Need Ideas for My Next Class

ksunjaya · Jan 26, 2016

Hello, this is my first post and I'm sorry if I posted in the wrong section

There will be a photography class in this Saturday and I'm the one who teach them. There are about 10 students and they are 12-13 years old. I have taught them for about 7 months and I'm running out of ideas and I need some. It can be a photography game, activities, or lessons (but please no "going out" ideas like hunting in public places because I'm teaching in a school so they will take photos in school only). I already taught them about manual settings and by the way I teach them as a volunteer so the ideas don't have to be 'expensive'.

Thanks and sorry for my bad language.

cherylynne1 · Jan 26, 2016

I think the most important thing you can teach them is about light. Look at some of the lessons on the Strobist blog for ideas. You can have them take a lamp or a flashlight and move it around an object, watching how the shadows fall and taking pictures of all the different positions.

petrochemist · Jan 26, 2016

Sliced fruit on plate glass lit from below makes an interesting subject to play with. Long exposures & painting with light are suitable for lots of creative experimentation. Macro studys are another option for indoors but can get more challenging... Subjects here can be highly variable from coins to feathers/flowers etc.

You may find the programmes from local camera clubs provide a host of other ideas. Ours tend to involve practicals where ever possible - A challenge for the session on landscapes I'm leading in a fortnight (Winters evening without much of a moon).

Designer · Jan 26, 2016

use of flash
" continuous lights
" reflectors
lighting for portraiture
posing for portraiture
still life (arrangement, camera angle, light position)
instructor selects one; either ISO, shutter, or aperture, and students must then balance exposure with remaining two variables. Students should all be required to photograph the same subject.
students critiquing other students' photographs
students trade cameras with each other for one class

gckless · Jan 26, 2016

Being that these kids are 12-13, I think you should get them involved. I agree with teaching them about off camera flash. Set up a small area, bring in maybe 2 or 3 flashes. Teach them about the relation between shutter speed and flash. Have them jump once and then another kid snap the photo, see what they can capture. Show them different lighting positions and levels. Show them what a backlight can do, for example for their hair while they're jumping.

Although, at the same time, maybe off camera flash is a bit above them, seeing as they probably won't have access to much right now.

For a game, have them get into groups of two. Use another classroom, and one at a time let each group go in and take a photo. In the photo, have them place something in the foreground and focus on that, and open the aperture up as wide as it will go, so that the background is just all bokeh. Have them do something in the background, and then have the other students try to guess what they were doing, and also how it relates to the subject in the foreground they chose.

ksunjaya · Jan 27, 2016

I really love your ideas guys especially about lightning but I don't have an umbrella or any budget to buy it. I only have a nikon speedlight. Can I teach them with just a single speedlight? Also I like the game which suggested by gckless which I will try later with my students. Thank you guys for giving me ideas and I still accept any ideas for my next class.

Designer · Jan 27, 2016

ksunjaya said:
Can I teach them with just a single speedlight?

Yes, of course. Show your students the many different ways to use a speedlight and how to light portraits using only one speedlight and some reflectors.

gsgary · Jan 27, 2016

ksunjaya said:
I really love your ideas guys especially about lightning but I don't have an umbrella or any budget to buy it. I only have a nikon speedlight. Can I teach them with just a single speedlight? Also I like the game which suggested by gckless which I will try later with my students. Thank you guys for giving me ideas and I still accept any ideas for my next class.

Get some white construction insulation or white board to use as reflectors you can even glue cooking foil on the other side of the white board for a stronger reflector

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

ksunjaya · Jan 30, 2016

Okay I see thank you very much guys and have a nice day!

vintagesnaps · Jan 30, 2016

If you still need activities maybe you'd want to try some alternative photography like sun prints/cynotypes (look up Anna Atkins for historical info.). These were the forerunners of blueprints used in architecture.

You can buy pretreated paper (or fabric) or the supplies to treat paper to make it light sensitive. It's an easy process placing objects on the paper and exposing to UV/daylight to make the prints; the paper I've used just takes a quick rinse in water to fix it.

I've done lumen prints too - for those you use old expired B&W photo paper and place objects on it (once you place the object you can't move it, but you can expose it then later rearrange the objects for a double/multiple exposure). This process takes running the exposed paper thru diluted fixer (I've been using a 10:1 dilution) for a few seconds. I find letting the paper get really dark works best since the fix washes away some of the color (except for a multiple exposure, otherwise I often leave them overnight sitting on a table in front of a window and get them later the next day - so I do long exposures!). Even though it's B&W paper it turns bluish gray, purplish, even sometimes orangeish.

If you want to add a digital aspect to it, I scan mine and sometimes do 'enlargements'. Some of the old paper is only about 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" so I'll scan and then digitally print maybe a 8x10 (might have to do some resizing in photoshop). The variations in color show up more enlarged. I've taken photos of them as well but didn't find the results to be as good as a scan (but it can be done).

For more info. try AlternativePhotography.com .

dennybeall · Feb 1, 2016

If you choose to have the flashlight(s) to illustrate shadows perhaps you could also do some light painting with the lights turned off or add a ND filter and just turn the lights down. Perhaps they can write their name or make designs in light. Do a double exposure and have a head floating with no body....