>>>Trevor and PF members, I'd like to receive the information asked for in the message below. If you have ideas, would you pass them along to me, please. 1. activities that received good student response 2. unique project ideas (that help them develop basic technical concepts) - visual exercises - planning techniques - self _expression_ triggers - etc.. 3. photography educators resources from the internet (i have used heavily from scphoto.com) 4. strategies or materials that have produced good results ...or anything else you can think of>>> One thing that helped me was taking up stereo photography When you start shooting 3D, your 2D images improve. You start to think about perspective and your scene. I look at all 2D images and in some cases, I wonder how much better the picture would be if taken in stereo. Too complicated to consider, perhaps? Perhaps my personal bias. As for the students, what type of photography? For example, architecture is to be approached differently than say, babies or portraits; dogs and cats. Classic/antique motorcycles are shot differently than pictures of pies or grapefruit. There are far too many photographers that specialize in every possible subject; leading to so-so images regardless of what they shoot. Nobody can possibly be expert in every type of photography, so teach the student to find a topic and learn it well. I love architectural images and it takes a special breed of cat to take them from OK and Good, to jaw dropping WOW. I have seen WOW and it is immediately apparent to me the photographer loves buildings. She cannot take portraits or do studio work, however. I would teach them that filters are very important. Then again, how deeply do you want to delve into filters?. For example, there are CC filters and there are Decamired Filters that are used with a color temperature meter and few photographers know about those filters. At the minimum, teach them about black and white contrast filters AND the polarizer filter. Teach them why almost every black and white image can be made better if the proper filter is used. Your dealer does not stock everything in the Kodak Wratten catalog and some filters are seldom used these days, yet common place years ago. For example, I often use filters, like #15, #24, and #48A.. Teach them that slow film always trumps faster films; Panatomic-X is better (was) better than Tri-X, and Plus-X. Slow is better AND, you do not always need fast film, despite the arguments that this comment will likely generate. Almost every auto race I shot was shot on Plus-X Pan; Panatomic-X and Kodachrome X for static images of auto displays and cars parked in the pit area. Why? Far better quality. I remember shooting trained monkeys at as local shopping mall. Pan-X and a tripod, not the suggested "Pushed Tri-X. Why? Better quality. I have thousands of negatives made on slow film because faster film was not available at the time. If the old timers could make it work, so can other photographers. For many years, I shot only Kodachrome. For many years, that is mostly what National Geographic Magazine demanded their photographers use. Read some old issues and you will see the film as well as the photographer was credited. Even underwater. I never required fast films, never wanted fast films because if you are smart, slow films can be used in situations where photographers would grab a much faster film. One of the last buildings I shot was done on the slowest film I could find. The tripod is your friend, even at 1/1000 of a second shutter speed, despite what others will tell you, a tripod does make a difference at all speeds. Teach them about formats and why an 8x10 is better than 2-1/4 x 2-1/4, all things being equal. Teach them to properly read a negative, and why the best looking image on a contact sheet is not necessarily the best image to print. Do not, never, EVER teach them that it is Ok to take countless Polaroid test shots or burn up a dozen rolls of film while shooting. That speaks to little or no confidence in the film or equipment and a lack or proper training. Sorry, but that is my view. Teach the student about the relationship between the photographer and the lab. Depending upon what lab they/you select, you will often find clueless lab wonks. Sometimes, the prints could be made far better if the lab person was qualified. As for custom printing, that is a different post. Much I can say about how, in my opinion, all labs MUST be run. Bob ... Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com |
