PHOTO PROJECT

Landscape & Composition

Project Description

This multi-layered and multiple class project was designed to introduce students to the concept of composition, the fundamentals of composition in photography, the idea of looking versus seeing, and increasing their Photoshop skills. Students were introduced to the basics of photography; focal length, aperture, iso, & shutter speed. This project began with a presentation on camera basics and compositional fundamentals and watching a video on the elements of composition.

As a class we went over the idea of landscape photography and all students then began the research stage of the project where they picked one element of composition to do visual research with Pinterest and to choose one photograph that represented this compositional element best and to use the visible think technique of claim, support, and question to critically analyze their choose. This was then presented to the class for a class discussion.

All students spent 15 minutes at the beginning of the next class using the Photography Trainer app and documenting 3 things that they learned from the app. A few students presented their learning to the class.

In the next step of this project, students used iPads with the grid turned off to take photograph a series of landscape photographs that epitomized their chosen compositional element. Students then choose their best photograph and followed the project tutorial to edit the photograph.

The project culminated with a critique session where students were called up to to show their work, explain how they used their compositional element, talk about their process and what they learned, and to tell the class if they believe they photograph was successful in using that compositional element.

Project Steps

Each student picked an Element of Composition and created a Pinterest Board titled “Landscape Photography Composition” finding 10-15 LANDSCAPE photographs that utilized this Compositional Element. They then went to their Project folder and opened the document titled “Composition in Photography Research” where they worked on adding all necessary information to this sheet. Students were instructed to be prepared to get up in front of the class to talk about your chosen photograph.

Students then got an iPad from the teacher, turned the grids on for the camera (watched a tutorial if unsure how to do so). Students were instructed to shoot a minimum of 20-30 Landscape format photography and upload their best 2 or 3 photographs to their Google Drive. They then downloaded the images onto your Computer and put them in their Design Folder. They picked their best image to edit, watched the Project Tutorial and followed along. Students saved their final image as a jpeg and uploaded to the project folder. Each student was expected to show their work and participate in the critique.

Class Critique

Every project is coupled with a class presentation of the completed work and a group critique. Each student will be asked to give feedback to their fellow photographers. They are expected to give at least two pieces of feedback, one warm and one cool.


Related Standards

  • ISTE: Creativity and Innovation

  • ISTE: Communication and Collaboration

  • ISTE: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, & Decision Making

Fundamentals of Photography - Composition