MeritKeep

A portrait with one light you chose

Make a portrait using a single light source — a window counts — where you chose the direction and the quality on purpose, and can say why. Focus lands on the near eye. The background does not compete. Everything at the edges of the frame is there because you decided it should be.

Part of the Photography course~120 minutesEvidence: a write-up and up to 2 photographsWe check the technical side. Whether it's any good is your call
01 · What counts as done

What you have to hand in

  • One final frame plus a 100% crop of the eye.
  • A sentence naming the light source, its direction, and why you chose it.
  • The subject is separated from the background by at least one identifiable means.
  • No unaddressed distractions at the frame edges.
02 · How it will be marked

The checklist, published before you start

We score your work against each line below, and every score has to quote the part of your work it is based on. You read all of it first, so you can argue with any score on the specifics.
  • Focus lands where intended30% of the grade

    The stated subject is the sharpest thing in the frame.

    1. AbsentFocus is on something other than the stated subject.
    2. DevelopingSlightly off — a lash rather than an eye, a shoulder rather than a face.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markOn the intended plane.
    4. StrongOn plane at a wide aperture, demonstrated with a crop.
  • The lighting does what was claimed30% of the grade

    The described direction and quality of light are visible in the shadows.

    1. AbsentShadows contradict the description.
    2. DevelopingDirection visible, quality misdescribed, or vice versa.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markBoth direction and quality match the description.
    4. StrongMatch, plus a stated reason for the choice.
  • The subject is unmistakable25% of the grade

    Measurable separation from the background — tonal, colour, or focus.

    1. AbsentThe subject competes with the background for attention.
    2. DevelopingSeparated by one weak means only.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markClearly separated, with the method identifiable.
    4. StrongClearly separated, and the submission names which tools it used.
  • The edges were a decision15% of the grade

    No mergers, half-objects or bright distractions at the frame edge that go unmentioned.

    1. AbsentSeveral unaddressed edge problems.
    2. DevelopingOne unaddressed edge problem.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markEdges are clean.
    4. StrongEdges are clean, and the submission says what it moved to fix them.
03 · What this proves

The skills a pass would prove

Pass, and these skills count as proven, with this piece of work attached as the evidence.

This brief is part of the Photography course

Starting it starts the course: every skill above, in the order they depend on each other, with this brief at the end as the thing you hand in — marked against the checklist you have just read and nothing else.

About three minutes to set up: what you want to do with Photography, where you are starting from, and how many hours a week you actually have. The subject we already have from this page.Start the Photography course
See the whole Photography course, or every graded brief we run.

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