ELEMENTARY

You don’t take a photograph, you make it.
—Ansel Adams

Leigh Drake

Photography is a medium my students love to use and one of my favorites to teach with. For this lesson, I wanted students to use photography as a way to help them better understand compositional design and the importance of unity in art-making.

Setting the Stage
We began with a brief history of photography. Students then researched a photographer of their choice and looked deeper into careers involving photography. Next, students experimented with using digital cameras. Many of my students had never used a digital camera before. They played around with taking pictures, using the zoom feature, and reviewing the photos they took.

Everyday Objects as Art Media
Next, I introduced the project. Students would explore the concept of unity in art-making and choose found objects to create interesting compositional designs.

I wanted students to use photography as a way to help them better understand compositional design and the importance of unity in art-making.

Students collected everyday objects such as paper clips, candy, and other small items to organize and photograph. Once they brought their items to class, they planned out various design compositions in their sketchbooks. After they assembled the pieces for the final design, we held a gallery stroll so they could get comments before taking photos.

Capturing the Scene
Students used digital cameras and photographed their work from a variety of angles, zooming in and out as they went. I advised them to take multiple pictures so they would have a number of images to choose from.

Ada.

Placing the scenes on the floor made them easier to photograph. Students uploaded their pictures to ipiccy.com (a free photo-editing site) to finalize their designs. I collected their images to share via my smartboard for a final critique activity. We discussed the design principle of unity as we looked at each student’s design.

Conclusion
Students gained knowledge about compositional design and unity in art-making, and they also learned about patience as they chose and placed their objects. I feel that understanding the benefits of using a camera to document and preserve works of art is essential for studentsʼ ongoing development as artists and the creation of their portfolios. My hope is that it inspires them to keep creating outside the classroom, using digital photography as their newfound art medium.

Leigh Drake, Ed.S., is a visual arts teacher at Old Donation School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. leigh.drake@vbschools.com
Creatively Organized