If you taught high school photography....

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

08/12/2008 02:18:33 PM · #1

I am a high school photography teacher. This will be my third year starting in a couple of weeks. I'm looking to revamp the way I teach things and I thought it would be interesting to hear opinions of people on this website.

The program is strong--we currently have enough sections for two full time photo teachers. I teach the intro classes--a semester long freshman level class and then a year long Photo 1-2 class that is for grades 10-12. The freshman level class is all in a computer lab, and Photo 1-2 is mostly darkroom. I'm working to do more technology with the 1-2 class, and hopefully keep darkroom mostly for the upper level advanced sections who are really working to explore the art of photography.

I start both my classes teaching composition, and continue that teaching throughout the course. Photo 1-2 uses film SLR cameras, so the first half a year is really practicing the technical side of everything--light metering blows their mind. (Why didn't my film turn out? Well, did you read the light meter every shot? You have to do that? yessssss.... :P ) Also, aperture, shutter speed, and depth of field are pretty abstract concepts for younger students--some figure it out immediately, some it takes all year.

So--if you put your self in my shoes, how would you teach my class? I'm just looking to improve the quality of what I do, and open discussion and varying opinions will help me out a lot.

Thanks!

Patrick_R

Canon EOS-60D

08/12/2008 02:26:50 PM · #2

I used to be a photo intern in highschool. I had more hours logged in the darkroom than any student in highschool history lol!!! I might suggest you do a "jump" shoot they take pictures of their friends jumping and you get back some fun images but they also learn the concept of shutter speed.

ikopanas

Nikon D7000

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon

08/12/2008 02:27:48 PM · #3

Just a thought! Why don't you give them some projects like the challenges here.

Patrick_R

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

08/12/2008 02:28:35 PM · #4

Originally posted by ssocrates:

Just a thought! Why don't you give them some projects like the challenges here.

We actually did that as well lol. I would search here for ideas! worked great

08/12/2008 02:55:58 PM · #5

Originally posted by ssocrates:

Just a thought! Why don't you give them some projects like the challenges here.

Well, that has crossed my mind. It is how I see the challenges for myself--little assignments that help me shoot something new. Some of them are quite a bit of a stretch for some high schoolers--its harder for them to make a creative jump from challenge theme to what to actually shoot. I may make this site available for extra credit or my final projects--like, enter three challenges and make 30 comments for an A or something like that...

CraigD

Sony DSLR-A900

Lensbaby Composer

08/12/2008 02:56:57 PM · #6

I am going to jump in here as someone who didn't take photography in HS because of the expense. In fact I didn't get into photography until much later in life due to the cost of film and printing. I still believe you can teach all the other aspects because the EXIF data will capture what setting the camera was on so tell all your students were to set it and they can still control everything else.

klkitchens

Pentax K-1

Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

08/12/2008 02:57:33 PM · #7

Originally posted by tpbremer:

Originally posted by ssocrates:
Just a thought! Why don't you give them some projects like the challenges here.

Well, that has crossed my mind. It is how I see the challenges for myself--little assignments that help me shoot something new. Some of them are quite a bit of a stretch for some high schoolers--its harder for them to make a creative jump from challenge theme to what to actually shoot. I may make this site available for extra credit or my final projects--like, enter three challenges and make 30 comments for an A or something like that...

Not sure of your district, but you could get in hot water directing them to a site that has nudity. You know your students, parents, and community, so only you can say if it would be an issue.

Message edited by author 2008-08-12 14:59:27.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/12/2008 03:47:16 PM · #8

Originally posted by HawkeyeLonewolf:

Originally posted by tpbremer:

Originally posted by ssocrates:
Just a thought! Why don't you give them some projects like the challenges here.

Well, that has crossed my mind. It is how I see the challenges for myself--little assignments that help me shoot something new. Some of them are quite a bit of a stretch for some high schoolers--its harder for them to make a creative jump from challenge theme to what to actually shoot. I may make this site available for extra credit or my final projects--like, enter three challenges and make 30 comments for an A or something like that...

Not sure of your district, but you could get in hot water directing them to a site that has nudity. You know your students, parents, and community, so only you can say if it would be an issue.

a good point... some of my students know of this site as I've shown it to them, but I haven't made any assignments from it yet.

klkitchens

Pentax K-1

Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

08/12/2008 04:00:49 PM · #9

Originally posted by tpbremer:

Originally posted by HawkeyeLonewolf:

Originally posted by tpbremer:

Originally posted by ssocrates:
Just a thought! Why don't you give them some projects like the challenges here.

Well, that has crossed my mind. It is how I see the challenges for myself--little assignments that help me shoot something new. Some of them are quite a bit of a stretch for some high schoolers--its harder for them to make a creative jump from challenge theme to what to actually shoot. I may make this site available for extra credit or my final projects--like, enter three challenges and make 30 comments for an A or something like that...

Not sure of your district, but you could get in hot water directing them to a site that has nudity. You know your students, parents, and community, so only you can say if it would be an issue.

a good point... some of my students know of this site as I've shown it to them, but I haven't made any assignments from it yet.

That's the fine line. If you make it an assignment, then you made them go here and while this site is pretty tame on the whole, I know I would not want my son browsing the "Nudes" gallery and if a teacher told him to, there'd be a can of whoop-ass opened. :)

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

08/12/2008 04:04:26 PM · #10

If you're going to use the site in a class context you should drop Langdon an Administrative Ticket, as there may need to be some measures taken to avoid problems with "friend voting" (or the appearance thereof) and such ...

Foolish Ice

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

08/12/2008 06:02:48 PM · #11

A couple of ideas, if you are teaching them about photo editing, you could give them an assignment where they all get the same photo and have to edit it however they think would look best. Try and use a photo that would improve by having a better crop, and a few basic adjustment layers (levels, curves, etc).

You could also try a portrait challenge, get them shooting other students in the class. Bonus points for getting portraits of the most members of class to pose for them. Or get them to find a picture that they like and try to replicate the style. This would work well with a movie poster or album cover challenge.

atupdate

Pentax K-R

Promaster 28-200mm f/3.8-5.6 XR IF

08/13/2008 07:23:51 AM · #12

Here is a link for a camera simulator that may help teach the relationship between ISO, aperature, and shutter speed.

SimCam

Tim

LuDeLush

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/13/2008 08:25:19 AM · #13

One of the best things I did while using a film SLR was keep a log book with the shutter speeds and aps for all my shots...that way i could compare my shots against what settings i used and learn from it. Other than that, all our projects were topic specific with out guidelines...like "capture motion with slow shutter speed"...that way they won't feel as inhibited when creating a shot...I think I used the sub woofer's in my car lol. But as boring as it was, it worked and I learned what capturing motion was all about.

raish

Olympus C-2500L

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

08/13/2008 08:41:27 AM · #14

Can you get them to make a camera obscura from a cardboard box with a hole in one end and tissue paper covering the other? If they all use the same dimensions/materials (maybe working in small groups, so you get results a bit quicker) then you can compare different hole sizes with different apertures...

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

08/13/2008 08:43:51 AM · #15

I'm not in the teaching field, though I have worked a lot on training my coworkers on computers and networks. I think you are on the right track. Teach concepts, not rote button-pushing. If you understand a concept, you can apply it even if the specific implementation changes. (Such as understanding exposure, and then applying that concept to either a film camera or a digital) If one only understands the button presses, then one will be lost as soon as some detail changes.

Message edited by author 2008-08-13 08:44:40.

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

Olympus 12-45mm f/4.0 Pro

08/13/2008 09:30:56 AM · #16

I was the TA for two semesters of Intro to Photography in college. The professor went through the technical stuff pretty fast and focused on elements instead: composition, multiple levels of interest, interplay of subjects/tones/etc. He thought that the technical side would take care of itself, and in most cases it did.

However, there were a few technical assignments in the first two weeks. One was for the students to lay in bed with their feet outstretched and take photos of their feet and the room beyond at different apertures; seeing what was in focus at each f-stop gave them a good sense of depth of field. The other was to shoot a roll with a moving object as the subject (often a bike wheel or a ceiling fan) using different shutter speeds; they quickly learned how to stop motion or blur it.

From there we had then choose a photo essay topic and begin working on it. We critiqued photos once a week as a group and touched on the technical issues then, when needed, but mostly were able to concentrate on solving individual problems and pushing for better overall photos.

And I feel the pain regarding meters - we had some trouble getting them to understand that concept, too. Since the cameras most students ended up with were old, few had any advanced auto modes, and we only let them work in M and Av, so they had to learn to think for themselves pretty quick. But even then, there were many times when the meter failed them because they let it think for them.

Ken

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/13/2008 10:27:46 AM · #17

There are some really good ideas here, but I'm kind of surprised that they're still shooting film and developing. What about working some digital into the mix, including digital editing? Programs like Paint.net and Gimp are free so no need to buy Photoshop.

outafocus

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/13/2008 01:36:01 PM · #18

Originally posted by atupdate:

Here is a link for a camera simulator that may help teach the relationship between ISO, aperature, and shutter speed.

SimCam

Tim

Thank you for sharing that link, I got alot more out of that site than just ISO/aperature/shutter speed relation, definitely worth a look.

As for the original posting,

tpbremer, I commend you for what you are doing. It sounds to me like you create an environment that really fosters learning and the fact that you are progressively looking for ways to take that even further is tremendous.

08/13/2008 01:52:30 PM · #19

Originally posted by mad_brewer:

I do use gimp, and am working to do much more digital. Changing a curriculum over to digital isn't so easy. One, we only have four computers in the art department. Over half of my students are considered "low income" so fund raising is difficult. We are considered a failing school under No Child Left Behind, so resources are directed towards raising test scores more often than the arts.... So... some good things have recently happened. The computer labs used to be "owned" by departments--like the English computer lab. Now, everybody has the opportunity to sign up for any lab. So I'll be able to get my students shooting more digital this year for sure.

My freshman class was able to work on photoshop (there is one lab w/ photoshop installed) and I'm trying to raise funds to get it installed w/ illustrator and indesign on every computer in the school. My issue is that is quickly turned more into a photoSHOP class vs. a photoGRAPHY class.... I'm trying to find the right balance. That class like I originally posted is only one semester long, so its hard to fit a lot of in depth stuff in, it more skims the surface.