MeritKeep

Six frames that belong together

Shoot and edit six frames, in changing light, that read as one body of work rather than six separate photographs. This is the skill that separates a portfolio from a camera roll, and it is almost entirely a post-processing discipline: pick a reference frame and match the others to it.

Part of the Photography course~180 minutesEvidence: a write-up and up to 6 photographsWe check the technical side. Whether it's any good is your call
01 · What counts as done

What you have to hand in

  • Six frames, edited from raw.
  • You name the reference frame you matched the others to.
  • White balance and black point are consistent across the set, or the exception is explained.
  • No frame has accidental clipping or missed focus.
  • You identify which frame you consider the weakest, and why.
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.
  • Colour reads as one set30% of the grade

    White balance is consistent across frames, or varies for a stated reason.

    1. AbsentVisible temperature drift between frames.
    2. DevelopingMostly consistent, one frame adrift.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markConsistent across the set.
    4. StrongConsistent, with a named reference frame the others were matched to.
  • Contrast and black point are consistent30% of the grade

    Frames share a tonal treatment rather than being edited one at a time.

    1. AbsentEach frame has its own contrast character.
    2. DevelopingBroadly similar, with one or two outliers.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markConsistent black point and contrast across the set.
    4. StrongConsistent, and demonstrated with histograms.
  • Every frame clears the technical floor25% of the grade

    No frame in the set has accidental clipping, missed focus, or an unaddressed edge problem.

    1. AbsentTwo or more frames fall below the floor.
    2. DevelopingOne frame falls below.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markAll frames clear it.
    4. StrongAll clear it, and the weakest frame is identified by the author.
  • The approach is stated15% of the grade

    The submission says what it standardised on, so the result can be judged as deliberate.

    1. AbsentNo description of the approach.
    2. DevelopingVague description.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markSpecific and matches what the files show.
    4. StrongSpecific, matches, and explains the frames that needed exceptions.
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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