Lesson 08: The Theme Shoot and the Contact-Sheet Edit
Pre A Level Art & Design · Unit 2 · U2·L3 · ← L07 | L09 →
At a glance
| Session | W9, one Wednesday double (~90 min) |
| Dates | Wed 2026-10-28 |
| Focus | The main theme shoot; then the contact-sheet edit — “shoot many, keep few, know why” |
| Deliverable | ≥20 new theme frames; a contact sheet with 12 selects and 6–8 series candidates marked |
| Feeds | CS2 is collected this session (composition set + contact-sheet edit); everything feeds A2 next week |
| Homework | Finish edits on the 6–8 candidates; draft a sequence order; MB posting |
Goal
This lesson works two skills back to back: abundance (a focused shoot with a hard quota) and then selection (the contact-sheet ritual — see everything small and together, keep few, write why). Editing enters here too, in its honest order: crop first, then tone, then color — and never on the only copy.
How it runs
- Warm-up (5 min) — theme pulse-check: state your theme and frame count so far. If you are stuck or without a theme, re-theme now from your L07 shortlist.
- The theme shoot (35 min) — on campus, solo, on your theme: minimum 20 new frames. The discipline rule: every frame states one composition decision and one light decision (thirds or broken? high or low? side-light or back-light?). Be ready to answer: “what are you deciding here?”
- Teach: the edit (15 min) — back in the room. The contact sheet: why editors look at everything small, together, before choosing. Then the edit order — the same in Photoshop, Affinity, or any editing platform, phone editors included: crop and straighten first → exposure and contrast → color last → work non-destructively (adjustment layers in Photoshop/Affinity; on a phone, duplicate then edit — the original always survives). File hygiene in one line: your pictures are files; know where they live.
- The contact-sheet edit (25 min) — assemble all your theme frames (last week’s homework + today’s shoot) into a contact sheet — a Bridge/Lightroom contact sheet, the gallery grid screenshotted into the sketchbook, or printed strips. Circle 12 keepers, then mark 6–8 series candidates. Give each cut a reason; give each keep a reason. This, plus your L06 circuit frames, is CS2 — collected before the close.
- Close (10 min) — homework: finish the edits on your candidates (crop → tone → color, originals kept) and draft a sequence order for next week’s A2 session.
Assessment
CS2 — composition practice set + contact-sheet edit — is collected today. Marked for framing and selection: honest reasons on keeps and cuts count more than pretty frames. Register: PAL S1 Assessments.