Feedback from Professor

Photographers communicate with their clients with a variety of different communication methods: e-mail, phone calls, video chat, fax, text – the list goes on. In order for our students to prepare for the work force, I think it is important for students to learn how to communicate through these different methods.  At the beginning of the term, I inform my students what types of feedback they can expect to receive in my class through a post in the Course Home section. The post brings them to a PDF containing guidelines for class they can download, print, and keep by their computer as a reference. 

Part of this communication is learned by receiving feedback in different forms.  This is why I choose to give many different types of feedback to my students in the classroom; through the written word, video format using Snagit and iMovie, as well as the visual format, using Skitch or Adobe Acrobat.  If students are able to learn to respond to many different types of feedback within the classroom, then s/he will be more prepared to do the same in the “real world”.  Below is the corresponding written feedback that goes along with the “group video critique” noted above for PHOA209 – W2A1:

Below is the actual group video critique that was delivered to the PHOA209 students for W2A1:

For PHOA209’s W5A2, students are required to print some of their top images for their final assignment.  To complete this assignment, some of my students choose to order his/her prints online from resources such as “Nations Photo Lab” or “White House Custom Color”.  Some of my students choose to print his/her images from home on their professional printers.  Given the requirements for this assignment, I find that writing to each student individually is appropriate:

For PHOA113, PH323, and other studio based courses, students not only receive video critiques, but they will also receive their contact sheets back with visual feedback. In the images below, you can see a few simple suggestions that I’m making to two students.  In the image above, I’m making a suggestion for how she was using her light meter.  The student did not have the same ISO plugged into the light meter as she did to her HDSLR; this would “throw off” the meter reading so to speak.  I’m also offering her suggestions regarding how to use her hair-light for the portrait.  In the second image, I’m pointing out a few top images the student could consider for his portfolio at the end of the class and how to crop and position his model within the frame.