Photography Class: An Update

I am not very good at keeping up on a series of blog posts. But I do want to update you on how this has been going.

M and J are about 14 weeks into The Beginner's Photography Guide book. They are doing pretty well having a good time learning still. They do a portion of the week's reading each day and do the camera practice a few times a week.

Photography Class and Eclipse 2017

Last week J and M finished up the BSA photography merit badge. The had to photograph an event or topic of choice, create a presentation using 8-12 images, and then research and discuss careers in photography.

For their presentations they both chose to create a Power Point slideshow of the eclipse last Monday. They documented what we did all day and the changes in the shadows. Neither one of them photographed the sun and moon, though I did take one photo below. We did not want to risk damage to cameras, even with a filter, so one photo was just fine!

Photography Class - Skill Practice and Editing

Last week my children worked on using their knowledge to practice, in the BSA booklet this was requirements 4 and 5.

We photographed a subject from two different angles, from two different light sources, with two different compositional techniques, and played with depth of field more. Here are their choices of angles.

Photography Class - The Curricula

This week we didn't do much work because we were so busy, and my son was away at scout camp. We did practice a little, and that's something I'm emphasizing. If you want to improve your photography you must practice, daily if you can! There's a reason that 365 posts are so popular, daily practice really does help you improve.

This week I'm going to show you what we are using to help us learn.

Your camera's manual: This is so essential! You need to know what your camera can do and how to change the settings. Take time to read it, and refer back to it often. We carry our manuals in our camera bags. You can often get the digital version from the manufacturer's website, and keep it on your mobile device .

Photography Class - Week 1 - With the "worker bees"

Ever since my son J was a toddler, his favorite thing to do was to take pictures with Grandpa's camera. Now that he's older, he has purchased his own point and shoot to use. He also likes to borrow mine. So much so that he worked out a deal with my husband and I to purchase my camera! Part of the deal was that he'd learn how to use it and not just use it as a glorified point and shoot.

My daughter M is less vocal about it than my son, but loves taking pictures too. She'll use any opportunity she can to try to learn what makes a good photo. I discussed the possibility of a photography class for high school credit with her, and she liked that idea.

Since one child was going to do photography class, why not have both of them do it? The best part is that my son can earn his photography merit badge too. So our homeschool photography class was born. In another post I'll show you what we are using to learn (my brain is fully capable, but I have some neat books that are helpful).