AP 2D Art and Design, the most challenging of Northwood’s photography classes, pushes students to move beyond simple snapshots and create professional-level portfolios.
AP 2D Art is split into two sections: physical art, which covers drawing and painting, and digital art, focused on photography and digital designs.
Students are only able to take one of the two classes per year.
In AP 2D Art, students learn to use technology as a medium to explore new photography techniques.
“There’s millions of different settings that you can manipulate to create really cool photos if you know what to do on the camera,” AP 2D Art teacher Patrick Quigley said.
“It’s a lot of the elements in art and principles of design.”
Using those elements, students are expected to plan their work more intentionally and demonstrate their growth through projects in the AP 2D Art class.
“It definitely lives up to its AP name because it’s a little bit rigorous to a certain extent, where you have deadlines and specific photos [to take], and there’s a criteria for how it looks,” junior Allie Wang said. “Mr. Quigley is very persistent about making sure that you meet your deadlines, and that you’re preparing.”
The prerequisites for the class are an A or B grade in one year of Visual Imagery and approval from the teacher, Jeanna McCann.
“[Students should be] proficient at a beginning level in shooting with a Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera and they should understand how to shoot in manual mode,” McCann said. “We want them to have a solid working knowledge of what we call the exposure triangle and some of the basics of composition.”
Classwork combines independent editing with teacher guidance, allowing students to experiment with their art while still receiving feedback from Quigley and meeting the necessary criteria.
“My favorite aspect is having the freedom of taking pictures of whatever I want as long as it follows the guidelines,” junior Nina Medina said. “You can take your time and figure out what look and aesthetic you want.”
Assignments students have completed so far include projects experimenting with different angles and with black-and-white photography, each designed to develop specific technical skills in order to prepare students for their portfolios.
The College Board exam consists entirely of a student-created portfolio that demonstrates both technical skills and creativity.
This includes 15 photos centered around a single theme and five pieces representing the student’s strongest works overall.
“AP 2D Art is the only place where you get to go and express your creativity and how you have grown,” McCann said. “So, yes, it’s work, but it’s fun, creative work.”
