Beyond Snapchats and Selfies

The online world is suffocated with photos. We gave everyone an HD camera on their phones and instead of becoming the next photo journalists, people decided to Instagram their breakfast. Life now comes in Amaro, Lo-fi, and Inkwell filters.

As teachers, we spend an incredible amount of time and energy fighting technology because of its encroaching, time-wasting, plagiarism-enhancing capabilities. But as I have previously mentioned in Make Movies, Not Migraines, technology also provides classroom resources that were never before as easily accessible.

We throw around the term "digital natives" without realizing that our students are naturally digital consumers, but only with time and training can they become digital creators. Here are some of the best ways to bring basic photography skills into the classroom. All of these are possible with any camera, from a smartphone to an SLR camera.

Focus on Framing

Without framing, pictures quickly become a mess. There are too many distractions in the background, there is no clear focus in the picture, and the picture lacks power.

One easy class activity is to give the class a photo that is zoomed out too far and then have them choose where to crop it. This can be duplicated without computers by using hard copies of the photos and scissors.

Discuss as a class how the difference in where you chose to frame the photo can tell a different story. Then emphasize that choosing the correct framing as you take a picture saves an incredible amount of time in the editing process.

Another great way to teach framing is through the Rule of Thirds, which basically puts a grid over the photo to show how the focus of the picture should not be in the center square. (Many photo-taking apps include a grid for this reason.) These are essentially training wheels for your budding photographers as they put more thought into their photos.

Develop Depth

Photography is a two-dimensional medium that has an incredible power to communicate three-dimensional concepts. Photographers can create the illusion of depth by having objects in the foreground and background of a photo. The distance between these two objects help us perceive depth and adds complexity to your photo.

If you have the luxury of a DSLR for every young learner, you can further investigate the effect of focal length on the depth of field, but for the beginning classroom, just have your class place an object in the foreground to create depth. There are infinite examples of depth of field, but you can start with this gallery to demonstrate the concept.

Keep it Candid

Chances are, each young person in your class has a signature selfie pose. Point a camera at a teenager and they snap into a cheesy, artificial stance. This tradition should be eradicated from human behavior. Even in the adult world, we are obsessed with "grip-and-grin" photos–where two people shake hands and smile for the cameras. For visual reference, try almost any political photo ever.

Encourage your photographers to find candid moments where people are focusing on things other than the camera. This puts the viewer in the moment and allows them to empathize with the person in the photo.

Promote New Perspectives

Yes, that picture of a flower is pretty. But what if you crawled on your stomach and took a picture from the level that an ant would see it? What if you ignored the person's face entirely and focused on how they hold their hands?

Photography can jolt us out of the typical way of viewing the world, but it can only happen when the photographer chooses to see things outside the ordinary.

Review Regularly

Most importantly, have your class critically examine the photos. If you use smartphones or tablets, have the photographers e-mail them to you, or establish a Dropbox. This is an easy homework assignment that can be turned in long-distance.

You can use a rubric to evaluate each photo, or simply open it up for discussion. Ask open-ended questions like:

• What's the first thing your eye goes to?
• What distractions are in the frame?
• How could we improve this photo?
• What would this photo look like from a different perspective?
• What objects are in the foreground or background?
• How do you relate to the subject of the photo?

The insightful opinions of even young children will surprise you. We all instinctively react to images, but often it takes training to understand how and why we react to them.

Lesson Planet Resources:

The History of Photography, What Cameras See, Civil War Photography, Looks Good Enough to Eat