School Photography Clubs – Suggested Activities

Here are some suggested activities for school photography clubs to consider.

1. Focus on the story. Review the development of the photographic process, the camera obscura, and the evolution from film to digital. Build a pinhole camera. Dust off some old 35mm manual barrels and shoot some rolls of film.

2. Focus on Focus. Talk about how an image is focused. Try to take some pictures in focus and deviated. Review depth of focus and the role of lens aperture in controlling depth of focus. Take a series of widening DOF images to illustrate.

3. Focus on speed. Talk about shutter speed and its impact on exposure. Analyze when the slow shutter is better and when the fast shutter is better. Carry out some photographic experiments with students photographed as they move, at a variety of shutter speeds. Try high-speed photography with raindrops or flying insects or other fast-moving items. Try shooting waterfalls at a range of speeds.

4. Focus on sensitivity. Talk about the sensitivity of the film and the “ISO” setting of the digital camera. Discuss when it is best to apply high and low sensitivity and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Take a series of images with low and high sensitivity and examine the impact on the images. Try taking the same image with 100 and 800 speed film if you have film cameras. Disc grain on film vs. Noise in digital images. Discuss the artistic merits of film grain and review ways to reproduce it digitally.

5. Focus on the exposure. Discuss the parameters that affect exposure: shutter, aperture, sensitivity, lighting. Talk about exposure compensation. Take a series of the same subject varying the parameters and the resulting exposure. Discus manual vs. automatic exposure and the different exposure modes.

6. Focus on the color. Check the color wheel, saturation. How the choice of exposure affects saturation. Edit photos and change the overboard saturation to black and white. Talk about which cameras and films have different color characteristics. Check the white balance. Experiment with the correct and incorrect custom white balance settings. Learn about custom white balance adjustment tools and techniques. Review how to change color settings in post production.

7. Focus on Black and White. Review historical black and white photography. Check the ways to convert: grayscale, channel mixer. Impact of filters on Black and White tones (grayscale). Review the color images vs. BW side by side and analyze the visual impact. Have each student convert the same image using different methods or mixes and review and discuss.

8. Focus on filters. Review the polarizing filter and its impact on glare, exposure, color saturation, etc. Samples of with and without. Discuss the applicability of neutral density filters. Discus split neutral density filters. Review and experiment with heating and cooling and temperature adjustment filters. Review and experiment with foreground filters.

9. Focus on editing. Review darkroom film developing technique. Check out various photo editing tools. Focus on the basic features in photo editing. Set up a multi-step learning experience to gain proficiency in image editing. To learn more about this area, check out my article on the Top 12 Photo Editing Tips.

10. Focus on printing. Discuss paper/inkjet vs. photographic process and press printing. Consider having a professional photographer or lab print samples of the same image on gloss, gloss, metallic photo paper, press print, and canvas output. Discuss print profiling and color management.

11. Focus on appreciation. Discuss what makes an image “cool”. Some compositional elements will appear, as well as the choice of theme, lighting, and technical and finishing elements. Ask students to bring magazines or other print examples of photos they think are cool and discuss. Schedule a field trip to a photo exhibit. Review the portfolios of professional and student photographers and offer positive and negative reviews.

12. Focus on composition. Review the rule of thirds, pose, lighting, camera angle, camera position (macro vs tele), lens choice, and other elements of composition. Spend time experimenting with some classic subjects – still life, eggs, human subjects – and have students work on different aspects of composition and lighting. Consider borrowing some professional lighting equipment for some additional experiments.

13. Focus on racing. Talk about the many types of careers that depend on photography (journalism, children/family, weddings, architecture, sports/events/school, etc.), as well as those that benefit from it: (insurance, real estate, forensics , etc. ) Consider bringing guests to these areas to speak with the club, or have each club member conduct an interview and collect samples for a group discussion.

14. Focus on giving. Have the club brainstorm ways to share their talents with the community. Volunteering to help at non-profit organizations or at school and creating unique gifts are great ideas here.

15. Focus on fundraising. To keep the club financially healthy, brainstorm ways to raise money for the club. Some initial suggestions: calendars with photos and artwork sales (of club talent), photo buttons or keychains, and regular fundraising (food, coupons, etc.)

16. Focus on technology. Discuss changing technical aspects of camera and editing technology (sensor size, image size, stabilization, speed, live view, in-camera editing, camera features). Discuss the things a student would look for when comparing and contrasting cameras. Give them some scenarios and ask them to do some online shopping to choose the best camera for the best price. Discuss bargaining, gray market and collateral. Discuss obsolescence and upgradability. Check storefront, mail order, and used or liquidated sources (eBay, Craigslist, etc.)

17. Focus on competing. Review the rules and evaluation sheets and develop your club’s own evaluation and award processes and criteria. Research and participate in external competitions. Host an exclusive club contest each month on a specific theme (nature, sports, family, pets, architecture, etc.) The top 3-5 in each category go to club finals where external evaluators choose the winner. Work with local labs, shops and photographers to offer good prizes and professional printing of final items. Use winning items at your fine art fundraisers. Offer to compete outside of featured competitions, such as college student only, professional only, and all school.

Enjoy your school’s photography club and use it to grow, develop and have fun!

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