1. Experiment
Looking over many of the shots that I took in those early days shows me that I took a lot of shots of almost exactly the same things. I approached my subjects in much the same way with every shot and as a result ended up with very similar results. Teach your child how to vary their shots in a number of these ways: - shoot from different perspectives – up high, down low etc
- getting in close – stepping back for a wider angle shot
- moving around your subject to shoot from different sides
- experimenting with different settings (teaching them about different exposure modes)
2. Check your Backgrounds
A very simple concept that can enhance an image is to check out the background of a shot to check for clutter or distraction. Teach your children to scan the background (and the foreground) of an image quickly and to change their framing if there’s too many distractions – otherwise their shots will end up like mine used to with all kinds of objects growing out of the heads of those I was photographing.
Read more about How to Get Backgrounds Right
3. Hold the Camera Straight
The other obvious problem with many of my first images is that they rarely lined up straight. In fact after viewing my first album for a few minutes I began to feel quite dizzy! While shots that are not straight can be quite effective (they can be playful or give a more ‘candid’ feel to them) it is good to teach your children to check the framing of their shot before hitting the shutter.
Read more on Getting Horizons Horizontal and Getting Images Straight
4. How to Hold a Camera
It is easy to assume that everyone knows how to hold a digital camera – however while many people do it intuitively some will not – particularly children who are unfamiliar with them. In fact I’ve seen a lot of adults who could do with a lesson or two on how to hold a camera and whose images must suffer with camera shake as a result of poor technique. A quick lesson on securing your camera could help a child get clear, shake free images for years to come.
Further Reading on How to Hold a Digital Camera
5. Get in Close
Almost all of the shots that took in my first rolls of film have my subject somewhere off into the distance of the shot. This is partly because the camera that I was using didn’t have a zoom lens – but it was partly because I didn’t understand how getting in close would help capture the detail of a subject. Teach your children how to use the zoom on your digital camera – but don’t forget to teach them how using their legs to move closer can achieve the same results!
Learn more about Filling Your Frame
6. Take Lots of Photos
While my Dad’s advice did save our family a lot of money at the time – with the advent of digital photography, taking lots of pictures is no longer something that is too costly (although there are costs in terms of storing them all). Taking lots of images is a great way to learn different techniques of photography. While you probably will want to encourage your children not to take 100 shots of exactly the same thing – encourage them to experiment with lots of different shots over time and as they do you’ll see their photography improve.
7. Getting the Balance Right Between Photographing People, ‘Things’ and Places
I still remember coming back from my first overseas trip as a teenager (a school trip) and showing my parents my photos. Their first comment was that I had hardly taken any shots of people. All my shots had been of buildings. While some of them were interesting – I missed one of the most important aspects of the trip – those I was traveling with. I chatted to a friend with two children recently and she told me that one of her children did the same thing with me – but the other came back from a school trip with hundreds of photos of their friends but none of the sites that they saw. I guess some children get too focused on photographing sites and some too focused upon photographing people. If you see your child doing this – perhaps reflect back to them that they think about different types of photography.
8. Find a Point of Interest
Interesting photographs have interesting things in them – they need a visual point of interest (a focal point). Teach your child to identify what this point of interest is before hitting the shutter. Once they’ve identified the point of interest they can then think about how to highlight it (by positioning themselves, using their zoom etc).
Learn more about Finding Points of Interest in Your Photography
9. Rule of Thirds
A simple principle of photography that I’ve taught a number of children is the Rule of Thirds. While I’ve talked numerous times about how breaking this rule can also be a powerful effect – it is something that I’ve found really can lift a child’s images – particularly when they are photographing other people. Even if the child doesn’t completely understand to position their subject right on the intersecting third points – to teach them how to place their subject off centre can be enough.
Read our Rule of Thirds Tutorial
10. Review Your Children’s Images with Them
One thing that you can do to help your children drastically improve their photography is to sit down at the computer with them after they’ve been out with their camera to go through their shots. As you scroll through them pause to affirm them with what they’ve done well and to point out things that they could do better next time to improve their results. Pay particular attention to the shots that they do well with as this will give them positive reinforcement and inspiration to keep going with their hobby.
11. Focal Lock
One important technique that children will do well to learn is how to use focal lock. While most cameras do well in auto focusing upon subjects there are times when you’ll end up with shots that are out of focus because the camera doesn’t know what the main subject is (particularly if they are placing subjects off centre with the rule of thirds). Teach your child how to press the shutter halfway down to focus and then to frame the shot while still holding it down and they’ll have a skill that they’ll use forever!
Learn how to Use Focal Lock
12. Different Modes for Different Situations
The day that i discovered my family film camera had a little dial for different ’shooting modes’ on it was a day my photography improved a little. Most digital cameras these days have the ability to switch a camera into modes like ‘portrait’, ’sports’, ‘macro’ etc. Teach your child what these modes mean and when to switch to them and you’ll be taking them a step closer to learning about how their camera works and how to learn about manual exposure modes (see the next point). Just knowing that different situations will mean you need to use different settings is an important lesson for kids to learn as it helps them to become more aware of not only their subject but things like how light, focal distance and subject movement can impact a shot.
Read our tutorial on Different Camera Modes
13. Exposure Settings
Once your child has a good grasp on the above techniques it might be time to teach them some basics of exposure (this might be one for slightly older kids). Learning about the three elements of ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed are a useful place to start your lessons and giving them an introduction to how changing these settings can impact a photo. The best way for them to learn this is by introducing them to Aperture and Shutter priority modes.
Learn more about different aspects of exposure including Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO.
What do You Teach Your Children?
Of course deciding which of the above lessons for kids on photography to teach your child will depend upon their age and experience. Some are obviously more appropriate for some children than others. I’d be interested to hear what readers do when it comes to this topic? What have you taught your kids?With my own son (who is 16 months old) we’re obviously not up to any of these – however I am teaching him to become familiar with cameras – showing him images once they’ve been taken on the LCD, letting him look through the viewfinder and even pressing the shutter. This familiarization is really nothing more than that – but in doing so he’s becoming more comfortable with cameras – and I’ve noticed when I’m photographing him (which does happen a lot) he’s much more happy to pose for me.
Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/13-lessons-to-teach-your-child-about-digital-photography#ixzz4OLruEzxZ
Confessions of a High School Photography Teacher
I was two years out of the Art Institute of Boston, studying photography. I had four years under my belt of gainful employment as a studio manager for a fine-art photographer, and three summers of teaching photography to pre-college high school kids. I thought this made me fairly well equipped when I signed a contract to become a part-time faculty member of the Art Department at St. Sebastian's School in Needham, MA. Luckily for me, the headmaster shared my opinion. To be truthful, the knowledge department did not concern me. I had always been one of the most technically skilled students in my photo classes, and I know my art history well. I can even go on and on about how Abe Morrell makes his camera obscura pictures. The challenge, however, and what I feared the most, was the actual act of teaching—in particular, teaching at a private, all-male Catholic high school.
Teaching at an all-male school comes with its very own set of challenges. Most of my students are driven, goal-oriented, and focused. They are polite, being bound by an Honor Code within the walls of the school. They are also outspoken, opinionated, and more often than not, they act like the teenage boys they are. My goal was to get them to realize that photography is actually a very interesting and important subject—and, frankly, to get them to take me seriously.
Did I mention that when I started, I was twenty-four years old? And no one would mistake me for Kobe Bryant. Most of my students tower over me. I've taken to wearing two-inch high heels just to come close. At the first meet-and-greet with the parents, I was asked more than once if I was a sister of one of the students. This was a huge hurdle to overcome. Teenage boys are not used to seeing young women as authority figures.
I’ve learned many things along the way, and I'd like to share them here in the hopes that other young teachers can glean something from my experience. I've decided to concentrate on five points I think are most important.
#1 Remember High School? Yes I know; I tried to block it out, too. But remembering what it was like to be a high school student has really helped me understand my students. I've been asking myself things like, what was important to me when I was 16? Or, how much time did I have to commit to my artwork when I was in 11th grade? Like many of us, I remember college fondly, and often find myself defaulting to my work habits in college, when I had the time to shoot six rolls of film a week, and spend hours in the darkroom. But in high school, you just can't do that—and frankly, very few students will want to work that hard. So I have curbed my assignments to fit into their schedules. Quality over quantity, I suppose. I'd rather give students a bit less work, and have them complete all of it, than give them a huge assignment and only receive half back. So I cut down on work time, and make it up in creative project ideas, figuring that inspired and challenged students are more likely to work hard to accomplish their goals.
#2 Respect Your Students. As a teenager, I never wanted to be underestimated. I had all these ideas, and I wanted to face the world head-on with them. It seems many teenagers feel this way—full of potential energy that, if channeled in the proper way, can have amazing results. So I try hard not to underestimate my students. If they feel I expect great things from them, they’re more likely to fulfill them—and themselves.
#3 Be Yourself. A lot of people told me at the start of my first year that I had to start out mean—to scare them into submission. "Give 'em detention for looking at you wrong!" "Kick him out if you don't like his tie!" This is some of the advice I was given.
I am not a mean person by nature, so it’s actually difficult for me to even try to be mean. It's a bit of a character flaw. Perhaps I could have been a little harder on some of my students last year, but I have learned from that—and well, I’ve decided I'm still going to be nice. Students see right through dishonest teachers—and they will return the favor in spades. If you are tough person, then you should be a tough teacher; and if you aren’t tough, then you shouldn’t try to be. I discovered I can be myself, and the students really respond; in fact, it allows them to be themselves, and creates a much safer atmosphere for them to make their art in.
#4 Don't Them Get Away With Stuff. Often, students of this age are looking for the limits of things. They want to know how far they can get before they are reeled back in. It’s the old “give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.” In my first year teaching, I was too lax. This year, my main goal has been to make the rules and assignments very clear, and to adhere to them strictly. They must be in proper dress code all the time. They must bring in the assigned work on time or they will receive a late mark. They will not use words or expressions I have banned from class. And they will get sent to the office if these rules are broken. This has really helped and improved behavior markedly. Show weakness and things will spiral out of control; uphold the rules and limits will be observed.
#5 Be Present and Reliable. High school students are overcommitted; they have a lot going on. There are extracurricular activities, outside music lessons, sports, jobs, and on and on. They also may need extra help in school or extra time to finish work. My students are always very appreciative when I can stay after, to let them work in the darkroom, or when I do small things, like bring in books they are interested in looking at. If you can show them that they are important to you, and that you can be around for them, they feel appreciated and they want to work for you. I've also found that the students really want to rely on you as their teacher. They seem almost offended on days when I have to miss school. They depend on me to be there when I say I'll be there, to return a test when I say I'll return a test, and label their work with their names when I hang it up. I have worked very hard this year to me more reliable.
#6 The Best Teaching Advice That Anyone Ever Told Me. It was to never, ever forget that you are the adult with a college degree (sometimes 2), and they are the teenagers. They are teenagers, who often know almost nothing on your subject when they enter the classroom. If you can harness this confidence in yourself, and display it to your students, you will more than likely succeed.
Finally, after my second year teaching at St. Sebastian’s, we are all about ready to go on vacation. Maybe next year I'll have a new set of rules.
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)
