of artistic experiments. These should include expanded sections of their initial ideas, close ups, background experiments and material experiments in order to become proficient in their favoured technique. Students need to complete a final piece during a 10 hour exam over two days. 

Enquiry Questions:

Externally set assignment: How can artists refine their work by exploring ideas, and selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes?

 

 

In the first three terms, Year 12 A level Photography students will focus on building skills. Students will acquire and develop technical skills through working with a broad range of media, materials, techniques, processes and technologies with purpose and intent. They will engage in a mini project, exploring the theme of “Identity” that will teach students how to effectively meet the four assessment objectives.  

Students will  begin their own personal investigation from term 5 until term 3 of Year 13. All students are required to write a 1000 - 3000 word essay to support their work as it progresses.

Students will be able to select a new theme/starting point of interest or may even decide to continue to develop their Identity project in term 5. They will need to ensure that they meet all four assessment objectives. Students will work on their personal investigation until term 3 of Year 13 when they will begin the externally set examination.  

 

Why study this course?

This course aims to stretch and challenge all of our students’ creative abilities, allow them to work towards becoming proficient in a range of techniques, and gain a comprehensive understanding of critical and contextual sources. The course is designed to encourage students to personalise their projects and pursue their own interests by taking creative ownership of their practice. Our course is simultaneously rigorous and supportive so that students may achieve their full potential. 

 

What does this course lead on to?

This course can lead to students accessing degree level courses. We aim to equip our students with skills to pursue careers in the Arts - some of which are listed below:  

Architect, Illustrator, StoryBoard Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Logo/Branding Designer, Art Conservationist, Special Effects Make-Up Artist, Stage/Set Designer, Art Teacher, Fine Artist, Tattoo Artist, Art Therapist, Museum/Gallery Curator, Concept Artist and Product Design.

 

Term 1:

(12) Students will be reminded of the 4 assessment objectives which they covered in GCSE. The first scheme of work focuses on the acquisition of enhanced skills through workshop based lessons. Artists will study Human Form whilst photographers will focus on Identity.  

(13) Students will be working towards the development of their ideas as they work towards a final piece for their coursework unit. This should include material experiments which aim to help the student to gain greater skill in their chosen outcome.  

Enquiry Questions:

(12) Identity/Human Form: How can an artist's choice of materials inform their practice?

(13) Personal Investigation: How can artists present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language?

 

Term 2:

(12) Students in Art will continue to experiment with a range of materials and techniques through workshop based lessons. This will be focused on oil painting and printmaking. Photography students will experiment with physical editing processes and darkroom techniques. 

(13) Students will be focusing on working towards the completion of their 60% coursework unit by making a final piece. This should demonstrate a proficiency in their chosen material, technique or process and show critical engagement with the meaning behind their work.  

Enquiry Questions:

(12) Identity/Human Form: How can artists record their observations and insights relevant to intentions as their work progresses?

(13) Personal Investigation: How can artists present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language?

 

Term 3:

(12) Art students will be focused on advanced oil painting techniques such as underpainting, glazing and scumbling. Photography students will continue to refine their understanding of digital editing techniques through the use of PhotoShop. At this stage both Photography and Art students will read and discuss “Ways of Seeing” by John Berger.  

(13) Year 13 students will be set their externally set assignment by AQA. Similarly to the GCSE, students will need to select one of 8 themes from the booklet. All students will have 14 weeks to complete this component of their course. They should then begin to generate initial research material through mind maps, mood boards, artist research and drawings.

Enquiry Questions:

(12) Identity/Human Form: How can an artist present a personal and meaningful response which realises their intentions?

(13) Externally set assignment: How can an artist develop their ideas through investigations demonstrating critical understanding of sources?

 

Term 4:

(12) Having completed their workshop based lessons the students will now start their personal investigations. This is a new project based on a theme of their choosing. They should then begin to generate initial research material through mind maps, mood boards, and artist research. Upon completion, the students should begin to record their initial ideas through photographs, drawings and annotations. 

(13) At this stage the students should have developed an initial idea based on their research tasks. All students should record their ideas through photographs, drawings and annotations. These initial ideas should be developed into more substantial pieces using the student’s favoured material, technique or process. All of their outcomes should be critically evaluated through written annotation. 

Enquiry Questions:

(12) Personal Investigation: How can an artist develop their ideas through investigations demonstrating critical understanding of sources?

(13) Externally set assignment: How can artists record their observations and insights relevant to intentions as their work progresses?

 

Term 5:

(12) Having completed their initial research the students should have an initial idea for their projects. They should record their ideas through photographs, drawings and written annotations. They will then develop their initial ideas through experiments with their preferred material, technique or process to make a series of outcomes.  

(13) Year 13 students will now be refining their ideas towards a final piece. This will be produced over a 15 hour exam divided over three days. The students should complete any final experiments or developmental pieces in preparation for this exam. 

Enquiry Questions:

(12) Personal Investigation: How can artists record their observations and insights relevant to intentions as their work progresses?

(13) Externally set assignment: How can artists refine their work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes?

 

Term 6:

(12) Having completed their initial experiments the students will work towards developing their initial ideas in the developed designs in preparation for a final piece. These experiments will include enlarged sections of their initial designs, background experiments and material experiments in order to become proficient in their favoured technique. 

(13) All students will be working towards their 15 hour exam and will need to complete their final designs based on their previous work. A successful final piece will demonstrate the student’s artistic journey and proficiency in their chosen material, technique or process. 

Enquiry Questions: 

(12) Personal Investigation: How can artists refine their work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes?

(13) Externally set assignment: How can artists present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language?