Showing posts with label lesson ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lesson ideas. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Inspiration for Photography Teachers
The Center for Fine Art Photography is a site to visit for inspiration for themes and images for photography projects (maybe skipping over some of the nudes for K-12 students...). For example, the current exhibit is "Idea of Self". Past exhibitions were "Negative Space", "Our Environment: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", another is "Interactions", "On the Edge", "After Dark". I'm drawn to this site because here photography is art, not commercial, and creativity is welcome. If you live near Ft. Collins, Colorado, then you are lucky to be able to attend their workshops.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Course Content Materials for Everyone
MIT OpenCourseWare is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to put all of the educational materials from its undergrad and grad-level courses online, free and available to anyone, anywhere.
Check out this list of 100+ Courseware Links for Artists from artcareer.net.
Check out this list of 100+ Courseware Links for Artists from artcareer.net.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Photography Project Ideas
Digital-Photography-School.com has a forum where folks propose assignment ideas, like "Ghetto Lighting" (using everyday lighting like a desk lamp or flashlight), minimalism, eyes, rivers, shadows, self portraits, feet, etc.
At the end of a school year I asked students to type me a little note about what they liked/didn't like about the class. I only had handful of students take the time to do so. One said there were too many projects to complete, and another said she wished I had more assignments because when she finished early she was bored. So, I think I'll make a folder of extra lesson ideas for "If you Finish Early"... or something like that. I'll get some of the ideas from this website.
One of the assignments was "From the Hip". The most exciting one was actually, "Above the Head". I'll think I'll "steal" that idea. It forces students to try different angles and adds some mystery, since you can't see your LCD or viewfinder. Maybe I'll make it one of the steps in an "Overhead Point of View" assignment. Sounds like fun to me.
Also, check out their Digital Photography Tips section with topics like: 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits.
At the end of a school year I asked students to type me a little note about what they liked/didn't like about the class. I only had handful of students take the time to do so. One said there were too many projects to complete, and another said she wished I had more assignments because when she finished early she was bored. So, I think I'll make a folder of extra lesson ideas for "If you Finish Early"... or something like that. I'll get some of the ideas from this website.
One of the assignments was "From the Hip". The most exciting one was actually, "Above the Head". I'll think I'll "steal" that idea. It forces students to try different angles and adds some mystery, since you can't see your LCD or viewfinder. Maybe I'll make it one of the steps in an "Overhead Point of View" assignment. Sounds like fun to me.
Also, check out their Digital Photography Tips section with topics like: 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
How to Start a Digital Photography Class
One reader left a comment asking for helpful hints for starting a digital photography and video class.
I also had to start the digital photography class for our county and I was feeling lost until I purchased John Hedgecoe's Photography Basics and his New Manual of Photography (mentioned earlier in this blog "Essential Photography Books"). I basically had my students do projects based on finding shapes, line, pattern, texture, light direction etc. as he suggests in his books. He also covers topics, like flowers, portraits, etc. Then I would add project ideas that I would get by reading other books and keeping up with online sites. (I've mentioned several in earlier entries in this blog.) John Hedgecoe also wrote a great book on filmmaking that I had in college, but I haven't checked if it is still in print, or if he has a video version. I only teach one unit on video using iMovie and I mention good video examples for a starting point in an earlier entry.
I think the key is to remember that you are approaching digital photography and video as art instruction. There are so many digital photographers and Photoshop experts who do not have a background in art and you can tell from their writing that they approach it as a technology challenge, not an art challenge. In my blog I try to focus on the ones who approach it as an artist. So, be careful what books you buy and what websites you read. Remember to cover the art elements and principles of design as well as the concept and purpose of expression. I make the technology part secondary, and they learn it as they go, not all at once.
I always start the year with a History of Photography lecture based on http://masters-of-photography.com (the dashes are important because there is another site without them). That site not only has examples but great articles about each photographer explaining their approach and motivation. It helped me remember a lot from college history of photography classes as well (a long time ago). The students love that lecture because they feel like peeping toms to the past. And, of course, if you have to justify that you tie other subjects into your art classes, well, this one is easy since so much of our nation's history is documented in these photos. Since I love history, I ask them to tell me what they know about the subject of the Dust Bowl, the Industrial Revolution, etc. that they see evidence of in the photos.
I try to introduce visual ideas during the lecture. For example, looking at Dorthea Lange, tell her story but also ask questions: "Did she ask her subjects to smile?" "What angle to the subject was she when she took this?" "What would have happened if she had stood 10 feet to the left? The diagonal line would have become horizontal and that is no where near as interesting." etc. This lecture is important because it helps make the students more comfortable with what I am expecting, before they ever have to turn in a project. Before I give them their first assignment, they already have a sense of the big idea of photography as an art form, that it is as much about the composition and lighting as it is about the subject, and that there is a boring way to represent the subject and a more intriguing way. It helps them understand the difference between snapshots and photography as an art form.
I highly recommend buying the two Hedgecoe books . They made my life a lot easier when I was asked to write the digital photography curriculum and my last photography class had been in the 70s.
Also, my first digital photography shooting projects of the year are: Photographing a Subject from Several Angles, and Shadows as the Subject (this one helps them think abstractly about big shapes instead of the subject). When school starts up again, I will show student examples of these early projects.
I have a collection of some beginning Photography lessons and advice for organizing the class on my Teachers Pay Teachers site. (This is the link to the first set, there are several others as well.)
I also had to start the digital photography class for our county and I was feeling lost until I purchased John Hedgecoe's Photography Basics and his New Manual of Photography (mentioned earlier in this blog "Essential Photography Books"). I basically had my students do projects based on finding shapes, line, pattern, texture, light direction etc. as he suggests in his books. He also covers topics, like flowers, portraits, etc. Then I would add project ideas that I would get by reading other books and keeping up with online sites. (I've mentioned several in earlier entries in this blog.) John Hedgecoe also wrote a great book on filmmaking that I had in college, but I haven't checked if it is still in print, or if he has a video version. I only teach one unit on video using iMovie and I mention good video examples for a starting point in an earlier entry.
I think the key is to remember that you are approaching digital photography and video as art instruction. There are so many digital photographers and Photoshop experts who do not have a background in art and you can tell from their writing that they approach it as a technology challenge, not an art challenge. In my blog I try to focus on the ones who approach it as an artist. So, be careful what books you buy and what websites you read. Remember to cover the art elements and principles of design as well as the concept and purpose of expression. I make the technology part secondary, and they learn it as they go, not all at once.
I always start the year with a History of Photography lecture based on http://masters-of-photography.com (the dashes are important because there is another site without them). That site not only has examples but great articles about each photographer explaining their approach and motivation. It helped me remember a lot from college history of photography classes as well (a long time ago). The students love that lecture because they feel like peeping toms to the past. And, of course, if you have to justify that you tie other subjects into your art classes, well, this one is easy since so much of our nation's history is documented in these photos. Since I love history, I ask them to tell me what they know about the subject of the Dust Bowl, the Industrial Revolution, etc. that they see evidence of in the photos.
I try to introduce visual ideas during the lecture. For example, looking at Dorthea Lange, tell her story but also ask questions: "Did she ask her subjects to smile?" "What angle to the subject was she when she took this?" "What would have happened if she had stood 10 feet to the left? The diagonal line would have become horizontal and that is no where near as interesting." etc. This lecture is important because it helps make the students more comfortable with what I am expecting, before they ever have to turn in a project. Before I give them their first assignment, they already have a sense of the big idea of photography as an art form, that it is as much about the composition and lighting as it is about the subject, and that there is a boring way to represent the subject and a more intriguing way. It helps them understand the difference between snapshots and photography as an art form.
I highly recommend buying the two Hedgecoe books . They made my life a lot easier when I was asked to write the digital photography curriculum and my last photography class had been in the 70s.
Also, my first digital photography shooting projects of the year are: Photographing a Subject from Several Angles, and Shadows as the Subject (this one helps them think abstractly about big shapes instead of the subject). When school starts up again, I will show student examples of these early projects.
I have a collection of some beginning Photography lessons and advice for organizing the class on my Teachers Pay Teachers site. (This is the link to the first set, there are several others as well.)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Website for Design Lesson Ideas
If you teach graphic design, spend some time with this educational resource website provided by Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The lesson plans are well-developed and easy to search. Of course, design goes beyond graphic design. I found a great project idea for a 3D class I will teach next year.
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