Need some help with teaching Photography

[Jeff_Green]

Okay, it's not like I'm "teaching" photography, but for the past couple years I have been a counselor at a summer camp and I will be again this year. And again, for the third year in a row I will be responsible for the "activity" of photography. Kids show up with their point and shoots so it's not like most of these kids are hard core nerds like me!

What I have tried to do is to just have a couple assignments for them to do throughout the week and also have tried to explain some basic photography rules to keep in mind so they can break them later.

So I am looking for ideas as to simple things that can be taught to anyone (such as rule of thirds and "think outside the box) so that they don't lose interest. This is something that is for 5 days straight for about an hour and a half. Last year I even did some posing with them.

I am also looking for some assignments for them to go on as well. I have found that telling them to go out there and think outside the box tends to bring NO results! lol

I find I have a harder time than I expected with this because I am also responsible for putting together a slide show so I have very little time to plan while at camp, or even to walk around with them.

Anyone ever done this before or have suggestions???

Please??

Jeff

[Patti Edens]

Jeff, Here are a couple of thoughts ...

A scavenger hunt - Give them a list of stuff to photography and an hour to do it. Make some of them hard like a bird's nest or a lizard and some easy ones like a hiking boot. Then you get to go off and shoot them or other stuff for an hour. Then call 'em all back and teach one of them how to download all the pics. You go off and shoot again. Then come back, review the pics and see who got the most and who got the most interesting photo, the funniest photo, scariest, ugliest, ickyest (sp?), etc.

Set up a little "studio" for them - just a platform with maybe a black or some solid color background and some props for them to set up and take "scene" photos - similar to our Peep Show photos. Bring along some toy soldiers, little dinosaurs, matchbox cars, other little toys that they can pose and shoot. Heck, bring some peeps and print out some of the peep shots that we posted on TPF to give them ideas. Show them how to use a flashlight to change the "light" in the scene. This one might require a bit more of your time to get them going.

Sounds like fun. Hope you get some ideas that will work for you.

[alamoshutterbug]

When I started reading your post the rule of thirds came to mind before you said it. That is something anyone can work on, even in program mode, so it would be kid friendly and P and S friendly. You could also discuss foreground and background features, framing. Along the lines of the above post, show up with some fruit, an empty wine bottle, some bowls, and a cube and let them work with those elements to set up an image. I wouldn't try teaching exposure, yet, unless its very basic, like how to freeze action, but without knowing an age group it is hard to say. I think the simple compositional tools are your best way to go.

A good way to teach composition is to have a slideshow with some badly composed images that can be cropped into something better, so the kids can quickly see the before and after and toggle between the two discussing what makes the images better.

[J Eddington]

Rather than just "think outside the box" give then an assignment each day. Still teach them all those simple things but then put it to an assignment. 1: lighting, use it in a unique way, 2: do a grab bag filled with strange objects and have them take photos of the object, 3: self portrait, but can't be a straight on shot. 4: Take a photo of something in a unique way that will make people have to figure out what it is. 5: Find the letters of your first name using nature or other objects, the only rule is that it has to be as found and cannot be moved by them. 6: Use lines in your composition, 7 Use "rule of Thirds" and then break the rule so the photo works. 8 Bring a famous picture and have then recreate it using the camera, 9: Take a photo using a different angles of the same subject. 10 Use light and shadow to create a silhouette photo

Well that is all I can think of this early! Hope it gives you some ideas.

[mike_sax]

You can also try having them move closer and closer to something they like to shoot. By having them move closer it will cause them to see the same image in a different way.

[Gabby498]

Sorry, the last thing I would do is to "teach" rules or composition. Send them out to get a photo of their best camp friend, a color, a plant, who can make the strangest photo of water, the fuzziest photograph of a night ghost, the bottom of a canoe, who can make the funniest photo while hanging from a tree or lying on the ground, what the world looks like from a rabbit hole or a bird nest, photograph what they dislike most about the food, the tallest person they can find, the back of their own head. Then get them to talk about their photos, ask questions of each other. Most importantly laugh at the photographs. Teaching is like saying "don't color outside the lines." One thing I sure wouldn't do would be to warp their minds with the rule of thirds. Remember they are kids, not photo nerds, they want to have fun, not learn to be hung up on photography.

[LoungeLizard]

A themed scavenger hunt or "story". For example, have them return with a "day in the life" story of some object and see what they come up with.

[brad]

The scavenger hunt is a great idea.

I know we see those composition "rules" as basic and simple... but you're gonna hurt their brains with composition things like rule of thirds, leading lines, s curves, and so on... at this point, they have a basic interest in photography. You have to make it fun to keep their interest. Once they see its fun and they want to start taking better photos... that's when you start talking about the more complicated concepts.

[brad]

Originally Posted by brad

The scavenger hunt is a great idea.

And if you want to see them do something "out of the box" .. add ideas to the hunt that will get them thinking like that. Make an item on the list like "Look up" or some other really vague item. When they ask what you mean, tell them to use their imagination..

[DeLeon]

I teach the photography merit badge at the Boy Scout camp every year. If you can get a hold of the book, there are some great ideas in there.

I bring my old Pentax K1000, take the lens off and show them how an SLR works. I show them a slide show and talk a bit about leading lines, rules of thirds, filling the frame, ect. We talk a bit about the different types of photography, careers in photography and the differences in film vs digital. I try to keep this part as brief as possible. The kids usually could care less about this part, but that is a requirement for the merit badge.

I usually have them for an hour and a half for 5 days. I spend the first 15 to 20 min. on the talking part, and then we go shoot an "assignment" pertaining to what we talked about.

I have the kids act as PJ's for a few days in the middle of the week, and try to end the week with a slideshow of everything going on at camp, shot by the kids.

I always learn a little bit that I didn't know I had forgotten, and its good for me to get back to the basics for a week. Good luck and have fun! ( And I try not to use the phrase "go shoot your friends" to often)

[kenw]

Chris said "I usually have them for an hour and a half for 5 days. I spend the first 15 to 20 min. on the talking part, and then we go shoot an "assignment" pertaining to what we talked about."

THAT'S a good balance. Expose the idea to them, then reinforce with hands-on practice, evaluate, then more practice.

[panda81]

just to expand on the scavenger hunt idea...

on another forum, there is an ongoing thread where after posting a picture, the person writes, "the next picture below me is something XXX," where XXX can be as specific or ambiguous as you want.

so perhaps for the kiddos, you can do a scavenger hunt based on fairly ambiguous descriptions...instead of "take a picture of a bird," say "take a picture of something with wings."

[studiocygnet]

One easy thing to teach them is landscape versus portrait mode, and when to use each. A lot of beginners don't realize that they can turn their camera sideways.

[alamoshutterbug]

I am glad someone brought up the Boy Scouts Photography merit badge program because I took the course way back when in junior high school. Compositional rules were touched on, and it was a useful bit of knowledge to get exposed to. It did not bore us, or leave us disinterested in photography, while at the same time it was not too involved. You don't have to go all out and teach college level material, but it is useful to at least touch on the subject and show some examples.

Kids are smart, they may not always act it, but they are. It is very easy to make the assumption that something is too advanced for a child, and that is a huge mistake because inevitably, someone in that group you are making assumptions about would get it, and understand it, and apply it... SUCCESS in teaching.

[xseption]

one easy rule (or assignment) would be to have them take photos with the subject not in the center

good luck!

~ edd