..
>I have seen standard assignment in photography class where the students are
>asked to make nine prints varying the exposure from -1 to +1 and varying the
>development (of the negatives) from say -30% to +30%. When all are printed
>and during the critiques, you would hear comments from some students like "I
>like -1 exposure and +30% development," and anoother would say "I actually
>like -1 exposure and -30% development." To me, students like that have missed
>the point completely. The subject and the lighting condition may make them
>like one combination over another, but they haven't really learned what they
>should have in the assignment.
that's the teacher's fault, not the exercise
>
>I think it would be much more beneficial (although it might sound boring to
>some students) if the students are first assigned to do a copy negative with
>a step tablet (in this case it would be a printed step tablet). Then by doing
>the assignment with various degrees of exposure and development, the student
>should be able to see how highlights, shadows, contrast, etc. are affected by
>each combination.
this could be adequately done as a demo, rather than forcing all students to
use time and materials...
>Only then the student can go ahead and do another
>assignment on different subjects and lighting such as barn in a foggy day,
>rainy day, under bright sunlight, etc.
With this experiment following the step tablet demo, students could see how
controls affect actual subject matter, by looking at each other's results...
just a minor refinement, i certainly agree with the substance of the post-