Allie and I are committed to doing what it takes to continuously improve our craft. We’re both self taught, so we thought it was time to get some credentials. Allie is taking online photography courses through Cornell University and I am taking online graphic design courses through California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Now that we’re fully entrenched in our course work we thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of what we’re doing and what we’re getting out of it!
Allie
I just wrapped up my third course in a Digital Photography Certification program. I have always loved taking pictures, but wanted to further my knowledge on photography and the use of my camera. Within my first three courses, I have learned the in’s and out’s of aperture, depth of field, shutter speeds, exposures, and manual modes. I never fully understood the logistics of photography and camera use until now. Wanting to better my skill sets, and become a better photographer, these courses are leading me in that direction.
Below is one of my favorite, if not all time favorite photos that I have taken. This recaps everything I have learned so far in my courses, and cannot wait to see what lies ahead for me.
Jen
I’m in the second course of a Graphic Arts program centered on image making, typography, shape, color, and composition. Right now, I’m focusing on typography! I broke out my calligraphy markers and have been hand drawing characters and learning all of the specific qualities that make text appealing to read, but also gives it personality and conveys meaning beyond the text itself.
In the first course of the program, I learned about the fundamentals of design and the importance of constantly creating as a graphic designer. I’ve always loved to paint and draw and just CREATE, so that portion of the course work was actually very enjoyable and didn’t even really feel like work. Here was an assignment that asked us to create an image of an ordinary object in its simplest form in as many ways as we could. I chose a coffee mug (naturally). The first is digital using a picture of coffee grounds from our fridge, the second is a collage of leaves, and the third was water colored using coffee grounds. I know!! Lol.. no great works of art here, but it was the ignition of the creative process that was the real goal here and I had a lot of fun with it!!
We’re both looking forward to applying these skills for you, our clients!