Want to take that next step in teaching your kid(s) about photography and stoking their life-long passion? This article is the second in an occasional series on teaching kids photography, based around a series of lessons I designed for an elementary and middle school Photography Club. The first article covered
Teaching Kids Photography: shooting modes, focus, and exposure.
Composition and Design
For our second Photography Club meeting, I chose to focus on the twin issues of composition and design, as these techniques and strategies are relevant no matter the type of camera you use. (Club members had access to several varieties and levels of point-and-shoot and phone cameras.)
We started with a brief PowerPoint presentation about some of the basic concepts of composition and design. Students enjoyed looking at the comparative examples, in particular, which sparked some interesting conversation and discussion. Many of the students, for example, were initially more attracted to the symmetrical sunset image than the 'Rule of Thirds' version, which helped reinforce the point that composition is really a series of suggestions and that everyone has different opinions and interpretations. (Curious? Read more about
Composition and the Rule of Thirds here.)
In addition to the Rule of Thirds, we also discussed the concept of using leading lines as a composition element. Students were generally familiar with the idea of perspective from their Art classes and enjoyed seeing how they could use concepts from other art forms to inform their photography. (Read more about
Composition and Leading Lines here.)
Another topic I wanted to be sure to emphasize was the importance of paying attention to your background and not just your subject. Like many beginning photographers, I had noticed from our first meeting that students were often so absorbed in their main subject that they paid little attention to the rest of the photograph. We shared a few examples where the background detracted from the overall photograph, including the slide below of an accidentally slanted horizon. (Read more about how to
Remember the Background and Move Your Feet.)
Finally, I decided to end with a little bit of fun before we got down to shooting: forced perspective. Forced perspective takes advantage of the fact that a photograph is a two-dimensional capture of a three-dimensional scene. Think: someone near the camera squishing the face of someone farther from the camera or the classic shot of tourists holding up the background Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Photography Exploration
After the presentation and discussion, we had about half an hour for hands-on photography. Due to the weather, we had to stay indoors but had access to several areas in the school, including the gym, to spread out to and apply the new compositional learning. (I have deliberately left out identifiable photographs of the students themselves, but many portraits and other 'forced perspective' attempts were also made.)
|
View outside of the playground using the Rule of Thirds |
|
Off-center composition using Rule of Thirds, as well as a decluttered background |
|
Leading lines and perspective on the stairs |
|
Leading lines in the white board marker rail |
|
I am posed by a student with an attempt to make the eagle pose on my shoulder.
(It was Team Spirit Day at school as well.) |
|
Forced perspective, holding up the painted eagle in the gym (cropped) |
Conclusion: Teaching Kids Photography Composition
Composition and design is a great place to start when encouraging kids to do more with their photography. Start by exploring just a few basic rules at a time, and see how a little bit of planning can make a big impact. (Plus, don't forget to have a little fun!)
Boost Your Photography: Learn Your DSLR is now available from Amazon. Get the most out of your camera with practical advice about the technical and creative aspects of DSLR photography that will have you taking beautiful pictures right away.