Take Better Pictures!

-
Our middle school newspaper club is off and running!  Last year the sponsoring teachers asked me to come in and talk to the students about how to take quality pictures for the newspaper.  Following is the information I gave to them (updated for this year's presentation with the club after school).  All of the images were taken by my daughter or me and as you'll see we're big fans of the cat!

Composition Rules

There are no set rules to composition (also called ‘framing’) but here are some tips:
  1. Framing: be aware of all elements in your picture, not just your subject (look what else is in the frame- trees? garbage? other people? etc.). Do these other elements distract from your image?
  1. Rule of Thirds: imagine the view finder is divided into thirds (both horizontally and vertically). Many say the best photos have the subject placed where the lines cross
image-3.jpeg
Screen Shot 2014-10-29 at 10.47.00 AM.png
  1. Foreground and Background: Every picture has a foreground and background.  Zooming in really close focuses on the foreground and can blur the background. In this case the focus is on the background so the foreground is blurred.

background.JPG


background-jackson.JPG
IMG_6245.jpg
  1. Line of Sight: photos are much more visually appealing if they are taken from different lines of sight (kneeling, camera on the ground, tilt, etc.)  See “Camera Angles” below
  1. Visual Depth:  Look for elements in a photograph that “move the eye” within the photo.  For example, looking down a staircase or traveling up a branch

looking down.JPG
looking up.JPG
  1. Look for Patterns

pattern3.JPG


patterns1.JPG
  1. Texture:  Try getting close to your subject (much better quality than if you stand back and zoom)

starbucks.jpeg
Camera Angles
Bird’s Eye View: taking a photo from above the subject, looking down

birds eye view.jpg


High Angle: taking your photo from just above the subject looking down (not as high as Bird’s Eye View. Some say this makes the subject look smaller or inferior)

high angle.JPG

Extreme Close Up

extreme close up.jpg

extreme close up 1.JPG
extreme close up2.JPG
Low Angle: a photo that is just below the subject, looking up. This shot is used to make the subject look larger or superior (the president is often photographed this way)
low angle.JPG
low-angle-jackson.JPG
me-low angle.JPG
Canted Angle:  A photo that is tilted
canted.JPG
canted1.jpg
typewriter-canted.JPG
Long Shot: a photo that is taken from far away, usually establishing setting
long shot copy.JPG
long shot.jpg

Medium Shot:  Usually captures half of the subject from the waist up

IMG_1001.jpg
Close-up Shot:  Directly focused on the subject
close up.JPG
close up 1.jpg
close up copy.JPG
See more of Abby's photos here: http://nmzumpano.wix.com/photosbyabby


Students in the newspaper club then went out and took pictures.  Here are their results!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rgkjMq3zzaVkCoCyTrmfDOFTjExunTsFKBqTIplgqW4/edit?usp=sharing

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Twenty Years is Worth Two Cents

-
Image
Time It’s been an interesting year.  My twins entered middle school (time flies).  My mom died unexpectedly leaving me parentless with probate and a house built by my grandfather in 1948 (time stands still).  Oh…and CPS is shuttering my school  (time to move?). The school I’ve built my career at and spent the last twenty years with students. I sat in the library with my colleagues and was read two scripts; one by my principal and one by a Chicago Public School Central Office employee.  With that, it was done (or in the beginning phase of 'done'). Teachers were told to “have a good day of teaching and learning” (one of our daily mantras) and were sent off to teach their students after just being told our school was not remaining open after this school year but our building would remain open with a new faculty and three student bodies.   George Leland school would inhabit our building while May Community Academy and Louis Armstrong Math & Science Elementary would be
Read more

Understanding Plagiarism

-
Image
Our middle school is 1:1 with Chromebooks so students spend a fair amount of time researching topics online.  A teacher noticed there is a lot of copying and pasting of information by students and asked me to come in and have a conversation about plagiarism.  I developed a Prezi with an accompanying notes guide for the students to complete as I presented the content to them.  The Prezi and notes guide are below.  As we wrapped up the students were able to use their Chromebooks for a bit of fun (with a topic that isn't so fun).  We played a Kahoot game where they reviewed concepts about plagiarism from their guide.  They loved it!  What I loved is that Kahoot also provides a summary of student responses to the game- I can see which students missed specific questions which allows me to follow up if needed. Resources used in the presentation (good for teachers and students): http://www.plagiarism.org http://en.writecheck.com (this has a plagiarism checker available) https://o
Read more

Water the Flowers, Not the Rocks: Tips from 10 Years of Instructional Coaching

-
This June I wrapped up ten years of instructional technology coaching. Soon (tomorrow, in fact) I will begin a new journey in my career where I will still utilize my coaching skills but in a different capacity. This new opportunity has caused me to reflect on lessons learned throughout my time as a school-based coach. If you are a coach or aspire to be one following are ten tips I've learned during my ten years in the role. Be a model . Practice what you preach! If you want your teachers to join Twitter make sure you are already there. If they would like to try a new tool or lesson familiarize yourself with it first in order to lend additional support. Be honest . If you don't know something, say so. As a coach, your faculty will look to you as an expert. There have been several times throughout my career that I've said, "I don't know that tool/concept/strategy but let me see what I can find out about it." If you are a former classroom teacher, remind peo
Read more