I must get out of this class.

[Jengerbread88]

I was placed in Image Manipulation this quarter for school. I thought, "Awesome! A class I will enjoy!"

Then I got the syllabus. Yeah, the one that explains the "cool functions" of photoshop, and goes over how we're talking about the use of brushes. By week 6 out of 11, we finally get to learn how to use layers!!! Wow! Advanced!

I emailed my advisor and said, "Look. Here's what I do with Photoshop. I'm not sure I should be in this class." She agreed and set me up with an appointment at noon today to get what's called "progressive credit." It means I'm already advanced beyond the skills the class teaches, and if I pass my review, will automatically get an A in the class, and forgo having to take it.

However, my meeting is at noon. My class was at 8am. The advisor said in case I don't pass my review, I still have to attend class today.

So, grudgingly, I woke up at 6am and made the trek to class.

Here's how it went:

"Okay, everyone open this file."
(I open the file, the rest of the class tries to find the file)
(I begin editing according to the instruction sheet. A minute and a half later, the assignment is completed and saved)
"Do you guys have the file open yet?"
(Half the class says yes, the other says no).
(Instructor comes around to help those who don't have it opened, sees mine, says... "Oh. You're done. And you did a really good job. Okay, well, change his hair color. Or his glasses. I don't know... wow me.")
(I proceed to change his hair color)
"Okay. Now that we all have the file open, I'm going to teach you about brushes. It's this cool little tool where you can make it in different shapes, like a circle... or a WAVE! Cool, right? Well, pick a brush you like and a color you like, and make a design on the guy's tie."
(I proceed to change the color of his glasses).
"Okay, who is ready to see how to save?"
(Class mumbles their incompletion)
"Okay, well, keep working, then!!!"
(I proceed to change the background).
"Now, let's go ahead and save. First, you want to do this where you merge the layers. Does everyone see how to do that?"
(I bang my head against the table while submitting my saved file. Metaphorically, of course. I'd never literally bang my head on a table while in class).
"Okay... well, let's work on uploading now! Does everyone know how to save a file as a JPEG? No? Okay... Let me teach you."



Ummmmmmmm.

It's a great class. I'm sure it is. It's probably the most informative class possible, if you're someone who has never seen photoshop before.

Unfortunately, you guys understand that taking 6 weeks before we even get to LAYERS, means it's a bit elementary for most of our skill set.

If I don't get out of this class, I may not survive the semester.

I can't handle that much difficulty at 8am.
By difficulty, I mean complete lack of challenge whatsoever.

Next week, we get to learn brightness and contrast adjustments! YAYYYYY!

[Traci Reed]

I had this same issue for every Adobe class I took. I had to explain, "look, I support my family with the Adobe suite, I'm only in this class because it's required." then i'd show them my work and they'd make me a TA lol.

[Tracyfish]

That's funny...hope you wowed her with your finished guy and that the meeting gets you out of it

[Jengerbread88]

What's sad is, I learned more through free tutorials than I'll learn with this several thousand dollar class. Thank goodness I'm here on scholarship, and it's not my money, or I'd be crying right now.

[Libby Pritchett]

hehe well I have to admit, your post made me giggle a bit just becaue of your story-telling ability. LOL I do hope you can get out of it with full credit. That souds incredibly boring!

[Tracie Stroud]

Hahahah! Oh my goodness I would be banging my head on the table too. Maybe literally.

[Jengerbread88]

Less than an hour until my meeting. I have my portfolio prepared, so I'm hoping that I can get a free pass... getting a free pass means NO 8am classes.

This is going to be my most challenging quarter here, not because I'm in hard classes, but because I'm in easy ones.

My schedule:

Tuesday 1pm-5pm: Web Marketing- I already do web marketing work for several local charities, have taken online courses in it (not ones that transfer), just got done with both marketing and business classes, and have a cousin who owns a web marketing firm. We're using a textbook from 2009, so the information I apply in my day-to-day life is far more updated than what the class is offering.

Wednesday 8am-12pm: Image Manipulation- see above. :: bangs head on table ::

Wednesday 1pm-5pm: Color Theory- can you define complementary, split complementary, and triad? Know what analogous means? Can tell the difference between a warm color and a cool color? And can list primary, secondary, and tertiary colors correctly? Good. You just passed the class. One assignment actually includes painting a color wheel. Another is the basics of mixing paint.

Thursday 1pm-5pm: Dress, Society, and Culture- my one class that I'm looking forward to this quarter. All new material!

Thursday 6pm-10pm: Sensory Language and Culture- all about how to work with people from other cultures, deal with culture shock, and interact through language barriers. For those of you who don't know, I've volunteered with a foreign exchange organization for 6 years now, and currently have two foreign exchange students living in my house. Culture shock? Experienced it first hand, and have helped many people overcome it. Communicating through language barriers? That's a typical dinner conversation in my house. Dealing with people in other cultures? I have friends I communicate with regularly in over 17 countries. I'm pretty sure I have this one.

So yeah... I'm dreading this entire quarter. :/

I'm not at all trying to come off as cocky- I'm sure in some of the classes I'll learn something- but it seems silly to spend 44 hours learning something that is part of my every day life, like Web Marketing, Image Manipulation, Color Theory, and Culture. If I didn't know image manipulation or color theory, I would be failing at one of my most essential hobbies. If I wasn't okay at Web Marketing, I wouldn't have so many web marketing positions with local charities. If I didn't handle other cultures, I wouldn't have the volunteer work I do. It just seems like I'll spend the quarter kind of phoning it in, and if I'm not learning something, I have trouble making the effort.

[Misty Cato]

Love your storytelling. I laughed the whole way through - not at you, just ... well, because its funny.

Good luck on your review. I think it is great that there is a way to test out of classes when you know the material.

[Jengerbread88]

I just got back from my meeting. I was under the impression I was just showing her examples of my work, and being done with it. She decided that the best way to examine my competency was by making me take the final she gives her (advanced) students. I think she was expecting me to fail.

I took her final, and turned it in. She graded it, and gave me a funny look.
Then she said, "I'll.... be back in just a minute."

I'm thinking "Crap. I bombed so bad that she thinks I was nuts for trying to get out of the course in the first place. Awesome." I thought about leaving right then, and not waiting for her to return. Why wait to listen to how bad I did? I'm great at this in theory, but in practice, I'm a little shaky.

She returned a few minutes later and said, "You did better than my advanced students on this." She offered to look at my body of work, despite already knowing she was going to push me through, and I showed her 3 of the 12 images I was asked to prepare.

After seeing 3, she said "You're definitely advanced enough to be out. Here's your form. Take it to your advisor, and you're out of the class."

Well, good enough.

Now just to suffer through the rest of the classes

[nun69]

I'm not usr what time it is where you are but good luck and I hope it all goes well I feel you, I am in a begining photography class and it is painful...the only thing that is cool is that we will be using film and processign it so I am interested to learn this. I am also hoping to learn more about composition, metereing and that kind of thing, but we opened PS yesterday and learned how to change a photo to grayscale and save it....WOW....yeah, good thing once we get through the rest of this week we will do alot of working on our own during class time....but I have to take this class in order to take the 2nd phtoography class....sooo yeah, BLAH......

[Tracie Stroud]

Go you!

[Gemma]

Originally Posted by nun69

I'm not usr what time it is where you are but good luck and I hope it all goes well I feel you, I am in a begining photography class and it is painful...the only thing that is cool is that we will be using film and processign it so I am interested to learn this. I am also hoping to learn more about composition, metereing and that kind of thing, but we opened PS yesterday and learned how to change a photo to grayscale and save it....WOW....yeah, good thing once we get through the rest of this week we will do alot of working on our own during class time....but I have to take this class in order to take the 2nd phtoography class....sooo yeah, BLAH......

This is me lol. We have been learning about layers and B&W etc, things I already know and have known for years ha!

I'm on week 7 or 8ish now and tomorrow we have models coming in to shoot, woohoo!! Then we are going out next week to do some night photography so it's getting interesting now!