Course schedule

CS 178 - Digital Photography
Spring Quarter, 2014
Marc Levoy
Handout #2

Click here for a public version of this course that includes video recordings of the lectures.
Or here is a YouTube playlist of the lectures.

Here is the current version of the course schedule. It is also available online at http://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs178-14/schedule.html, and will be continuously updated as changes are made. In particular, lecture titles and assignment names will become clickable shortly after a lecture is given or an assignment made. Readings should be completed before the date on which they appear in the schedule, except for the first week. "London" and "Peterson" refer to your textbooks; all other readings are from your course reader. For London, the 11th edition is assumed. Unfortunately, some material present in the 10th edition was omitted from the 11th edition. This material, designated as "10e" in the schedule, will therefore be considered optional reading. It will also be covered in class.

Date Lectures (and links to slides) Readings and applets Coursework and section meeting

Week 1:
Tue Apr 1 Image formation
natural & linear perspective, pinholes and lenses,
aperture, shutter, motion blur, depth of field, ISO London, chapter 2 - camera
Flash applet: Variables that affect exposure
Fill out survey for Photoshop,
camera, & section (by Wed 10:00pm)

Thu Apr 3 Choosing a camera
History of photography (part 1)
invention of photography, the age of portraits
Extreme photography London, chapter 13 - history of photography Assignment #1 - bad photos
(due Sunday, April 6, 11:59pm)

(Optional 1-hour tutorials for camera newbies,
Friday 11:00-noon or 1:00-2:00pm in Gates B02)

How digital cameras work

Week 2:
Tue Apr 8 Optics I: Lenses and apertures
lensmaker's formulae, ray tracing, lenses & perspective transforms, aperture, depth of field formulae London, chapter 3 - lens,
Hecht, Optics, 5.1-5.2
Flash applets: Thin lens, Gaussian lens formula Assignment #2 - Sports & Action
(due Sunday, April 13, 11:59pm)

Thu Apr 10 Optics II: Practical photographic lenses
aberrations & distortion, glare & flare, vignetting, diffraction, lens design, telephoto & zoom lenses Flash applets: Depth of Field, Telephoto zoom lenses Section meetings (in Gates B02):
get to know your camera better, introduction to Photoshop,
look at pictures from assignment #1, What is a digital image?

Week 3:
Tue Apr 15 History of photography (part 2)
documenting the world, the beginning of photojournalism
Composing good photographs London, chapter 12 - seeing photographs, Bryan Peterson, Learning to See Creatively,
Ansel Adams, Making of 40 Photographs Assignment #3 - macro photography
(due Sunday, April 20, 11:59pm)

Thu Apr 17 Autofocus (AF)
viewfinders, view cameras, tilt-shift lenses, passive vrs active autofocusing, phase vrs contrast detection
Exposure metering (AE)
the dynamic range problem, metering technology London (10e), chapter 15 - view camera,
London (10e), chapter 16 - the zone system
Goldberg, Dark Side of the Lens, 1.11-1.20
Flash applets: Autofocus using phase detection or contrast detection Section meetings (walkabout):
macro photography in the Stanford cactus garden
Meet promptly at B02, bring your camera!

Photons, pixels, and bits

Week 4:
Tue Apr 22 Sampling and pixels
resolution and human perception, sampling and aliasing, filtering by convolution, sampling vrs quantization Moller, Real-Time Rendering, 5.6.1
Flash applet: Spatial convolution Assignment #4 - architecture/interiors
(due Sunday, April 27, 11:59pm)

Thu Apr 24 Photons and sensors
how digital sensors work, CCD versus CMOS, microlenses and antialiasing, color sensing technologies London, chapter 4 - exposure and sensors
Section meetings (in Gates B02):
tutorial on image adjustments in Photoshop

Week 5:
Tue Apr 29 Noise and ISO
sources of noise, SNR, dynamic range, ISO, denoising
Image stabilization (IS) avoiding camera shake, optical stabilization technologies no weekly assignment,
study for your midterm

Thu May 1 Light field photography
Night photography & astrophotography Section meetings (in Gates B02):
review for midterm exam (optional, attend any you like)

Mon May 5 Midterm, 7-9pm, Cubberly Auditorium Review slides: What will be on the midterm?

Interregnum

Week 6:
Tue May 6 History of photography (part 3)
photography as art, genres, Naturalism, Pictorialism
Why is sports photography hard?
(and solutions based on computational photography) Assignment #5 - still life
(due Sunday, May 11, 11:59pm)

Thu May 8 Take apart a camera !! Animation of assembling a Canon 10D camera (Matthew Farrell, Michelle Pang, Michael Tom, UC Berkeley) (No section meetings this week.)

Color and lighting

Week 7:
Tue May 13 Color I: trichromatic theory
color spectra, color sensitivity, color matching, 3D color spaces, additive versus subtractive color mixing London, chapter 5 - light and color,
Stone, A field guide to digital color, 1
Flash applets: Introduction to color theory, Color matching, Additive versus subtractive color mixing Assignment #6 - landscape and nature
(due Sunday, May 18, 11:59pm)

Thu May 15 Color II: applications in photography
cylindrical spaces, chromaticity diagrams, color temperature, white balancing, standardized RGB spaces, gamut mapping Minneart, Light and Color...Outdoors, 11 Flash applets: Chromaticity diagrams, Gamut mapping Section meetings (walkabout):
landscape photography at the Dish (and maybe animals?)

Week 8:
Tue May 20 Light and reflection
radiometry & photometry, measures of light, diffuse & specular reflection, BRDFs, Fresnel equations Reinhard, HDR Imaging, 2.1-2.2,
Dorsey, Modeling...Material Appearance, 3 Assignment #7 - night and color
(due Sunday, May 25, 11:59pm)

Thu May 22 Photographic lighting
lighting for portraiture, studio lighting, key & fill, flash photography, flash-noflash & multi-flash London, chapter 10 - lighting,
Hunter, Light Science and Magic, 7 Section meetings (in Gates B02):
look at landscape photographs, advanced editing in Photoshop

Image processing

Week 9:
Tue May 27 History of photography (part 4)
photography as a tool, technological improvements, industrial and scientific uses, provoking social reform, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, photographers of the FSA London, chapter 6 - digital darkroom,
London, chapter 7 - image editing
London, chapter 8 - digital printing,
London, chapter 9 - organizing and storing
Assignment #8 - portraiture
(due Sunday, June 1, 11:59pm)

Thu May 29 In-camera image processing
demosaicing, gamma curves, tone mapping, HDR, denoising and sharpening, compression and file formats Flash applet: Gamma correction Section meetings (in Gates B02):
studio portraits, lighting will be provided

Week 10:
Tue June 3 Panoramas
panoramic cameras, stitching, perspective vrs cylindrical
History of photography (part 5)
the modern age, snapshot photojournalism, post-modernism Flash applet: Cylindrical panoramas no weekly assignment,
study for your final

Thu June 5 (no lecture) Section meetings (in Gates B02):
review for final exam (optional)

Mon June 9 Final exam, 7-10pm, Hewlett 200 Review slides: What will be on the final?

Date	Lectures (and links to slides)	Readings and applets	Coursework and section meeting
Week 1: Tue Apr 1	Image formation natural & linear perspective, pinholes and lenses, aperture, shutter, motion blur, depth of field, ISO	London, chapter 2 - camera Flash applet: Variables that affect exposure	Fill out survey for Photoshop, camera, & section (by Wed 10:00pm)
Thu Apr 3	Choosing a camera History of photography (part 1) invention of photography, the age of portraits Extreme photography	London, chapter 13 - history of photography	Assignment #1 - bad photos (due Sunday, April 6, 11:59pm) (Optional 1-hour tutorials for camera newbies, Friday 11:00-noon or 1:00-2:00pm in Gates B02)
How digital cameras work
Week 2: Tue Apr 8	Optics I: Lenses and apertures lensmaker's formulae, ray tracing, lenses & perspective transforms, aperture, depth of field formulae	London, chapter 3 - lens, Hecht, Optics, 5.1-5.2 Flash applets: Thin lens, Gaussian lens formula	Assignment #2 - Sports & Action (due Sunday, April 13, 11:59pm)
Thu Apr 10	Optics II: Practical photographic lenses aberrations & distortion, glare & flare, vignetting, diffraction, lens design, telephoto & zoom lenses	Flash applets: Depth of Field, Telephoto zoom lenses	Section meetings (in Gates B02): get to know your camera better, introduction to Photoshop, look at pictures from assignment #1, What is a digital image?
Week 3: Tue Apr 15	History of photography (part 2) documenting the world, the beginning of photojournalism Composing good photographs	London, chapter 12 - seeing photographs, Bryan Peterson, Learning to See Creatively, Ansel Adams, Making of 40 Photographs	Assignment #3 - macro photography (due Sunday, April 20, 11:59pm)
Thu Apr 17	Autofocus (AF) viewfinders, view cameras, tilt-shift lenses, passive vrs active autofocusing, phase vrs contrast detection Exposure metering (AE) the dynamic range problem, metering technology	London (10e), chapter 15 - view camera, London (10e), chapter 16 - the zone system Goldberg, Dark Side of the Lens, 1.11-1.20 Flash applets: Autofocus using phase detection or contrast detection	Section meetings (walkabout): macro photography in the Stanford cactus garden Meet promptly at B02, bring your camera!
Photons, pixels, and bits
Week 4: Tue Apr 22	Sampling and pixels resolution and human perception, sampling and aliasing, filtering by convolution, sampling vrs quantization	Moller, Real-Time Rendering, 5.6.1 Flash applet: Spatial convolution	Assignment #4 - architecture/interiors (due Sunday, April 27, 11:59pm)
Thu Apr 24	Photons and sensors how digital sensors work, CCD versus CMOS, microlenses and antialiasing, color sensing technologies	London, chapter 4 - exposure and sensors	Section meetings (in Gates B02): tutorial on image adjustments in Photoshop
Week 5: Tue Apr 29	Noise and ISO sources of noise, SNR, dynamic range, ISO, denoising Image stabilization (IS) avoiding camera shake, optical stabilization technologies		no weekly assignment, study for your midterm
Thu May 1	Light field photography Night photography & astrophotography		Section meetings (in Gates B02): review for midterm exam (optional, attend any you like)
Mon May 5	Midterm, 7-9pm, Cubberly Auditorium	Review slides: What will be on the midterm?
Interregnum
Week 6: Tue May 6	History of photography (part 3) photography as art, genres, Naturalism, Pictorialism Why is sports photography hard? (and solutions based on computational photography)		Assignment #5 - still life (due Sunday, May 11, 11:59pm)
Thu May 8	Take apart a camera !!	Animation of assembling a Canon 10D camera (Matthew Farrell, Michelle Pang, Michael Tom, UC Berkeley)	(No section meetings this week.)
Color and lighting
Week 7: Tue May 13	Color I: trichromatic theory color spectra, color sensitivity, color matching, 3D color spaces, additive versus subtractive color mixing	London, chapter 5 - light and color, Stone, A field guide to digital color, 1 Flash applets: Introduction to color theory, Color matching, Additive versus subtractive color mixing	Assignment #6 - landscape and nature (due Sunday, May 18, 11:59pm)
Thu May 15	Color II: applications in photography cylindrical spaces, chromaticity diagrams, color temperature, white balancing, standardized RGB spaces, gamut mapping	Minneart, Light and Color...Outdoors, 11 Flash applets: Chromaticity diagrams, Gamut mapping	Section meetings (walkabout): landscape photography at the Dish (and maybe animals?)
Week 8: Tue May 20	Light and reflection radiometry & photometry, measures of light, diffuse & specular reflection, BRDFs, Fresnel equations	Reinhard, HDR Imaging, 2.1-2.2, Dorsey, Modeling...Material Appearance, 3	Assignment #7 - night and color (due Sunday, May 25, 11:59pm)
Thu May 22	Photographic lighting lighting for portraiture, studio lighting, key & fill, flash photography, flash-noflash & multi-flash	London, chapter 10 - lighting, Hunter, Light Science and Magic, 7	Section meetings (in Gates B02): look at landscape photographs, advanced editing in Photoshop
Image processing
Week 9: Tue May 27	History of photography (part 4) photography as a tool, technological improvements, industrial and scientific uses, provoking social reform, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, photographers of the FSA	London, chapter 6 - digital darkroom, London, chapter 7 - image editing London, chapter 8 - digital printing, London, chapter 9 - organizing and storing	Assignment #8 - portraiture (due Sunday, June 1, 11:59pm)
Thu May 29	In-camera image processing demosaicing, gamma curves, tone mapping, HDR, denoising and sharpening, compression and file formats	Flash applet: Gamma correction	Section meetings (in Gates B02): studio portraits, lighting will be provided
Week 10: Tue June 3	Panoramas panoramic cameras, stitching, perspective vrs cylindrical History of photography (part 5) the modern age, snapshot photojournalism, post-modernism	Flash applet: Cylindrical panoramas	no weekly assignment, study for your final
Thu June 5	(no lecture)		Section meetings (in Gates B02): review for final exam (optional)
Mon June 9	Final exam, 7-10pm, Hewlett 200	Review slides: What will be on the final?

levoy@cs.stanford.edu