VISUAL LITERACY:
Developing the Mind, Heart, and Eye

Once a photographer achieves general competence in the technical craft of photography, advancement in imaging requires the development of visual literacy. Its not just the ability to capture a photograph that is important, but knowing a successful image when we see it -whether in the environment or in our minds. Although formal academic definitions vary, a simple definition of visual literacy is “ knowing and appreciating a successful image when we see it, and having an awareness of the rules and concepts underlying the success of an image”

Thom’s program will briefly review the fundamental philosophy of creativity and visual literacy and proceed to practical methods for advancing our image making potential. The main topics of his program are:

• A discussion of what “Visual Literacy” is and how we can develop our own individual sense of visual literacy.
• A presentation of his work and the work of others to illustrate the real world, practical process of creative image making.
• A review of “The Rules” and where to find “New Rules” as guides for our image making. How use rules proactively to develop images instead of passively allowing the rules to inhibit our images.
• “Discovery” versus “Creativity” Sometimes being creative is hard, anxiety producing work. A small shift in our thinking can let us leapfrog the anxiety of creativity, to the success of discovery.
• A quick review of art history and the opportunity to find inspiration from 20,000 years of visual history.
• Sources for ideas and inspiration – some obvious places and some not so obvious.

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A little bit about Thom . . .

Thom Rouse became a professional photographer in 1993 at the age of 40. After owning a full service brick and mortar studio for ten years, Thom sold his business to enter a new phase of his career. He now divides his time between portrait/wedding photography, and his interest in fine art photography and digital illustration. With a radical change in his business model and the advent of digital photography, Thom’s photography took a dramatic new direction. His conceptual fine art images utilize real world photographs blended and manipulated digitally in an alternative to real world perception. Thom regards digital photography as not just an advancement of conventional photography, but as a whole new medium unto itself.

Thom received his PPA Master of Photography degree in 1999, the PPA Award of Excellence in 2005 and the Master of Electronic Imaging degree in 2006. As well as a number of state, local and international awards, and numerous Kodak Gallery and Fuji Masterpiece Awards, he has had 30 images accepted into the PPA and ASP Loan Collections, including 8 loan prints in the 2005 Photographic Open and Electronic Imaging competitions, and the ASP Gold Medallion in the 2006 competition. Thom is past president of PPA Northern Illinois, a member of APPI (Associated Professional Photographers of Illinois), the PPA and the ASP.