The Photo Dept. represents the collective effort of the photography students at Head-Royce School, an independent, college preparatory school in Oakland, California. The photography program guides students beginning in Photo 1 continuing through an entire four-year sequence that culminates at the Advanced Placement level. The program emphasizes digital processes and experimentation.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Photo 1 is an introductory-level class investigating the technical and aesthetic considerations of photography as an expressive medium and field of conceptual inquiry. The main emphasis of this class is to acquaint students with the broad themes in photography, with particular care given to instruct students in techniques fundamental to camera operation. Students become technically proficient with manual camera settings while exploring photography as a conceptual amalgam of various fields: artistic, literary, historical, and scientific.

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Second-year Photography students will review the technical aspects of camera operation using a digital SLR camera while delving much further into the conceptual potential of photography as a medium of visual investigation. The ultimate goal of the course is to have students master the techniques of photography in order to become deeper visual thinkers.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Students in Photo 3 focus on developing a particular theme of inquiry to create a personal body of work. The class is structured by individual tutorials and group critiques aiming to facilitate students in the development of a thesis project. Students meet with the teacher individually during class to discuss thematic interests, how to best communicate their ideas visually and how the formal aesthetic aspects of their photography can serve to express the conceptual ends of their project.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Students in their fourth-year of Photography complete the Advanced Placement Studio Art Portfolio in 2-D Design, specializing in photography. The portfolio consists of three sections: Breadth, Concentration, and Quality. In the Breadth section, students showcase their creative versatility, skill, and depth in communicating in two-dimensional visual language. The Concentration section is a continuation of the thesis project begun during Photo 3, wherein students focus on a particular theme to connect a body of work. Lastly, the Quality section consists of a student’s five best original works that express mastery of the aesthetic and conceptual concerns of photography.