Photography, as a medium, has evolved so much in such a relatively short period of time. When I was an elementary school student, photography required an expensive camera, fancy lenses, film, access to a dark room…schools didn’t have the budget for that kind of equipment, so it wasn’t even an option until high school. Even then, to take a photography course required a prohibitively expensive resource fee. None of this is the case today. Thanks to rapidly advancing cell phone technology, virtually everyone has a professional quality camera (and video recorder) in their pocket at all times. You can edit your photos directly on your device without additional, costly software such as Photoshop. You can adjust the focal length, light/color balance, shutter speed, image size/quality, choose the format and take burst photos natively within your camera app. You can even overlay gridlines to assist with composition, it’s bonkers what you can do with a phone these days. Photography is available to everyone, including very young students, which is great, but comes with a few draw backs.
For one, cameras are so ubiquitous today that we’ve all become comfortable with a sense of pervasive voyeurism. With a separate, point and shoot device, you at least knew when someone was aiming it at you. We’re all so glued to our cell phones these days that it doesn’t even register if someone is holding one in your immediate proximity. This poses a potential danger to children (even from other children) who may not be quick to grasp when moments of vulnerability are being recorded. When you factor in that these devices are connected to the internet, with the ability to distribute photographs to every corner of the globe instantaneously, the potential for exploitation is even greater. I think if photography is to be implemented into an elementary school art curriculum, serious attention must be paid to teaching responsible usage.
Another concern is the disposability of photographs in today’s culture. With antiquated cameras, the investment of time, money and resources needed to shoot and develop film was a real consideration. For this reason, photos were taken with deliberation. You didn’t commit to something unless it felt worthwhile, often with some degree of staging taking place. Film is no longer a finite resource, and “development” is immediate, so pictures are taken with a “fire and forget” mentality. They have very little value. Would today’s students understand the significance of someone like Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, or Richard Avedon? Would they appreciate the skill and artistry that went into their work? I hope so, but their whole conception of photography is so very different from what it is for earlier generations that it’s hard to say.
Concerns out of the way, what I do like about introducing photography to children is the use of a camera as a tool. It’s a remarkably convenient note taking device. See something that inspires you? A shape? A pattern? A color scheme or composition? Take a quick photo and you’ll have it to reference later. You can take a picture of a doodle you made on a greasy McDonalds napkin, and then throw that thing in the trash where it belongs. I frequently take photos of art supplies I’ve enjoyed working with in class and use them to form a shopping list. The exercise we undertook in this class is a great example of leveraging the accessibility of photography for inspiration. Because a cell phone is small and light, I could easily take mine out with me to explore the woods around my apartment complex. By documenting my surroundings, I applied a level of scrutiny I never had before. I discovered a whole world right beneath my nose that I’d never seen until through the lens of a camera. For me, the results aren’t so much about the photographs themselves (I certainly don’t consider these “art”) they are merely the product of the far more valuable process. This is probably the mindset I would foster should I introduce photography into my lessons, to use a camera as one step in a larger journey of discovery/creation than the end in and of itself.
Resources Worth Considering:
“How to Take Good Photos With a Phone”- Includes recommended photography apps to install on your phone.
“Phone Photography 101: How to Take Good Photos With Your Mobile Device”- This one has a lot of good advice on the compositional aspects of photography, in addition to the standard mechanical tips. “Look for symmetry” and “embrace negative space.” That kind of thing.
“The Complete Guide to Smartphone Photography”- Clarifies some of the terms used in digital photography, comments on the strengths/weaknesses of various smartphone brands, provides suggestions on accessories, and outlines some overlooked features common to most devices.