Fine Art Photography

Effective: Fall 2024
Associate in Arts Program Map
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This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

The Fine Art Photography AA is an interdisciplinary studio art degree with an emphasis in photography. The studio courses mirror coursework that would be completed in the first two years of a Bachelor of Fine Arts program and prepares students for a professional career in art and photography. It is a demanding, high-credit degree program that emphasizes both photographic and fine art studio practices. Additional program requirements in Art History and a capstone portfolio course provide the visual language and photographic portfolio students will need to enter the photographic and fine art industry, or progress academically into a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program.


What can I do with this major?

Upon successful completion of the program students will develop professional competencies and portfolio required to enter a Bachelor of Fine Arts photography program or one of the following career opportunities:

  • Fine Art Photographer,
  • Commercial Photographer
  • Portrait Photographer
  • Studio Photographer
  • Technical Photographer
  • Photo Editor
  • Photo Curator
  • Digital Artist.

Learning and Career Pathway
  • Arts and Design

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

Semester 1

14 units

PHOT 1A
Digital Photography I

3 units
Introduction to the processes, principles, and tools of digital photography. Course provides an overview of digital camera functions for automatic and manual exposure, image creation and capture, file management, and image editing. Students may use any appropriate digital camera including; DSLR, mirrorless, point & shoot or smartphone. Topics include the development of technical and aesthetic skills, elements of design and composition, camera technology, materials and equipment, and contemporary trends in digital photography. May not receive credit if PHOT 50 has been completed successfully.
Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Summer, Fall, Spring

    ART 2A
    Introduction to Drawing

    3 units
    This course provides direct experience in exploring basic drawing concepts, including the expressive use of contour, value, perspective and composition while using a variety of media. Assigned projects may include still life, landscape, portraiture and figure. Focus on perceptually based drawing, observational skills, technical abilities, and creative responses to materials and subject matter.
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Spring, Fall, Summer

    Art Elective #1

    3 units
    Choose one course from the list of Art Electives below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    English 1- Critical Reading and Composition

    4 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term. 1

    1 unit
    • 1 - PE course recommended

    Semester 2

    15-16 units

    PHOT 2A
    Black and White Darkroom Photography

    3 units
    Introduction to the processes, principles, and tools of black and white darkroom photography. Course provides an overview of 35mm cameras and materials for exposure and development of black and white film. Traditional darkroom techniques will be used for the exploration and refinement of gelatin silver processes for printing and toning photographs. Topics include the development of technical and aesthetic skills, elements of design and composition, film cameras, materials and equipment, and contemporary trends in film photography. May not receive credit if PHOT 60 has been completed successfully.
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Spring, Fall

    ART 23
    2-D Foundations

    3 units
    Introduction to the concepts and applications of two-dimensional art from various cultures, historical periods, and aesthetic sensibilities. The course covers fundamental theoretical concepts and terminology common to all two-dimensional art activities, including the study and analysis of the basic principles of organization and elements of line, shape, value, texture, color, spatial illusion. Designed to develop a visual vocabulary for creative expression through lecture presentations, studio projects, problem solving and written assignments. (May not receive credit if ART 10 has been completed)
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Fall, Spring

    ART 24
    3-D Foundations

    3 units
    Introduction to the concepts, applications, and historical references related to three-dimensional design and spatial composition, including the study of the elements and organizing principles of design as they apply to three-dimensional space and form. Development of a visual vocabulary for creative expression through lecture presentations and use of appropriate materials for three-dimensional studio projects.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Spring, Fall

    Art Elective #2

    3 units
    Choose one course from the list of Art Electives below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    Math Course for General Education: see a counselor to choose the appropriate course.

    3-4 units
    GE

    Semester 3

    15 units

    PHOT 3A
    Introduction to Studio Lighting

    3 units
    Introduction to basic studio lighting skills using electronic flash, static, and strobe applications. Course will familiarize students with lighting techniques for portraiture, product and still-life photography, in a studio setting with specialized equipment and digital cameras. Digital production techniques and processes including basics of shooting, editing and output for digital photographs. Professional setups and standard practices, as well as alternative lighting solutions will be covered. May not receive credit if PHOT 64A has been completed successfully.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: PHOT 1A
      2. or
    2. Strongly Recommended: PHOT 50
    Terms Offered: Rotating

    Photoshop Course (Choose PHOT 6A or DIGM 6A)

    3 units
    Terms Offered: Summer, Fall, Spring

    PHOT 6A
    Photoshop

    3 units
    Introduction to the use of Adobe Photoshop for retouching, editing, and compositing digital images. Students take their original photography and artistically adjust contrast, exposure and color balance to create enhanced compositions. Students also take a number of photos and composite the images into an artistically balanced and well-designed composition.
    Terms Offered: Summer, Fall, Spring
    or

    DIGM 6A
    Photoshop

    3 units
    Introduction to the use of Adobe Photoshop for retouching, editing, and compositing digital images. Students take their original photography and artistically adjust contrast, exposure, color balance, to create enhanced compositions. Students also take a number of images and composite images into an artistically balanced and well-designed composition.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: PHOT 1A
    Terms Offered: Spring, Fall, Summer

    History of Photography (Choose PHOT 20 or ARTH 20)

    3 units

    PHOT 20
    History of Photography

    3 units
    A broad chronological survey of photography from its invention to the present. Considers the medium's dual role as technology and art. Addresses a multiplicity of photographic themes and purposes. Considers the intersections of photography and technology, history, art, and everyday life.
    Terms Offered: Rotating
    or

    ARTH 20
    History of Photography

    3 units
    A broad chronological survey of photography from its invention to the present. Considers the medium's dual role as technology and art. Addresses a multiplicity of photographic themes and purposes. Considers the intersections of photography and technology, history, art, and everyday life.
    Terms Offered: Rotating

    General Education Course-see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    Semester 4

    16 units

    Art History Requirement (Choose ARTH 4, ARTH 5 or ARTH 6)

    3 units

    ARTH 4
    Art History-Ancient to Gothic

    3 units
    This course presents a chronological history of the West using iconic artworks that embody the conditions and values of the people who created them. We begin in prehistory, when Cro-Magnons painted the walls of their caves, and end in the late Medieval period, when artists sought ways to give tangible form to God and the heavens. Along the way, we cover visual masterworks by ancient Arabs and Persians of Mesopotamia, northeast Africans and Nilotic peoples in Egypt, and Greeks and Romans in the Mediterranean region. This course is especially appropriate for visual learners. (Formerly ART 4; may not receive credit if ART 4 has been completed.)
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Spring, Fall
    or

    ARTH 5
    Art History - Renaissance to Modern-Day

    3 units
    This course presents a chronological history of the West using iconic works of art and architecture that embody the conditions and values of the people who created them. We begin as Humanism cleaves the Early Renaissance away from a Medieval mindset, and conclude in recent times, as art is radically redefined by modern and contemporary artists to evocatively reflect our unpredictable, challenging times. This course is especially appropriate for visual learners.
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Rotating
    or

    ARTH 6
    Art History - Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Art

    3 units
    This course presents a chronological history of the 20th- and 21st centuries in the West (and at times, beyond), using iconic artworks that embody the conditions and values of the people who created them. We examine artworks created in a wide variety of media and targeting a broad range of subjects. Our focus is on major movements and influential ideas of this period, which—more than any other art historical period—were shaped by women artists, indigenous artists, disasporic artists, and artists of color. This course is especially appropriate for visual learners.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Rotating

    PHOT 4A
    Color Theory for Photographers

    3 units
    This course will cover the basics of color science, color theory, language of color, color primaries and color relationships, applied using digital photography techniques. Students will study the principles, theories and applications of additive and subtractive color in photography. These concepts will be framed in a way that is relevant for photographers in composition, control of mood, emotional content, and image processing. Topics will include major historical and contemporary color systems, production of projects using applied color and the elements of color and design as they apply to photography. May not receive credit if PHOT 61 has been completed successfully.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: PHOT 1A
      2. or
    2. Strongly Recommended: PHOT 50
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Rotating

    ART 45
    Artist Portfolio and Self-Promotion

    1.5 units
    Development of an artist's/ designer's portfolio and strategies for self-promotion in the art and design industries. Students will work to revise existing projects, create advanced projects and select and organize projects for promotion. Includes use of effective techniques of presentation. Includes creation and revision of resume, business card, and template based website.
    Course Details:
      Terms Offered: Spring

      General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

      3 units
      GE

      General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

      3 units
      GE

      Elective- see a counselor to choose a course that counts for elective units (can be any credit course).

      2.5 units
      GE

      Major Electives

      Choose any 6 units from the list of major electives below

      ART 2B
      Drawing and Composition

      3 units
      Development of knowledge and skills introduced in Art 2A, emphasizing exploration of artistic concepts, styles, and creative expression related to intermediate-level drawing, focusing on complex subject matter and concepts using a variety of drawing mediums, techniques, and methodologies. Students in this course will build on fundamental drawing skills to develop personalized approaches to content and materials in exercises covering multiple historical and contemporary approaches to drawing.
      Course Details:
      1. Prerequisite: ART 2A
    1. Transfers to CSU

      2. PHOT 1B
      Digital Photography II

      3 units
      Digital Photography II is an intermediate digital photography course that is a continuation of Introduction to Digital Photography. Students will practice techniques that build on those learned in PHOT 1A for image capture and exposure, along with using DSLR and mirrorless camera systems. Batch processing and editing techniques working with multiple photographs in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom will be used to create digital compositions. Emphasis is on mastering basic photographic principles and concepts, and creative problem solving using strong visual communication techniques.
      Course Details:
      1. Prerequisite: PHOT 1A
        2. or
      2. Prerequisite: PHOT 50

      FILM 15
      Introduction to Digital Filmmaking

      3 units
      Introduction to digital filmmaking as an artistic medium through lectures, screenings, demonstrations, and hands-on practicum. Critical analysis and appreciation of production elements and development of skills in pre-production planning, digital cinematography, direction of actors, sound design, art direction, and post-production.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: FILM 14

      ART 3A
      Figure and Composition I

      3 units
      Introduction to drawing the human figure from observation using a wide variety of drawing media and techniques. Topics include an introduction to human anatomy and the historical and contemporary roles of figure drawing in the visual arts. Students in this course will learn both descriptive and expressive approaches to drawing the figure. Open to any student, no drawing experience required.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: ART 2A
    2. Transfers to CSU

      3. PHOT 5A
      Photography Portfolio

      3 units
      Photography Portfolio is a capstone course for students to create a body of work that reflects their individual style. Students enrolling in the course should be experienced photographers comfortable working with advanced camera and photo editing techniques. Students may work with any photographic medium of their choice. They will print and display photos as part of a class exhibition at the end of the course. Emphasis will be on developing a cohesive portfolio of photographs that can be used to further a photographic career. May not receive credit if PHOT 62 has been completed successfully.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: PHOT 1A
        2. or
      2. Strongly Recommended: PHOT 50

      FILM 16
      Documentary Filmmaking

      3 units
      Introduction to documentary filmmaking and current techniques of digital documentary including, sound, video and mixed media documentary. Story basics, research, structure, objective/subjective approach, audio recording, shooting setups, interviewing, and rough-cut editing.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: FILM 15
    3. Transfers to CSU

      4. ART 12A
      Beginning Oil Painting

      3 units
      Introduction to principles, elements, and practices of oil painting. Focus on exploration of painting materials, perceptual skills and color theory, paint mixing and technique, as well as creative responses to materials and subject matter.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: ART 2A
    4. Transfers to CSU

      5. ART 16A
      Introduction to Ceramics I

      3 units
      Instruction in the fundamental techniques of wheel-thrown and hand-constructed clay forms. Survey of clay and glaze materials and reaction to fire will be included. Methods of decorating using glazes will be introduced. Influence of Eastern and Western contemporary and historical works and the students' creations. Formulate personal creative process, including inspiration, experimentation, and evaluation. Designed for art majors as well as non-majors.
      Course Details:
    5. Transfers to CSU

      6. ART 17A
      Beginning Sculpture 1

      3 units
      Construction methods in clay through design of three-dimensional and relief sculptures. Includes an introduction to ceramic art history and fundamentals of ceramic glaze and firing technology. Elements and principles of three-dimensional design are emphasized in oral and written critiques. This course is designed for art majors as well as general education students.
      Course Details:

      ART 18A
      Wood and Stone Sculpture I

      3 units
      Design and carve Bas-relief sculptures, using subtractive methods in wood and stone. Examines examples from modern and cross-cultural wood and stone art forms. Includes fundamentals of pneumatic (air power) technology. Elements and principles of three-dimensional design are emphasized in oral and written critiques. Designed for art majors as well as general education students.
      Course Details:

      ART 20
      All Media Sculpture

      3 units
      Concentrated individual studies in sculpture, designed to provide opportunity for continued investigation in the possibilities of a variety of sculptural media for the purpose of creating individual style and personal expression.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: ART 17A
    6. Transfers to CSU

      7. ART 22
      Metal Sculpture - Lost Wax Bronze Casting

      3 units
      Comprehensive introduction to various metal sculpture processes. Mold-making techniques for casting bronze, aluminum, as well as basic welding. Emphasis on 3-dimensional design quality, craftsmanship, and subject matter, with research in the history of traditional and contemporary metal sculpture.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: ART 17A

      ART 25
      Color Theory

      3 units
      A study of the principles, theories, and applications of additive and subtractive color in two dimensions. Topics will include major historical and contemporary color systems, production of projects in applied color, and the elements of design as they apply to color.
      Course Details:
    7. Transfers to CSU

      8. ART 61
      Illustration

      3 units
      Creation and execution of conceptual ideas in illustration. Includes a variety of mediums and contemporary application styles. Emphasis on skills in traditional draftsmanship, craftsmanship and presentation.
      Course Details:

      DIGM 1
      Introduction to Digital Art

      3 units
      Introduction to fundamental concepts, practices, and theories of digital art production. Topics include integration of traditional design, color, and compositional principles with contemporary digital tools.
      Course Details:

      DIGM 2
      Introduction to Graphic Design

      3 units
      Introduction to the essential visual elements of graphic design. Exploration of the principles, concepts, and protocols used for effective visual communication. Cultivation of the designer’s creative process and problem-solving skills. Emphasis on strong conceptual development and solid craftsmanship through design execution. Projects explore creative development of graphic design ideas from start to finish.
      Course Details:

      DIGM 4A
      Digital Illustration

      3 units
      Introduction to the principles of illustration using digital tools. Through lectures, demos and assignments students are exposed to and practice digital illustration skills for design, editorial, and animation. Emphasis is placed on the use of vector-based tools for artistic drawing and graphic design. Students explore the relationship of digital illustration with the field of Graphic Design, Animation and Fine Art.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: ART 2A

      DIGM 7
      Design and Layout

      3 units
      Design and Layout focuses on digital and print layouts using design elements and principles. Students create layouts using Gestalt principles, creative concepts, color separation and typography. The course explores the history of layout in various media, digital vs print process, copyright issues, and working with various printers for final project output.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: DIGM 2

      DIGM 10A
      Introduction to Animation

      3 units
      The history and evolution of technical aspects of animation are examined. Students explore animation principles using analog media, including, phonotropes, stop motion animation, claymation and flip books. Digital aspects of animation are also explored to create short mini animated sequences.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: DIGM 11

      DIGM 11
      Video Editing

      3 units
      Introduction to the art of digital video editing using industry standard software. Students explore the theory and practice of various editing styles in order to gain a better understanding of how stories are constructed in the editing room. Through demonstrations and hands-on experience, students learn advanced editing techniques with an in-depth examination of the art of the edit. Strong emphasis is placed on post-production techniques that improve the sound and image quality of the videos.
      Course Details:

      DIGM 12A
      Motion Graphics

      3 units
      Motion Graphics is an introductory course to motion graphics for students who have a strong foundation in typography and design. This course introduces the theories, techniques, and practices of motion graphics. Students use design elements and principles to create motion graphics that communicate a message or story. Vector graphics, photography, sound, video and animation are integrated together to design compelling motion graphics.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: DIGM 11
      2. Strongly Recommended: DIGM 4A

      DIGM 15
      Web Design Fundamentals

      3 units
      Introduction to the basic design elements required to create a visually compelling website or user experience. Emphasis on design and layout, vector based graphics, and style consistency. Students learn to create a style guide to ensure continuity of design throughout the build process.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: DIGM 2

      FILM 14
      Introduction to Cinematic Arts

      3 units
      Introduces the analysis of film and animation aesthetics. Examines form and content, aesthetics and meaning, and history and culture of film and animation. Explores the diverse possibilities presented by the cinematic art form through an examination of a wide variety of productions, cinemas, and film movements. Topics include modes of production, narrative and non-narrative forms, visual design, editing, sound, genre, ideology and critical analysis.
      Course Details:
      1. Strongly Recommended: ENGL 1A
    8. Transfers to CSU
      9. Total Units: 60-61 units
      This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.