Winter 2018 4/5 Photography

This term we are exploring and learning about photography.  We want to know:

What is art? What is a good photo? How can we use photography to express ourselves and our idea?

We began by looking at photography in books and online to develop criteria about what we think makes a good photo.  Here is our list.

  • Contrast of colours
  • Lines patterns
  • Look closely
  • Creativity
  • Vibrant  
  • Textures
  • Details
  • Shade
  • Mono-colour
  • Connections
  • Story
  • Awareness
  • Silhouette
  • Unexpected combinations
  • action

Each week we are taking photos inside and outside the school. Before we go out we are learning and discussing aspects of photography including aesthetics and composition.  Some of the things we’ve talked about:

  • Framing
  • Horizontal/Vertical Framing
  • Diagonals
  • Foreground/Background
  • Focal Point/ Main Subject
  • Point of View (PoV)/ camera angles
  • Cropping
  • Rule of 3rds
  • Balance
  • Symmetry and asymmetry

The students are encouraged to choose a theme or subject every time they take photos.  They are asked to choose a focal point and shoot from a number of POV.  Most importantly, we always ask ourselves: What am I taking a picyture of and why?

When they come back to the library, students upload their pictures to the computers and then choose their best photos of the day to upload. Each week in Google Classroom, they have an assignment which includes choosing a few pictures and reflecting on what they learned, noticed and wonder.

Stay tuned for more updates and photos from the students!