What is a Rantom?

Greetings fellow shooters! Tuesday Ambassador Stanley, here welcoming you to another Tuesday. Not just any Tuesday but perhaps a “Timely Tuesday.” This week I wanted to cover on things about the Monarch Butterflies since the season just ended here in California, although I am sure they can be sought here and there post-season. Nope, this week is going to be a “rantom.” A random rant if you will. So without further a due I present to you my “Timely Tuesday Rantom.”

Unfortunately, as of late most of my frustrations in class have led me to vent, but mind you not to harass or offend any one person, about why some students do not seem to take the time to read or view any of the “Course Home” material, why some students do not follow proper MLA guidelines, why some students do not “works cite” anything at all or why some students do not follow the directions of the material what-so-ever. I AM NOT PERFECT! And I never will be which is why I confess to the fact that I have been a VICTIM of doing, or should I say not doing these acts. It took many months of being corrected by very few students, unfortunately, and some Professors here and there. However, people do make mistekas and that is okay, you just have to make sure you learn from it and apply it moving forward.

Whoops! Not the right one!

Okay, what is that one doing to this one? Get some shade!

               After becoming a Student Ambassador, of which I had no idea existed until my name was brought up for it, I realized that in the weeks of being one, how little time faculty have in their schedule to do even the simplest of tasks. Sometimes I think I have a lot on my plate but I cannot imagine being in their shoes right now having to go through so many student’s assignments. Have some of you taken the time to read the biographies of your instructors? Some instructors teach at more than one school and most, if not, all of them teach both online and on campus. When I download a student’s work and find so many things missing in the assignment, it makes me feel like I just wasted my time downloading it. So it makes me wonder how a Professor feels when they view the same thing.

                Tardiness! What it used to be called when you were late for class. I typically do not like to delve on this topic too much considering it was a bad habit of mine for as long as I can remember, but I can tell you that it will be a tough time for you if this habit becomes prevalent. Yes, not just in school, but in everything you do. Are you constantly turning in work late? If so, maybe you need to re-evaluate your situation and see if there is something to you need to change that would drastically change your direction for the better.

                Now, are we with the program? This is a program that we are supposed to follow, and in result the success to our future in the field photography, after all. I mean what else are we paying for? So if a student corrects you on the format of your assignment, I would take it into high consideration and review your assignments to see what you are missing. However, if a student critiques your work and makes suggestions, you can take it with a grain of salt or you can enrich the discussion even further. It is called collaboration and we need to get used to it.

Now we're talking!

Now I know a lot of you may not fall in this category but I suggest that you think twice before you post your assignment next time. If you were another student, would you find your work worth looking at, let alone download? Is everything in the assignment that is asked of you actually in your assignment, like your name? Did you cite your work? Oh, there is absolutely no reason to cite your work. How about “Works cited – N/A” as a viable citation to your assignment? Yes, even if it does not call for it or is not needed, put it in! Trust me; it goes a long way with instructors when everything is filled out correctly. Now I do not condone you do this on every assignment, especially if the assignment calls for heavy research, but just know when you can use it.

Rant done! Now where do you fall in all of this? In order for one to become successful, one must self-evaluate and fix the flaws. And I am still working on that! The big question I have for you is, “are you as a student discovering more about yourself after every course you complete?” If you answered “yes,” than I think you are on the right track to potential success. If you happen to answer “no,” then I would highly recommend thinking real hard about the question again and make sure you are not misinterpreting it. And if you still answer “no” then I suggest thinking about the path you have chosen. Seriously, you are paying for classes that you came in here to learn about because you are passionate about it. Is it not?

Let me hear your views. If you happened to have been offended by this post, you are not alone. Stay tuned next week for what I hope is not another “rantom.” I hope you enjoyed the butterflies. If not, dang. And as always, thanks for reading.

-Tues. Amb. Stanley

Lighting Class

Happy Sunday Everyone!!  I hope you enjoyed the past week. Today I wanted to talk a little about lighting. In the past I was always afraid to use studio lighting, I found it intimidating and difficult to do. Over the years I have tried and tried to figure out studio lighting. I just never seemed to be able to get it right. So when I saw what my next class was that was coming up I was really excited. The class was PH136 Lighting class.  As I went through the course outline, I looked to see who my instructor was going to be. I found out that my instructor was Reuben Njaa, so I did what we all do nowadays, I “Googled” him. What I found was someone who was amazing with painting with light, and he appeared to have so much knowledge and this really excited me. I looked over his personal website http://www.reubennjaaphotography.com/ for hours, looking at all of his amazing work.

When shooting portraits remember that there are many different types of lighting. Each will give you a different result.(Hurter)

Split Lighting – is used when the key light illuminates only half the face. It is an ideal slimming light. It can be used to narrow a wide face or nose.(Hurter)

Rembrandt Lighting - is characterized by a small, triangular highlight on the shadowed cheek of the subject. This type of lighting is dramatic.(Hurter)

Butterfly Lighting - lighting pattern that produces a symmetrical, butterfly-like shadow beneath the subject’s nose. It tends to emphasize high cheekbones and good skin.(Hurter)

Rim Lighting - is used when the subject’s head is turned 90 degrees from the camera lens. It is a dramatic style of lighting used to accent elegant features. It is used less frequently now than in the past, but it still produces a stylish portrait.(Hurter)

Loop Lighting - This is one of the more commonly used lighting setups and is ideal for people with average, oval-shaped faces.  (Hurter)

One of the things that I remember that stands out the most is one of my first interactions with him. Our first assignment we had to post a Bio, and as the comments flowed, I had told him” I want to be just as good as you are!” His reply not only surprised me but has to this day inspired me. Reuben Njaa said this” Don’t try to be as good as me, try to be better than me”.  I keep that in the back of my head each and every time I shoot.  Thanks Reuben you have been a true inspiration.

Below are a few of the photographs I took during PH136 with Reuben Njaa

 Photos by Wayne Salat

  Photos by Wayne Salat

  Photos by Wayne Salat

  Photos by Wayne Salat

 Photos by Wayne Salat

Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne

Hurter, Bill. "The Five Basic Portrait-Lighting Setups." Sekonic Control Light. Sekonic, n.d. Web. 23 Jul 2013. <http://www.sekonic.com/whatisyourspecialty/photographer/articles/the-five-basic-portrait-lighting-setups.asp&xgt;.

Down to the Wire!

It is a beautiful Thursday in Michigan! It is 57° instead of 97° this morning. What a difference a week can make!

What do you do when your assignment is due in six hours and you don’t understand a concept? This can even happen for seasoned students…like myself…so first thing, DON’T PANIC.

Last week I had an assignment that I totally thought I understood. I went out and shot my images for the assignment (it was creating a planar panorama in photoshop or like software), sat down to process it, and it didn’t work. There were several choices to make in the process and I tried them all, and nothing worked. Now what? Professors don’t really like calls at the last hour when assignments are due. They really do have a life outside our classrooms.

Here are some options:

·         Check Skype and see if the professor happens to be online. If so, ask your question.

·         The internet can often be a great place to find solutions. Google the exact info you need help with. Often you will find your answer or enough information to get you past the obstacle that has you stumped.

·         Call a friend. Develop relationships with other classmates so that you can call on each other in times of trouble. I have a couple fellow students that I’ve developed friendships with whom we’ve shared phone numbers, and feel comfortable enough to call at late night hours J. A lot of times two heads are better than one. You will find that your classmates track along the same class schedule as yourself, so you will be learning together for the next three or so years.

·         If you don’t get your answers through any of the previous suggestions, turn in everything you have tried with explanations of how you did things and ask what went wrong. At least you will get partial credit, AND the professor will know how to help you.

The last option is actually what I did on my planar panorama problem and I got a 90% on it. So it didn’t harm my overall grade, the professor was able to work me through the problem and now I know what to do to create planar panoramas. (By the way linear panoramas are a lot easier to create. Hmmm…I think I feel another blog coming on.)

Planar Panorama (It takes a flat surface to shoot against.)

 Linear Panorama

Do you have any other suggestions for those last-hours-before-an-assignment-is-due problems? Please share them with us.

Have a great day!

Your Thursday Student Ambassador

Auto Giga 6.2 Review. Northlight Images. 2013. 24 Jul 2013. http://www.northlight-

     images.co.uk/reviews/software/autopano-giga_2-6.html

I'm Late, I'm Late, for a Very Important Date!

As students a AiO we are faced with many deadlines for submitting assignments and participating in discussions.  The deadlines are very important for several reasons.  One reason is that with our classes only being 5.5 weeks long, if we get behind, it is REALLY hard to catch us.  Another is that in that in the real world we have deadlines and school is a great place to learn and train ourselves to be one time.  That being said, sometimes life happens and we find it is simply impossible to meet a deadline in class.  So what do you do?

After you have a mild panic attack ……..

breathe. 

Breathe deep,

Three – slow – deep breaths.

Now, get your ducks in a row, come up with a good solid plan.  How are you going to handle this situation?  How are you going to get your work submitted?  How late will it be?

Then you MUST contact your Instructor!  A phone call or email is fine, but you MUST contact your Instructor!  Depending on your situation and who your instructor is, you might be extended some grace.  Here are a couple scenarios with different outcomes:

I was working on a project/assignment and just not getting the images that I wanted.  They were not up to my standards.  I made a conscious decision to turn the assignment in a day late and take the deduction rather than turn in images I was not happy with.  I emailed my instructor straight away and explained why I would be turning my assignment in late.   While I did indeed take the 10% deduction, my commitment to excellence made an impression on the instructor and kept me true to myself.

At another time, in another class, with another instructor. My oldest son is a very gifted athlete and was being recruited by D1 schools for football (and potentially basketball and baseball).  In game 4 of his senior football season, in the middle of the 3^rd quarter, on his 212^th yard of the game, he broke his ankle.  This did not exactly fit the schools policy, but the instructor granted me grace for a late assignment.

Deadlines are extremely important and you should do everything you can to always meet them.  But sometimes being late is unavoidable.  Just be professional and handle it.

Drop me a note and let me know how I can help you today!

It’s just another Manic Monday…..

Monday Ambassador

Advisor, Advisor, Where Art Thou?

I hope you all had a Happy 4th and caught some fabulous Firework shots!

As a student at AI there is a team of people put in place to help you.  Specifically YOU!  Your Admissions Counselor, Financial Counselor and Academic Counselor make up this team.  Notice they are called COUNSELORS because their job is to COUNSEL, to ADVISE, to HELP you!

coun·se·lor

  [koun-suh-ler] 

noun

1.   a person who counsels; adviser.

coun·sel

  [koun-suhl]  Show IPA noun, plural coun·sel for3, verb, coun·seled, coun·sel·ing or ( especially British )coun·selled, coun·sel·ling.

noun

1.    advice; opinion or instruction given in directing the judgment or conduct of another.

2.    interchange of opinions as to future procedure; consultation;deliberation.

If you do not know who your Academic Counselor is or how to contact him, here is some help.  This is screen shot of my home page.

Notice the big purple arrow on the right hand side?  This is where the name and contact information (phone and email) for your Academic Counselor can be found.

PLEASE take advantage of these men and women!  They are experts!  It is their job to help you wade through the logistics of your educational courses at AI.  Pick up the phone and really get to know them.  Give them a way to remember you (mine is easy, I have 10 kids – no one forgets that LOL). Get to know them a first name basis.

Our Advisors are also our advocates.  If you need something ASK them.  It never hurts to ask, the worst that can happen is youget told, “No,” and then you are no worse off then if you had never asked.  Let me leave you with an example.

I had a particular Instructor that I really “clicked” with.  She was encouraging and challenging and I grew a lot in her class.  I learned that there was another class she taught that I still needed to take and in fact she was teaching it soon.  She and I had been in contact and she indicated she would like to have me in class again. So I called my Advisor.  At first the response was, “Well I don’t know,” but with further explanation and discussions and a bit of persstence on my part, I got in the class with the Instructor I wanted! 

Advisors – they are just a phone call (or email) away.

Have questions?  I am happy to answer.  Or share your experience with your Advisor. 

It’s just another Manic Monday…..

Monday Ambassador

Mr, Miss, Dr, Instructor, Jack

Mr, Miss, Dr, Instructor, Jack.

What is the right thing to call our Instructors?  And does it really matter?

Like a fly caught in a web, determining how to refer to the Instructors for our classes can be a messy proposition.  I want to help you get it correct right from the beginning every time (and save you from possible embarrassment).

YES, it matters!  So often in today's world it seems younger people just call everyone by their first name and think nothing of it.  We have talented men and women teaching us at Ai and we want to be respectful of them.  And we want their respect. 

 * Everywhere you see instructors listed or referred to on the Ai site, they are ALL, ALWAYS called “Instructor”.  So Instructor is a pretty safe bet any time. 

 * Not all of our Instructors are Doctors.  Some certainly are and if you have one, they deserve the respect of being referred to as Dr. (especially if they ask to be).

 * "Jack" – some instructors allow us to call them by their first name, but do not assume this is ok.

A lot of instructors send out an email a few days prior to classes starting.  Make sure you take the time to read this!!! Sometimes in that email, they will tell you how they prefer to be addressed. If it is not in this than Respond TO the instructor and ask them!  Another place to check is in the welcome letter in the classroom.

Once you have this information, be sure you are consistent during the 5.5 weeks of class!

Do you have more thoughts on this?  Or another question or something you want help with?  Post a question or comment and I will be back several times today to respond.  After all, that is what we as Student Ambassadors are here for.

It’s just another Manic Monday….

Monday Ambassador

photo by Lisa Kay Images, lisakayimages.zenfolif

Who's On First? Or How to Write Your Introduction

Who’s On First?

Or How to Write Your Introduction

You open the classroom on Day 1 and realize your first assignment is to write an introduction.  If it is your first time your maybe feel quite anxious (kind of like the baseball player above).  If it is your twentieth time you may feel like, "Oh that again."  Today we all enter new classes and are presented with an opportunity to introduce ourselves to the Instructor and class members.

I recommend this basic formula:

1.       Your name, family information, location and something currently going on in your life.

Example:  Hi! My name is ****. My husband **** live in the “little Dutch village” of *****, **** with our ten children (yes, I said ten, same two parents, still married and still sane). We have six girls and four boys, ages 19, 18, 15, 14, 13, 11, 8, 6, 3, and turning 1 next week. And we have a dog.   We are in the midst of baseball and softball season which means 5 children playing on 8 different teams.

2.      Your educational and/or work experience. 

Example: I have a BA in Communication with a Sociology minor that I received the traditional, straight out of high school way.  I then did all the coursework for a MA in Communication, but unfortunately did not complete a thesis.  I am now adding an Associate’s Degree in Photography to my resume as I work on re-entering the work force after 20 years of full time Home Manager.

3.       Address anything specifically asked for in the instructions.

Example: Public speaking and photography are two things I have been doing about as long as I can remember.  I feel that I have a lot to offer by combining my degrees and talents.  Having said that, I am still working to find my true voice and style in photography. The things I most enjoy shooting are sporting events, nature, and people in life. 

4.     A closing comment.

Example: I have scanned through the class readings and assignments and am super excited to learn more!

5.   Your signature:

Use a font that is fitting for you and will help the instructor and class remember you.

I also recommend writing your posts in Word then copying them to the classroom. This allows you to edit and add individual touches to your posts and signature.

You only get one chance to make a first impression – make it great!

Good luck in your new classes and remember we are here to help you in any way as Student Ambassadors!

It’s just another Manic Monday …..

~Monday Ambassador

Photo by Lisa Kay Images, lisakayimages.blogspot.com

Nice Boots, You Suck, Nice Boots... or How To Effectively Critique Your Peers

Guard Inspection

Good morning fellow students.  It's Wednesday and it seems like a good day to  talk about critiquing your peers.  Many years ago, when I was in the military, I was asked to give a briefing to our Captain as a dry run before briefing the Colonel.  When I finished my 15 minutes of talking about our facility the Captain had some words of advice for me.  He started out his advice by reminding himself of the phrase 'Nice Boots, You Suck, Nice Boots'. 

Put quite simply, this format works very well here at the Art Institute when critiquing your peers.


Step 1 (Nice Boots):  Say something positive and specific about your classmate's work.  Don't be vague.  For example: 

"Jane,  I really enjoyed the series of images you posted for this assignment.  I think the expressions that you captured on the faces of your subjects in images 2, 4, and 7 really tell us a lot about their character."

Step 2 (You Suck):  This is where you offer areas of improvement and ask questions to clarify intent.  Be nice, but don't be afraid to tell someone where they could do better. 

"In images 3, 5, and 6 it seems like your images were a little underexposed.  I think if your exposure had been about 2/3 of a stop brighter you would really bring out the colors and the contrast that the rest of your series already has.  In these three images the skin tones all seem a little off color as well.  Did you do something different with the white balance in these?

Step 3 (Nice Boots):  End on a positive note

"Overall I think you have done a really good job on this series of images and with some minor tweaks this set is a knock-out!"


Remember, its through these critiques that we gain valuable, outside perspective on our work.

Works Cited:

Guard Inspection. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Encyclopædia Britannica,
     n.d. Web. 17 June 2013. <http://quest.eb.com/images/115_882269>.