Photography 101 for Teachers

If you want to take it one step further: Start with Basic Photography Skills (Adapted from 30 Day Photography Challenge with Kids)

Before you start, you can teach the basics of how to take effective photographs, using the "SCARE" principles in a little checklist:

• Simplify: Get rid of excess objects — the water bottle on the picnic table, the junky papers — that clutter up the background; make the canvas as "blank" as possible.
• Close/closer: People often take pictures from too far away. Get close and closer to your subject. That doesn't mean using the zoom option; it means "Zoom with your feet".
• Angle: Be creative as you're taking your picture. Try to find an unusual angle from which to shoot. That could mean standing on a picnic table or tree stump and looking down or lying on the grass and shooting up.
• Rule of thirds: The best compositions are often the ones where the main subject is either in the right third or left third of the image. So shift the image that way.
• Even lighting. The light on your subject should be even. If there's some kind of shadow across the face, move the camera or the subject around to get rid of it. Early mornings and late afternoons are a great time to take pictures, especially in Israel, because the lighting isn't as harsh. Foggy days are great for taking pictures — or overcast or even rainy days.

If you wish, share this section with your students as is, adapted to their level, or however you feel it is appropriate.

Encourage your students to take a lot of pictures. "You better your odds and get more practice," she tells them. That also helps them to become more discriminating. They don't share every picture; they learn how to choose their favorite one.