"Events & Issues"
Enduring Understanding: Documentary photographers record life, conditions & history in the places they visit and work.
| Guiding Questions: |
Skills: (students will be able to...) |
- Is there a difference between taking a picture and taking a photograph? Why or why not?
- When does a photo become truly great?
- How does photography tell a story?
- How do photographers deliver messages about the world around them?
- How can photography be used to communicate specific events and issues?
- Can documentary photographers express a point of view?
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- utilise documentary photography to distinguish between taking pictures & taking photographs
- utilise digital storytelling (“A Day in the Life”)
- analyse & utilise photography to discover how its effect is influenced by elements like composition, light and perspective
- understand that a photographic essay is a series of photographs which attempt to do one or more of the following: reveal, inform, entertain, persuade, or compare and contrast
- Prep for G8 Cross-disciplinary Video project (end of term): Aesthetics- rule thirds, composition, angles, Storyboarding Photography elements & principles of design
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Key Terms: Photojournalism, Documentary Photography, Composition, Perspective, Background, Foreground, Placement, Framing, Photo Essay,
Resources:
Projects:
1. Story Tableaux (Story Sequence)
2. Staged Reality
3. Planning
4. Peer Cropping + My UWC
5. Eye Through A Lens
Assessment rubric
Lesson 1
Arrange seating plan
Cell phones vs cameras?
Overview of unit.
Warm-up (10mins):
Pixar is renowned for their story-telling techniques.
One strategy they use to create & summarise stories is to complete the following stem sentences below.
1. Once upon a time there was …
2. Every day …
3. One day …
4. Because of that …
5. Because of that …
6. Until finally …
Now create your own story in 5 minutes. Record it in your sketchbooks.
Project 1 (30 min): Story Tableaux (Story Sequence)
In groups of 4, create your own 6 sentence story.
Your group's job will be to create 1 photo for each sentence.
Carefully consider how you will use framing/cropping, camera angle, point of view and character staging to tell your story.
Your pictures should have variety and be carefully considered.
Upon returning to class, all group members should have copies of the photos.
Insert your 6 pictures onto a 1 page landscape document. All photos should be similar in size and clearly organised.
In the header, write your group member names/tutor group with your story title.
This should be printed by the next class. 1 print per group.
You do not need to include the text with the photo.
Homework:
Complete task 1 if you haven't done so. **Don't forget to print it.
View the following slideshow. Make notes of what you find useful. You may require some of this knowledge in the next lesson.
Lesson 2
Arrange seating plan
Warm-up (10mins):
Swap the story tableaux from lesson 1 with another group.
Using their tableaux, what story does your group come up with?
Share your groups version with the original group.
1. Once upon a time there was …
2. Every day …
3. One day …
4. Because of that …
5. Because of that …
6. Until finally …
The purpose of task 1 was to get you to begin considering composition and camera angles etc.
The project can also be compared to your final photo essay project, but done in reverse.
While doing this, the teacher will check your homework notes.
Task 1 (15mins):
At your tables, discuss and record your responses to the following questions:
- Is there a difference between taking a picture and taking a photograph? Why or why not?
- When does a photo become truly great?
- What is Documentary Photography? Photojournalism? Are they the same or different?
Were your stories from last class photographs, or pictures?
Project 2 - Staged Reality (15minsX2):
Working with a partner, photograph a staged situation of them.
The activity does not matter. Don't spend a lot of time deciding what you will do.
This could include:
- Sitting reading a book
- Working on your laptop
- Texting on your phone
- Drawing a picture/writing a letter
- Organising your bag etc.
Take as many photos as you can!
Experiment and implement what you read from the slideshow in the homework task from Lesson 1.
Your subject is not posing for the photograph and is therefore allowed to move.
You as a photographer, are capturing the "event."
Your goal is to take several varied photographs & try and reveal the essence of the task/activity and/or the emotion involved (and objects).
It is suggested you take a minimum of 20-30 varied photos. In this situation, maybe 5 will only be good.
You are allowed to crop your photos within iPhoto.
Experiment, but also try to include:
- an establishing shot
- a close up of the activity/tool etc
- an extreme close up
- a shot from a low angle
- a shot from eye level
- a shot from a high angle
- a shot of your subject looking directly into the camera
- a shot of your subject looking off frame
- a shot where you try to use lighting in an interesting way
- a shot where your frame also includes something shown in the background
View some previous highlighted student photos here.
Import all your photos into iPhoto. Create an album for the unit.
Print a contact sheet for the next lesson. Video tutorial below on how to print a contact sheet.
- When printed, title the document "Staged Reality."
- Glue this in your sketchbook.
- Make simple annotated notes as to which pictures look best and why and which do not and why.
- Star your best photos.
- Create a folder for the unit in Google Drive to back up your work. Share this with the teacher. Create a subfolder for this assignment.
Homework:
1. Print contact sheet with annotations.
2. Back up photos to appropriate folders in Google Drive. Share folder(s) with teacher.
3. Read the following document and be prepared to summarise what Documentary Photography is.
Take note of segments you find interesting, or something you can make/use as a goal to further develop your own work.
Be prepared to share your answers with the class in the next lesson.
You can also download the document from here if you wish.
Lesson 3
Arrange seating plan
Warm-up (5mins):
View the following images and write a caption or headline for each. Be prepared to share your answers as a class.
(all photos taken from NYT: Lens)
Task 1: Critique "Staged Reality" Project. (15-20mins)
A. Choose what you believe to be your 1 best photo from last week.
Display it on your laptop & have a gallery walk to view.
B. In groups of 4, share your best "Staged Reality" pictures and why you think they are good.
Other members should also contribute feedback.
What goal can you make to improve? Record this in your sketchbook, titled Project 2 - Staged Reality Reflection.
What feeling or mood is conveyed when you:
Task 2: Whole class discussion (based on "Documentary Photography Intro" document) (10-15mins)
- What is the difference between documentary photography and photojournalism?
- What is a photo essay? How can it be structured?
- What can a documentary photographer photograph? What can be the subject?
Task 3a: Image Analysis (15 minutes)
In groups, you will be assigned 3 photos.
Look at your assigned photos and consider the following questions:
- What (or who) is the subject?
- What's the "story" here?
- What else is in the photograph?
- What do you learn from this picture?
- Why do you suppose this photograph has become iconic? Which one appeals to you most? Why?
- How do you think the photographer got this shot?
If you have seen one or more of the images before, is it possible to "see" them with "new eyes," or has the image's impact lessened over time with multiple viewings?
Task 3b: Comparison
Looking at the photos analysed, compare them to some the photos you took.
- What differences do you notice between the photographs we just looked at and those we've taken ourselves?
- What is the difference between personal photography and photojournalism?
- What do professional photographers tend to pay attention to that amateurs do not?
- What makes a photo good? What makes a photo great?
- Look back at the iconic photos you looked at and list the qualities that make them great on the board.
At this point, introduce the following elements of great news photographs to students to ground your discussion and give students a vocabulary for discussing what they see:
-Composition (background, foreground, placement and framing)
-Lighting and color
-Focus and depth of field
-Timeliness
-Point of view/objectivity/subjectivity
-Storytelling or narrative
Task 4a: Have a look at Eugene W. Smith’s Life Magazine photo essay “Country Doctor” (LINK).
His photo essay chronicles ‘the day-to-day challenges faced by an indefatigable general practitioner.’
Note the placement of the camera; how it appears to be a character and how his angles evoke an emotional response.
Critically compare the photos you take with Eugene Smith's.
- What differences do you notice between the photographs he took and the ones you usually take?
- What is the difference between personal photography and photojournalism?
- What do professional photographers tend to pay attention to that amateurs do not?
Organise your answers like in the following table:
| Personal Photos: |
Photojournalist Photos: |
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Task 4b: Select one of Eugene W. Smith's photos and answer the following questions:
What is happening in the image?
Who are the characters and what do you assume about them?
Where is the setting and why is it significant or insignificant?
How does the image make you feel?
What visual clues did you use to help craft your story?
***Please include the image that you are analysing.
Homework: complete task 4a and 4b
Lesson 4
Arrange seating plan
Warm-up:
Task 1: Have students share task 4a and b with their tables. (15 minutes)
Task 2: Summative Task Outline: "Eye Through A Lens"
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You are a documentary photographer and have been hired by EyeLens Magazine to create a photo essay.
They trust your talented vision and have decided to give you artistic freedom in the subject you choose to document. Their only requirement is that you have a minimum of 9 photos for their magazine feature.
What will be your story to tell? You are required to plan this out. This will also form part of your assessment.
A photographic essay is a series of photographs which attempt to do one or more of the following: reveal, inform, entertain, persuade, or compare and contrast. Documentary photographers record life, conditions & history in the places they visit and work.
Your photo essay should have a structure.
When telling your story, include the following:
•A wide establishing shot
•Close ups of activity
•A decisive event or moment / candid shots
•Portraits (head-shots)
•A concluding image
Remember, your photos do not have to be arranged in chronological order.
Your photos can be in colour or black and white.
You may rearrange them to tell your story, but not to create your story.
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Review rubric.
Complete the following planning sheet.
This planning forms part of your assessment.
You can download the sheet from here if you lose it.
When complete, share your plans with a peer to get feedback.
Your plan is due for assessment in the next lesson.
This project is due at the beginning of Lesson 6 (the week of March 17).
You have 2 weeks to take photos.
Homework:
1. Take some test shots for your topic to critique in the next lesson.
Some of these photos may be applicable to include in your final project.
2. Read the short article: 10 rules of photo composition (and why they work) [via Digital Camera World, 2012]
Lesson 5
Arrange seating plan
)
Collect plans from students.
Review rubric.
Peer evaluation of plan.
Task 1 (20min): Crop My Peer
Take 1 portrait of a peer.
Take it from some distance.
Place their head in the middle of the frame so you have a lot of empty space that you can then crop out.
Import your photo into iPhoto and duplicate it 3 times (Command/D). Experiment with cropping.
Come up with 3 different & interesting crops using the same photo.
Task 2 (5mins): Look at "Ozier Muhammad's Harlem." He photographed his community, aiming to capture its essence – the people, places, pets, and things that make it sing and live and breathe.
Another example here of a husband documenting his wife during cancer treatment.
Task 3: Project 4 "My UWC"
Let's go for a walk around campus to see what interesting shots we can come up.
Let's look for people, activities, pattern, colour, line etc.
Import these photos into iPhoto
OR, teacher may simply take photos with iPad.
Homework:
"Eye Through A Lens" project due next week.
Lesson 6
Arrange seating plan
"Eye Through A Lens" planning/project due.
Present, critique & self assess work.
Drag your final project photos to your desktop.
Rename all your final project photos in order of presentation as below:
(*if you change the file names within iPhoto, they will not save once you drag them out)
UWC-Gr8u3-2014-Tutor group in ALL CAPS-Name 1
eg.
UWC-Gr8u3-2014-CHM-Frank C 1
UWC-Gr8u3-2014-CHM-Frank C 2
UWC-Gr8u3-2014-CHM-Frank C 3
etc.
Back up your final photos in a folder on Google Drive.
Name the folder "Name-Documentary Photography."
Share this folder with the teacher.
Screenshot your iPhoto album and name it as above as well. Email this to the teacher.
Only include the photos for your project.
Lesson 7
How can we share our work?
You will now share your work via a "Magazine" spread.
You may use a template from Pages or Word.
Think carefully like a designer and consider layout, colour and font.
Be creative, stylish and eye catching.
If you wish to attempt sharing via a website, VoiceThread or something else, please let the teacher know.
You should create a title. You may vary the sizes of the pictures for emphasis if you wish.
If you have 9 photos, 2 pages is your limit. Try not to go over 4 pages.
Write some text about your project. Blurbs can also be written for individual photos.
You may write about:
- what you were trying to capture
- what the photo represents
- the person or event
- technical points about your photography skills
- pros/cons about your photo and/or project
Also write a concluding statement on what you would do differently, if you repeated the project.
Save your document as a PDF with the filename as "UWC-Gr8u3-2014-Tutor group in ALL CAPS-Name"
Back this up in GoogleDrive and email it to the teacher.
Spring Holiday
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