"I didn't realize that you can tell people about yourself through photography!" A student exclaimed this during the first quarter of Digital Photography at our school. Our students are constantly exposed to visuals through TV, Instagram, Twitter, and other media outlets. Their first-hand knowledge of pictures in today's society is a selfie.
However, not all students have the experience of handling a real camera outside of using a cell phone.
Even less of these students have a cell phone. Our school is 51% free and reduced lunch. 40% of our students are of Hispanic or Latino decent. Many of our students don't have access to the internet at home. We have 800 students attending our Middle School half way between Portland and the coast in Oregon.
My Project
In my introduction to digital photography course, I hope to instill a love for using photography as an artistic expression instead of a way to self-promote. Many of our students have never handled a 'real' camera. Since we are a Title one school, another sub population of our building don't have any type of access to the digital world.
The cameras and tripods will help my students connect with each other and with themselves.
By learning the basic compositional elements of photography, solo and in small groups, they will be able to explore how to tell stories through pictures. Students will learn about various styles of photography through this course.
My main goal is to get students away from the 'Selfie' thought process that we have seen take over the internet.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Ward Wilcox and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.