Focus On Photography - A Curriculum Guide

International Center of Photography
Focus on Photography
A Curriculum Guide
by Cynthia Way for the

Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide
Written by Cynthia Way for the International Center of Photography
© 2006 International Center of Photography

All rights reserved.
Published by the International Center of Photography, New York.
Printed in the United States of America.
This material may be reproduced for educational purposes only. Please credit the International
Center of Photography on all reproductions.
For more information about ICP Community Programs, please visit our Web site at www.icp.org
or call 212-857-0005.
This project has been made possible with generous support from Andrew and Marina Lewin,
the GE Fund, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural
Challenge Program.
“ A knowledge of photography is just as
important as that of the alphabet.”
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Photographer, 19321
Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide is a comprehensive resource

featuring effective strategies, curriculum, lesson plans, and activities that
will help K-12 educators bring the rewards of photographic education to
their students.
1
Moholy-Nagy, Laszlo. “A New Instrument of Vision” (1932), in Moholy-Nagy,
Documentary Monographs in Modern Art. edited by Richard Kostelanetz (New
York: Praeger Publishers, 1970), p. 54.

ii
C
FOCUS ON PHOTOGRAPHY: A CURRICULUM GUIDE
Table of Contents
Letter from the Director .................................................................................................. v

Foreword . ...................................................................................................................... vii
INTRODUCTION
Overview, Contents, How to Use This Book ................................................................... 1
PART I: VISUAL LITERACY

Chapter 1: Why Photographic Education? ...................................................................... I-1
Chapter 2: The Language of Photography ...................................................................... I-13
Chapter 3: Visual Literacy: Concepts and Strategies ...................................................... I-37
PART II: TEACHING PHOTOGRAPHY

Chapter 4: Teaching the Basics: History, Technique, Aesthetics, and Practice ................ II-1
Chapter 5: Strategies for Developing Projects . ............................................................... II-29
Chapter 6: Meeting Educational Goals ........................................................................... II-67
Chapter 7: Documentary Photography Projects . ............................................................ II-89
Chapter 8: Portraiture Projects ....................................................................................... II-107
PART III: CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

Chapter 9: Making Curriculum Connections ................................................................... III-1
Chapter 10: Photography & History ................................................................................ III-9
Chapter 11: Photography & Social Studies ..................................................................... III-23
Chapter 12: Photography & Multicultural Education ........................................................ III-45
iii
Chapter 13: Photography & Literature . ........................................................................... III-61
Chapter 14: Photography & Writing . ............................................................................... III-71
Chapter 15: Photography & Other Art Media .................................................................. III-95
Chapter 16: Photography & Digital Imaging .................................................................... III-115
Chapter 17: Photography & Professional Applications . ................................................... III-125
Afterword: Visualizing Education
PART IV: RESOURCES

Index to Focus Links ...................................................................................................... IV-1
Focus Lesson Plans ....................................................................................................... IV-3
Focus Writing Activities . ................................................................................................. IV-33
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Basics of Photography
Appendix 2: A Brief History of Photography
Appendix 3: Building a Traditional and a Digital Darkroom
Glossary of Photographic Terms

Bibliography
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
About the International Center of Photography (ICP)
About the Author
iv
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
From its founding, the International Center of Photography (ICP) has been a
museum and school dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of photography.
Since the early years, ICP’s Community Programs department has partnered with
many underserved communities to explore photography and has taken a leadership
role in cultivating the power of the image as a tool for communication and as an agent
for social change. ICP’s education programs for young people explore photography as
a way of understanding ourselves, the bonds that form a community, and the world in
which we live.
ICP provides high-quality photographic education programs, augmenting a

partnering organization’s integrated approach to art education. Because of the caliber
of teaching artists and vital connections to the field, the programs often address
professional applications of photography and inspire young people to envision larger
possibilities for themselves.
Over the past 15 years, more than 150 photography courses through school
partnerships and after-school programs have served our many communities. The
result is that thousands of elementary, junior high, and high school students have had
contact with photographers and teachers who inspire them to imagine what it is like to
be an artist—to be a creative person. From these experiences, common themes and
effective strategies emerged and were refined, and now they are distilled in Focus on
Photography for any educator to adapt to their needs.
ICP would like to express its gratitude to the numerous volunteers, educators,
philanthropic foundations, corporations, state and government agencies, and
individuals—whose generous contributions made these programs possible and, in turn,
enriched and changed lives. Most importantly, ICP would like to thank the participating
young photographers who have taught and continue to teach us what the meaning of
“possibility” is.
Willis E. Hartshorn
Ehrenkranz Director

vi
F“
Foreword
To collect photographs is to collect the

world.”
– Susan Sontag1
Figure 1
vii
Photographs tell stories of birth and death, love and war, freedom and
oppression. They present the dynamics of life in the country and the city. They
represent historic record, and they can shatter our definition of history. Photographs
preserve our memories and inspire us to become aware. They reveal our dreams
and our nightmares. They excite us and repel us. They clarify and mystify. The joy of
photography lies in its infinite possibilities. Each photograph offers the extraordinary
pleasure of discovery.
Viewing, discussing, and creating images can be a passage to self-discovery

that enhances self-esteem. Studying photography can be the conduit to a further
understanding of various cultures and different ways of seeing, believing, and thinking.
Photography broadens our conception of ourselves and the world.
Photography is not just about technique; it is about perception and communication.

Because the power of photography lies in its ability to communicate our perceptions of
the world, photography can intersect with many areas of study. Thematic photography
projects can impart an understanding of the medium itself as well as reinforce studies
in such disciplines as science, social studies, English, and languages.
As Coordinator of Community Programs at the International Center of Photography

(ICP) for nine years, I witnessed how photography can play a transformative role in
schools and after-school learning centers. Whether designing curricula with faculty
or speaking with students about their work, I have noticed how the interaction with
photography creates meaningful connections both personally and educationally. In this
book, I hope to synthesize ICP’s experiences and provide useful essays, curriculum
ideas, and practical information that will bring the rewards of photography to a broad
audience.
Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide will help educators use photography

to enrich students’ learning experiences. These resources provide effective ways
for educators to incorporate photographic education into their teaching—within
schools, museums, libraries, or community centers. Whether the goal is to create a
visual learning experience, supplement academic topics, build communication skills,
inspire community development, or foster a mutual sense of respect, the focus is on
photography in the curriculum.
Cynthia Way
1
Susan Sontag, On Photography (New York: Delta, 1973), p. 3.
viii
I
Introduction
Overview
Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide is designed to inform educators about the
many possibilities and interdisciplinary applications of photographic education in school
and after-school settings, grades K-12. Drawn from ICP’s experiences, Focus distills what
educators need to know to design a stimulating photography project that is both affordable
and appropriate for their students. Focus presents effective strategies for designing
curriculum, teaching photography, meeting educational goals, and making connections
between photography and other disciplines. Educators of all levels of experience with
teaching and photography will find information and practical resources that they can apply to
their setting.
Contents
Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide is organized into four parts.
Part I: Visual Literacy—strategies, definitions, discussion questions, and reflection

activities for understanding the elements of photography
Part II: Teaching Photography—strategies for designing curriculum for different grade
levels; teaching the history, techniques, aesthetics, and practice of photography; and
meeting educational goals
Part III: Curriculum Connections—case studies and curricula illustrating ways to

integrate photography with academic disciplines and other art media
Part IV: Resources—a collection of all the Focus lesson plans, activities, discussion
questions, worksheets, writing activities, hands-on photographic activities, and
reflection activities ready for use
Appendices
Appendix 1: Basics of Photography
Appendix 2: A Brief History of Photography
Appendix 3: Building a Traditional and a Digital Darkroom
Bibliography—resources on photographic technique, history, and education as well as

links to online image collections to use with this book
Note: In Focus, the term “photography” includes different types of images created with
light, ranging from black-and-white prints to digital images. While the techniques vary,
the same educational principles apply for interpreting, discussing, and creating all kinds
of photographic images. Educators should use the technical manuals that accompany
their equipment for use with this resource.
Introduction

How to Use This Book
As a comprehensive resource on photographic education, Focus on Photography:
A Curriculum Guide is designed to accommodate various needs and interests.
Beginning teachers will find a thorough discussion of how to design and teach a
balanced curriculum that covers the history, techniques, aesthetics, and practice
of photography. Teachers with little experience in photography will broaden their
approaches to viewing, discussing, creating, and responding to images. Experienced
photo-educators will expand their repertoire and find inspiration in project examples
and activities. Teachers and school leaders who are concerned with designing a
photographic education project that meets educational standards will find useful
information and resources in Focus.
Focus Links: As you read through the strategies and curricula in Focus, you will
find links to Part IV: Resources, including lesson plans and hands-on activities, which
are a useful starting point for designing your own projects.
Educators can approach Focus through multiple pathways.

1 Read the chapters in order for a broad picture of photographic education.
2 Read chapters in Part I and Part II that provide a foundation in teaching and try
the Focus activities and lesson plans in Part IV.
3 Skip to those chapters in Part III that address curricular topics and adapt the
Focus lessons and activities to your school setting.
4 Revisit chapters and read case studies to spark teaching ideas.
Some suggestions are presented below:
❂ For all readers, Part I, Chapter 1: Why Photographic Education? is a good starting
place because it provides a brief overview of photographic education.
Educators with a beginning knowledge of photography and teaching may prefer

to read the book chapter by chapter to build an understanding of the many
educational options.
Suggested pathway: Review the basics of photography by reading Appendix 1:

Basics of Photography and Appendix 2: A Brief History of Photography, and then
read the chapters in order.
❂ For those with a strong technical knowledge of photography but little

experience teaching, spend time absorbing the foundation of teaching presented in
Part II.
Suggested pathway: Read Part II, especially Chapter 4: Teaching the Basics,
to understand important concepts in teaching. Read Part I, Chapter 2: The
Language of Photography and Chapter 3: Visual Literacy for guidance in discussing
photographs. Part III, Chapter 17: Photography & Professional Applications shows
how to capitalize on technical expertise.

❂ For those interested in using technology, Focus has a chapter dedicated
to digital imaging. The educational principles throughout Focus apply to digital
imaging.
Suggested pathway: Read Part III, Chapter 16: Photography & Digital Imaging
and Appendix 3: Building a Traditional and a Digital Darkroom. See Part II, Chapter
4: Teaching the Basics to understand how to incorporate digital imaging into any
curriculum. In particular, sample curriculum using digital imaging appear in Part II,
chapters 4, 6, and 7, and Part III, Chapter 16, as well as lessons in Part IV. See Part
II, Chapter 6: Meeting Educational Goals to see how digital imaging can address
educational technology standards.
❂ For educators with a specific interest in designing a curriculum connection in

a school, whether they will teach the class or hire a teaching artist, Part III presents
teaching strategies, case studies for inspiration, and links to Focus lesson plans
and activities.
Suggested pathway: Read Part III, Chapter 9: Making Curriculum Connections.

Select a chapter in Part III relating to the discipline of interest (e.g., Chapter 10:
Photography & History). To understand how to adapt the case study curriculum,
refer to Part II, Chapter 4: Teaching the Basics, Chapter 5: Strategies for Developing
Projects, and Chapter 6: Meeting Educational Goals.
❂ For those who have been teaching photography but wish to deepen their
approach and expand their repertoire, review chapters that provide a foundation
and those that illustrate specific project ideas.
Suggested pathway: Select Part II, Chapter 7: Documentary Photography

Projects or Chapter 8: Portraiture Projects to explore a genre that appeals to
young people. Read Part II, Chapter 4: Teaching the Basics and Chapter 5:
Strategies for Developing Projects to affirm teaching strategies. Use Part I, Chapter
2: The Language of Photography as a resource for ways to discuss elements of
photography. Skip around among chapters and case studies in Part III to find
project ideas.
❂ For experienced photo-educators who wish to jump right in and teach

photography, Part IV contains sequential lesson plans that are the building blocks
of all Focus curricula.
Suggested pathway: Review the 10 lessons plans in Part IV and compare them
to how you have been teaching photography. Review the case studies throughout
Part III for project ideas. If you are concerned about meeting educational standards
in a school, review Part II, Chapter 6: Meeting Educational Goals.
Introduction

❂ Those who need to develop a program, seek funding, and provide a rationale
for photographic projects will find many resources in Focus.
Suggested pathway: Read Part I, Chapter 1: Why Photographic Education?; Part

II, Chapter 5: Strategies for Developing Projects; and Part II, Chapter 6: Meeting
Educational Goals. The introductory section of each chapter also provides useful
rationale. See especially those in Part III for integrating photography into school
curriculum and meeting educational standards.
In addition, Focus can serve as a useful resource for professional development

in schools, whether part of a formal series of teachers’ workshops or an informal
study group. (See An Approach to Professional Development at the end of Part I,
Chapter 3: Visual Literacy.)

Introduction

Part I
Visual
Literacy
1
Why Photographic Education?
OVERVIEW
T his chapter discusses

why photographic
education is beneficial in
K-12 settings.
Figure 2: Cornell Capa, Savoy Ballroom, 1939
You’ve Captured Our Hearts
Developed Our Minds and
Our Love for You Will Never Rewind.
Mario Hyman, eighth grader

East Harlem, New York, 1994
Capturing the Imagination

Intrinsic to photography is the pleasure of discovery. Both the process and the
results compel us to wonder, reflect, and reveal. Whether capturing a moment of action
with the camera, watching an image appear in the darkroom, or noticing the play of
light and pattern in a photograph, learning photography is fascinating. Teaching this
artistic medium provides the types of engaging activities that educators strive to bring
into their curriculum. By becoming image makers and image readers, students learn
powerful communication and problem-solving skills and become more equipped to
navigate our increasingly challenging and visual culture.
From the first photographs young people create, they demonstrate a sensitivity to
graphic form and fresh approach to design that becomes more thoughtful, personal,
and playful as they gain control of the camera. If at first students handle the fragile,
manual camera with caution and timidity, they soon learn to count the clicks as the
aperture opens or closes and to adjust the shutter speed fast enough to catch the next
action shot. Crouching down low and shooting up endows a classmate with power,
while taking a portrait from the top of a park bench makes a classmate look small in a
large world. These young photographers are learning to compose pictures and express
their point of view.
When working on photographic assignments, students respond visually and

emotionally to the whole scene, and they also solve technical problems (considering
lighting, determining the angle, calculating exposure). They think critically about the
subject matter and make choices when shooting, editing, and printing. The resulting
pictures are a map of seeing, frame by frame, becoming increasingly sophisticated
in approach to subject matter. Their images provide clues to how they think and
feel and what they know and wonder about. “What are the positive qualities in my
photographs?” says Kathy Quilan, an ICP high school intern, “They are my ideas and
thoughts. I worked hard on them.”
Part I: Visual Literacy

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education?
What Photographic Education Looks Like
in Schools
The richness in photographic education comes from the “image”-ination—from
helping students see and make creative connections between the art form and
their lives. Photography is an immediate and accessible medium, making it a useful
educational tool. A balanced curriculum in photography incorporates studies on
the history, techniques, aesthetics, and practice of the medium. This hand-on
approach—at once grounded in the image and open to the imagination—most
effectively advances students’ knowledge and skills. Whether teaching photography
or another discipline, in a school or after-school setting, educators can capitalize on a
visual learning experience that motivates students to learn.
Figure 3

Photography’s role in K-12 education has as many manifestations as the medium
itself and its range of techniques, styles, and genres. Because of this eclectic range,
photography can also be woven into other disciplines. Kindergartners can learn how
light creates a photograph as they compose sun prints outdoors. Elementary school
students can tell stories about their lives by combining pictures with drawing and
writing. Middle school students can make portraits and write poetry to share their
deepest concerns. High school students can create photo essays and portfolios that
explore their emerging role in the world. Advanced students use photography to show
a place of peace (Figure 3 by Darkeem Dennis, 18), to capture a dynamic action (Figure
4 by Ileia Burgos, 18), to portray the courage of a blind grandmother (Figure 5 by Ebony
Peartree, 18), or to focus on the artful steps of a dancer (Figure 6 by Joseph Gilmore, 14).
As for the options, imagine schools outfitted with darkrooms, lighting studios, and
computer stations, integrated with digital photography and video and connected to
the Internet. This is happening now, where there are the resources and administrative
support, but other low-cost options can take advantage of available school resources.
Photographs are created with a variety of cameras: handmade pinhole cameras,
disposable cameras, digital cameras, 35mm SLR cameras, and large-format cameras.
For a school with scant resources allocated to art, a creative and frugal teacher can
design group projects where students play different roles, use available images, and
combine photography with other media. Because it is more likely that a school can
invest in a computer lab than dedicate space and resources to a darkroom, digital
imaging is more easily integrated into school curriculum. Students can create images
with a digital camera, retouch and resize them, and combine them with text. As they
learn about artistic techniques, they build computer literacy, another valuable skill for
their future. Most important, they learn how the visual image communicates.
Figure 4

Figure 5
Figure 6

What Visual Learning Offers
Understanding the language of photography is integral to harnessing its educational
power. By deepening a knowledge of the history, techniques, aesthetics, and practice
of photography through a balanced curriculum, students and teachers alike become
more visually literate.
Loosely defined, visual literacy is the ability to read or decode visual images; it is
“the use of and transformation of various kinds of symbols” (Gardener, 1990, p. 9).
These symbols are articulated through the visual language of the art form—its formal,
technical, and expressive qualities. We interpret visual images with our senses, our
emotions, and our minds. Many researchers have described how this interaction
with art is a cognitive activity. As Rudolf Arnheim states in Visual Thinking, “Visual
perception is visual thinking” (1969, p. 14). And, he continues, “the arts are the most
powerful means of strengthening the perceptual component without which productive
thinking is impossible in any field of endeavor” (p. 3). When we say that students are
“seeing photographically” and have developed “visual literacy skills,” we mean that
in their photographs and responses, they demonstrate that they have developed the
perceptual and thinking skills to understand how the visual image communicates
meaning.
Visual literacy leads to a rich understanding of the arts in terms of both perception
and creation. This results in a connection to the legacy of the arts and art’s powerful
way of communicating the values, aspirations, and conflicts in our lives and throughout
human history. Studying art helps us to connect to ourselves and each other, to
cultures both familiar and unfamiliar, and therefore informs our growth individually and
as a community. To build visual literacy skills at school is an essential way to prepare
young people to contribute to our global society.
As Harry S. Broudy says in The Role of Imagery in Learning (1987): “The way in
which the poet, novelist, artist, and composer perceived the time in which they lived
and the way they personified the values of the time in images are important resources
for the educated response to social problems” (p. 23). Studying the history of the art
form, learning how artists have used their craft to respond to the world, practicing these
techniques to make our own contributions, and uncovering how images connect us to
our past, present, and future—all make us more literate.
To truly teach students, educators themselves need to be visually literate

detectives. Educators need to understand how the visual image communicates and
how students are approaching their art-making in order to track student progress and
adapt their instruction to students’ needs. With an understanding of the possibilities
of photographic education, educators can integrate photography into school and
after-school programs and meet their educational goals. Photographic education
meets national and local educational standards for visual arts when the instruction

builds students’ knowledge and skills in the aesthetics, techniques, processes, and
applications of the medium.
It is important to develop criteria for photography projects that reflect both artistic
and academic learning goals. When assessing student progress and evaluating art
projects, educators can focus on quantitative aspects (attendance, participation,
outcomes) and qualitative reflections of the educational process (students’ reactions to
the classroom experience, progression in skill development, and the quality of resulting
artwork). Comments from students show the best evidence of what they learned. Fifth-
grade student Antoinette Briguglio writes:
I learned a number of things. We learned about light, color, speed, and depth
of field, and we learned how to hold and operate a camera, and how to
predict what our picture will look like. I really enjoyed the outings we took to
take pictures. It was a fun way to express myself and my feelings.
(ICP course evaluation)
Rewards of Photographic Education

As students learn about photography, they benefit from an integrated learning
experience that nurtures their minds, hearts, and souls. This is well expressed by Mario
Hyman, an eighth grader from East Harlem, who made an illustrated thank-you card as
his reflection on the ICP photography program:
You’ve Captured Our Hearts

Developed Our Minds and
Our Love for You Will Never Rewind.
While photographic education offers many of the same rewards as art education in
general, there are also several aspects particular to the medium of photography.
(1) Active learning: Students must work hands-on with cameras in a setting
where they can create images; this encourages students to interact with and know
about the world. In contrast, musicians, painters, and writers often can create artwork
from their imagination and in the privacy of their rooms.
(2) Point of view: Creating an image with a camera trains the photographer to
select a point of view, to frame a picture in the particular way that communicates what
he or she wants to say. This has a tremendous personal benefit for students, as they
broaden their communication skills and see value in their perspectives.

(3) Applications of the medium: Because the use of photography is widespread
in professional, educational, and personal spheres, learning to create and understand
images is a powerful, relevant skill. To move beyond the snapshot and comprehend
more complex visual statements, such as in advertising and art exhibitions, offers
students access to a communication skill that is part of their education, family lives,
community history, and future careers.
In high-quality photographic education projects, educators will see many areas of

personal and artistic growth in their students:
mastery of photographic skills, techniques, and concepts
deeper understanding of self-identity and connection to the world
enhanced problem-solving and communication skills
increased self-confidence and motivation to learn
Says Kathy McCullough, director of The Earth School, of a 1995 collaboration:
The ICP photography program gives young people a new language to

express their thoughts and feelings. With the program’s dual emphasis
on technique and creativity, students experience and understand art and
science, as well as the rigor and planning involved in realizing their visions.
Support for Art in Education

One premise for art education is that studying art can develop thinking skills as well
as artistic skills. Increasingly, academic institutions are supporting this theory. Research
in many universities, such as Harvard University’s Project Zero, has acknowledged the
value of visual learning experiences in promoting cognitive development (Gardener,
1990; Perkins, 1994). Furthermore, Howard Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences
presents a broader view of human capacity that has informed approaches to bringing
art into the context of education (Gardener, 1990, 2003).
National studies have documented and examined the impact of art education.
Gaining the Arts Advantage (1999), a two-year study of nearly 100 schools nationwide,
identified critical factors for developing and sustaining district-wide arts programs (see:
http://www.pcah.gov/gaa/index.html). In another national study, The Champions of
Change (1998), researchers found that students in art education programs improved
their abilities to express thoughts and ideas, exercise their imaginations, take risks in
learning, cooperate with others, and display their learning publicly, among other assets
(p. 58). The study concluded:

Ultimately the skills and discipline students gained, the bonds they formed
with peers and adults, and the rewards they received through instruction and
performing fueled their talent development journey and helped most achieve
success both in and outside of school. (p. 78)
Teaching photography in art class or integrating photography into other disciplines

can provide the types of engaging learning activities that both research and practice
say are effective. Some examples are: curriculum activities focused on a project or
theme, active and experiential learning centered on students’ needs, students working
collaboratively and learning from more experienced peers, and teachers working in
teams (for up-to-date best practices linking research and practice, see The Knowledge
Loom at http:://knowledgeloom.org). Moreover, connecting art to the academic
curriculum can have positive, motivating effects; for example, teacher/researcher
Jeffrey Wilhelm discusses how he used the visual arts to help students become more
engaged in reading and better understand a story (see You Gotta BE the Book, 1995).
Art education provides many of the materials and methods that educators seek.
Ramon Cortinez specifies these attributes in the introduction to Gaining the Arts
Advantage (1998),
Educators say they want materials and activities that are “constructivist,”
that is, concrete and hands-on. They seek materials that are multi-modal,
multicultural, appealing, and challenging to the classroom’s diverse range
of learners. They look for activities that provide not just one means of
assessment but multiple ways to track and evaluate a student’s progress.
They want materials that promote critical thinking. They look for activities that
are interdisciplinary…. Research confirms what we always knew intuitively:
the arts teach all of us—students and teachers alike—innovation, novelty,
and creativity. (p. 6. See: http://www.pcah.gov/gaa/introduction.html)
According to current research on education reform, when a school’s curriculum,

instruction, and structure respond to students’ learning needs and interests, student
performance improves (Sizer, 1992; LAB at Brown University, 2001; Darling-Hammond,
2002). Students need to see how what they are learning in school connects to their
lives and the next step to work or college. They need to feel trusted and empowered
to shape their future. This student-centered approach is at the heart of art education,
which uses creative tools that motivate students to learn, to express their point of view,
and to visualize their future possibilities.
Outside of education, the world of work values the skills promoted by art education.
For a workplace that is being transformed by technological innovations and social
and economic forces, creative vision and well-developed communication skills are
essential. Joyce Hergenhan, former president of the GE FUND, acknowledges what art
education offers:

Tomorrow’s workforce—and especially, its leaders—will need broad abilities
beyond technical skills. There will be a demand for people who are creative,
analytical, disciplined, and self-confident—people who can solve problems,
communicate ideas, and be sensitive to the world around them. Hands-on
participation in the arts is a proven way to help develop these abilities.
(Longley, 1999, p. 71)
However, the greatest obstacle to art education is the financial cost of resources,
materials, and faculty. To bring photographic education to schools and community
centers, our Community Programs at the International Center of Photography (ICP)
received generous corporate and private support. But, for art education to become
central to the learning experience, there needs to be greater awareness of the value
of art education and investment in the public schools nationwide. Still, the creative
integration of photography into existing programs with available resources can
effectively introduce students to the medium.
Even with all the supporting research and practice, educators still find themselves
justifying to many audiences why the arts are beneficial. When teaching, it is therefore
important to return to the heart of the matter: art itself. In The Arts and the Creation
of Mind (2002), Elliot Eisner, professor of education and art at Stanford University,
emphasizes the importance of placing the fundamental nature of art as a creative
medium at the center of the teaching.
Experience is central to growth because experience is the medium of

education. Education, in turn, is the process of learning to create ourselves,
and it is what the arts, both as a process and as the fruits of that process,
promote. Work in the arts is not only a way of creating performances and
products; it is a way of creating our lives by expanding our consciousness,
shaping our dispositions, satisfying our quest for meaning, establishing
contact with others, and sharing a culture. (p. 3)
A high-quality art education program fosters an understanding of the art medium,

while also supporting the school’s educational goals, and most important, celebrating
the students’ first steps as artists and their mastery of a powerful new communication
tool for reflecting on their lives.

10 CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education?
Conclusion
Focus on Photography endeavors to draw from ICP’s experiences and distill what
makes photography work well in school and after-school settings and what educators
need to know to establish a stimulating photography project that is both affordable and
appropriate to their distinct audience.
To help young people embark on their future, we need to teach them the language
of their newly changing country. Growing up in a visually dominant culture, young
people know that images communicate; teaching them how the image works helps
decode images—to distinguish harmful stereotypes and to apprehend the various
sides of more complex statements. Teaching the language of photography and image-
making skills empowers young people to describe the world and claim their place in it.
Art education supports national goals for training and motivating our next generation of
leaders, by making students literate and therefore connected to their past, present, and
future. Photographic education capitalizes on the intrinsic power of images and of art
to communicate to our minds, hearts, and souls. Photography’s role in K-12 education,
integrated within imaginative curriculum, is to enlighten.
CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education? 11

References
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Broudy, Harry. 1987. The Role of Imagery in Learning. Los Angeles: The Getty
Education Institute for the Arts.
Darling-Hammond, Linda; Ancess, Janet; and Ort, Susannah. 2002. Reinventing

High School: Outcomes of the Coalition Campus Schools Project. American Education
Research Journal, 39(3): 639-673.
Eisner, Elliot W. 2002. The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press.
Fiske, Edward B., Ed. 1998. Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on
Learning. Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership.
Gardener, Howard. 1990. Art Education and Human Development. Los Angeles:
The Getty Education Institute for the Arts.
Gardener, Howard. 1990. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

New York: Harper Collins.
Gardener, Howard. 1999. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st
Century. New York: Basic Books.
LAB at Brown University. 2001. “Student-Centered High Schools: Helping Schools

Adapt to the Learning Needs of Adolescents.” Perspectives on Policy and Practice.
Providence, RI: Author.
Longley, Laura. 1999. Gaining the Arts Literacy Advantage. Educational Leadership
57(2) (October): 71-74. VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Perkins, David. 1994. The Intelligent Eye: Learning to Think by Looking at Art. Los
Angeles: The Getty Education Institute for the Arts.
President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities & Arts Education
Partnership. 1999. Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons From School Districts That
Value Arts Education. Washington, DC: Author. (Available: http://www.pcah.gov/gaa/
index.html)
Sizer, Theodore. 1992. Horace’s School: Redesigning the American High School.
Boston: Mariner Books.
Wilhelm, Jeffrey F. 1995. “You Gotta BE the Book”: Teaching Engaged and
Reflective Reading With Adolescents. New York: Teachers College Press.

12 CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education?
2
The Language of Photography
OVERVIEW
T his chapter explores

how photographs
communicate and
Figure 7: Vik Muniz, Action Photo I (After Hans Namuth), 1997-98
presents definitions and

discussion questions on
elements of photography.
How Pictures Speak
The word photography is derived from the Greek words “photo,” which means
light, and “graph,” which means writing. Photography is writing with light. As a type of
writing, photography has a visual language, an alphabet of tone and hue, a grammar of
line and form. Its visual patterns are its sentences. The photograph is silently articulate,
communicating its message through an arrangement of color and shape.
The language of photography is distinguished from other visual arts by its two
essential elements: light and the camera. Light rays reflect off surfaces and into the
camera, where light-sensitive film or a digital disk records the image.
Note: Boldface words The resulting photograph describes the world in a tonal spectrum end-
appear in the glossary. marked by the highlights and the shadows. Technical considerations such
as lighting choices, film, and camera type determine the final look of the
image. Camera controls such as shutter speed and aperture produce
photographic attributes such as focus and blur. Looking through a rectangular frame,
the photographer views and creates images. Framing, cropping, and vantage point
or point of view are other characteristic elements of photography.
Photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson coined the phrase “the decisive moment” to

describe the instant when an event takes place in the camera, when a photographer
sees all the graphic forms in the camera frame and decides to take the picture.
(For example, a photographer watches as a man walks down the street, and the
photographer takes the picture when the man’s hat fits squarely in the window frame.)
Photographers make artistic choices when creating, editing, and producing their
images. These choices take into account the elements of photography: photographic
attributes (e.g., focus and blur); the composition of the image; the subject or content;
the photographer’s style (or voice); genre (or intended use, such as advertising or fine
art exhibition); and the meaning that the photographer intends to communicate. The
resulting images have many meanings depending on how they are interpreted. In some
cases, they present more questions than answers. In other cases, these artworks bear
a close relationship to the look of the real world and to the moment at which they were
created; they resemble our own faces, homes, and lives so closely that we consider
them to be mirrorlike truths of the world.
Photography—the reaction of light and silver crystals—translates the world into

a collection of dots that our eye and mind synthesize into pictures: a moment of
happiness shown on a face, a glimpse of an ordinary day, an incongruous situation that
makes us laugh, a place of beauty, a scene of conflict, a historic event, a moment that
should not be forgotten. The process of synthesis, or seeing, is as fluid and rapid as
the roaming movements of the eye itself and the synaptic lightning of our thoughts. It
happens immediately; this language is accessible.

14 CHAPTER 2: The Language of Photography
Living in a media-saturated culture, we consume visual images, responding with
our senses, emotionally, cognitively, all at once and somewhat hungrily, as if we are
popping a chocolate into our mouths. We interpret photographic images in the same
way as we navigate through the world by visual signs every day. We are well aware
of the power of visual images to communicate something mysterious and something
clear. For creators, image making is a way of projecting our thoughts and emotions
and leaving a tracing of ourselves in the world. For viewers, visual images are a way to
connect to ourselves and to one another. Between creator and viewers, photographs
carry on a dialogue with the past, present, and future.
It is important to remember that photographs can play tricks on us, just as

our eyes can deceive us. For example, in Action Photo 1 (After Hans Namuth) (see
Figure 7), Vik Muniz recreated a painting by Hans Namuth portraying an artist at work.
To create the image, Muniz poured Bosco chocolate syrup on a light table in thin lines
that imitated the Namuth painting, then he photographed the liquid design. Muniz
had to work quickly, before the syrup melted under the hot lights. In the resulting
photograph, the viewer sees the dark lines, shapes, and angles and interprets a man
creating art on a canvas. When the viewer acknowledges that it is a photograph of
chocolate syrup, a variety of reactions emerges (surprise, laughter, hunger).
Muniz calls attention to the process of seeing, how we interpret visual information
and “the fallacies of such visual information and the pleasure to be derived from
such fallacies. These illusions are made to reveal the architecture of our concept of
truth.…Art directly or indirectly has always to deal with illusion.”1 Muniz plays with the
gap between the image and reality. He reminds us that art is the re-presentation of life,
a play for the mind, a delight for the senses, and nourishment for the soul.
Art is essentially a communication. Art speaks in the language of its media; it uses
techniques that are designed to inspire responses. As Muniz shows us, art-making
and the interpretation of art are best approached in the spirit of play and with an
appreciation for the many, wondrous responses it inspires.
1
Vik Muniz, Seeing is Believing (New Mexico: Arena Editions, 1998) p. 16.
CHAPTER 2: The Language of Photography 15

Elements of the Language of Photography
Following is a comprehensive list of important elements of the language of
photography. The elements are arranged into categories: photographic attributes,
composition, content, style/genre, and meaning. Definitions and guiding questions
explore each element.
In Focus, the term “photography” includes different types of images created with
light, ranging from black-and-white prints to digital images. While the techniques differ,
the same educational principles apply for interpreting, discussing, and creating all kinds
of photographic images. (For more information on the technical aspects of photography,
see Appendix 1: Basics of Photography.)
While reading this section, you may find it useful to consider the elements and the
questions in regard to a sample photograph. Because this is such a comprehensive
list, one approach is to review the elements relevant to a particular class discussion
or elements about which you have particular questions. This material is intended for
educators to review and adapt as necessary for their students. For guidelines on
discussing these elements with your students, see Chapter 3: Visual Literacy. Also for
direct use with students are the resources in Part IV, including discussion questions,
worksheets, and activities that build students’ knowledge of the elements of photography.
Preview of Elements by Category
Photographic Attributes Content

Light Subject
Focus Background
Time Foreground
Motion People
Vantage Point/Point of View Story
Framing Mood/Feeling
Cropping Symbol/Metaphor
Technique
Style & Genre

Composition Style
Shape Genre
Line
Angle
Meaning
Color and Tone
Pattern Artist’s Intention/Purpose
Depth Meaning
Composition Overall

Photographic Attributes: A – H
A) Light Light is the defining element of photography. Light literally brings the
photograph to life, and the type and quality of light have the strongest
effect on the resulting image. Often, photographers are inspired to create a
photograph because the light is so lovely, casting on the subject a quality
uniquely rendered by film.
Describe the type and quality of the light.
Type/source: Is the light natural (e.g., from the sun) or artificial (e.g.,
from a lamp, flash, studio strobe)? How does the type/source of
lighting affect the look of the image?
Quality/direction: Is the lighting coming from above, below, the
side? At what angle? Are there any shadows? Does the direction of
the light create an effect of dimension?
Quality/characteristics: Is the light soft or hard? Are the shadows
thin or thick? Do light and shadow make a pattern?
Light and shadow, the light and dark tones in the image, often provide
the most compelling patterns in a photograph.
Look closely at the light and dark tones in the image.
Find the shadows.
Describe the pattern that light and shadow make.
What kind of effect and mood do the light and shadow create?
B) Focus The word focus means center of attention. This uniquely photographic
attribute is created by both the focus and the aperture controls on the
camera.
The focus control centers on a part of the image, and when in focus
the area is clear, sharp, and detailed, with distinctions between forms.
When out of focus, the area is cloudy, indistinct, and vague, with blurriness
between forms.
The aperture control creates depth of field, the area that is in focus.
Aperture measures the distance from the end of the focus area to the focal
center (imagine the perimeter of a circle and its center). A shallow depth of
field is in focus only to a small degree around the focal center.

For example in Figure 8, the tree trunk is clearly rendered, while the branches in the
foreground are blurry. Figure 9 shows a wide depth of field, a large area in focus around
the focal center: the bench, shrubs, and trees are all clear.
What can you see clearly in the picture?
What is unclear?
How does focus capture our attention? Can sharp focus capture our attention
as well as blurry focus can?
As a result of focus, does the subject gain or lose significance?
Does the subject seem realistic or idealized?
Figure 8
Figure 9

C) Time Photography has a unique relationship to time, in part because the
image is created by the interaction among light, a lens, and light-sensitive
film during a particular moment. Light rays refracting through the lens trace
the image onto film; this happens in an instant and reflects the instant
in which the image was created. A drawing or painting may describe a
particular time and place, but it can be rendered over time through the
artist’s perception or memory. In contrast, a photographer and camera
need to be there, responding to the world, in order to create the image.
Photographs have the quality of capturing a moment in time, of “being
there.”
Describe the sense of time that comes across in the image. Does
it seem like a fleeting instant captured in a snapshot (e.g., a person
walking down a chaotic street) or does it carry the timeless quality
of a painting (e.g., a couple standing still for a portrait)?
Consider the composition, technique, content, and style of the
image. How do these elements contribute to the attribute of time?
D) Motion In a photograph, motion can appear frozen in time and space or be

described through blur. These effects are achieved mainly through the
shutter control and the aperture. The shutter, triggered by your finger when
you take the picture, opens and shuts like a blinking eye, letting in light. The
aperture affects how much light comes into the camera; it works like the
iris of an eye, widening in the dark to let in more light and narrowing in the
bright sun to let in less light. In order to achieve a correct exposure—the
right amount of light to make the picture, the aperture and shutter speed
must have the right relationship. When there is a lot of light, the shutter
speed is fast; and when there is little light, the shutter speed is slow. The
faster the shutter, the more able the camera is to freeze motion, such that
someone jumping could be forever suspended in mid-air. A slow shutter
speed creates blur when figures are in motion. You can also create a
sense of motion by moving the camera when you take the picture, called
“panning” the camera, resulting in blur.
Is anything moving in the picture?

How can you tell?
Is it blurry or frozen in space?
Can you guess how the effect is achieved?

E) Vantage Vantage point or point of view is the photographer’s stance, both
in terms of how the photographer is positioned when he or she takes
Point/ the picture and what the photographer’s attitude is toward the subject.
How the photographer perceives the subject influences how the
Point of View photographer chooses to position himself or herself in relation to the

subject. This is similar to how your opinion about something affects the
tone of your voice and the language you use to communicate.
Point of view is one of the most important concepts to convey to

young people because it shows that they have the creative control
and power to reveal their perspective through the camera. An
understanding of point of view also encourages image makers to move
around the subject and determine the most interesting and revealing
approach.
Where was the photographer when he or she took the picture?
Was the photographer standing or crouching or lying on the
ground?
Did the photographer take the picture from above, below, or
the side?
Did the photographer tilt the camera or keep it parallel to the
horizon?
Can you guess what the photographer’s attitude is toward the
subject?
How does the vantage point affect the way you look at the
resulting picture? For example, a picture taken from above may
give the impression of superiority, from below of inferiority, and
a host of other interpretations.
F) Framing Whenever photographers create a photograph, they are selecting

a slice of the world as described through a frame. In terms of content,
framing is like point of view: It presents the photographer’s frame
of reference with regard to the subject. Graphically, framing affects
composition, because your eye follows the visual movement created by
lines, shapes, and angles in the picture. In addition, the information that
is included in the frame determines how we read the picture, just like
how clues lead to the solution of a mystery.
What is included in the frame, and what is excluded?
Draw what you see in the frame, and draw what you imagine is
outside of the frame.

Hold an empty slide frame to your eye and view your surroundings.
– See how you can create images by framing.
– Watch how the relationship of the forms changes as you
move the frame to different places and tilt it at different
angles.
– Look for “the decisive moment,” when the forms come to a
point of harmony or look interesting to you.
G) Cropping Sometimes when photographers frame a photograph, they crop

or exclude from the frame a portion of the subject, foreground, or
background. The frame may cut off the man’s hat, an arm, half of the
chair. To make sense of the image, viewers don’t need to see the whole
person or object because there is enough information to imagine the rest
beyond the frame. Cropping calls attention to the fact that you are looking
at an artist’s selection of a scene (as opposed to an unadulterated view of
reality).
Used effectively, cropping can add dynamism to the composition or

make the photographic statement more concise. Used ineffectively, we
may wonder what’s missing, why the image looks awkward, its message
unclear.
What effect does cropping have on the graphic composition of the
image?
How does cropping help draw attention to what the photograph is
saying?
How does cropping affect your perception of the subject?
Consider the use of cropping by photographers and other visual
artists, especially after photography was introduced in the late
nineteenth century (e.g., Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Henri
Toulouse-Lautrec, and others). What have these painters learned
from photography?
H) Technique When photography was first invented, photographers carried a large-

format camera, tripod, black drape, glass plates, and bottles of chemistry
in a covered wagon that served as a darkroom to process the wet
plates. Now photographers carry studio strobes, tripods, lighting stands,
Hasselblad cameras, 35mm SLR cameras, digital cameras, and even
disposable cardboard cameras, which they can tuck into their vest pocket.
Images are processed in labs or downloaded to a computer. The choice of

camera, film, lighting source, and other techniques greatly affect the look
of the resulting images. (See the bibliography for resources on technique
and consult the manuals that come with your equipment for more technical
information.)
Try to discern or gather information about techniques:

– Cameras: large format (4”x 5” or 8”x 10”), medium format (2
¼” negative), 35mm camera, alternative cameras such as
pinhole and Holga (plastic camera), or a digital camera
– Film: color or black–and-white film; grainy film (Do you
see lots of dots?) or smooth (Similarly, the low or high
resolution of a digital image can make the dots more or less
noticeable.)
– Lighting: artificial (flash, studio strobes) or natural (sunlight)
– Final print: gelatin silver, digital, platinum, palladium,
handmade paper, Polaroid transfer, color Cibachrome, C-
print, etc.
Describe the effects that the techniques have on the resulting
image.
What do the techniques tell you about the photographer’s working
habits and aesthetic?

Composition: I – O
I) Shape In a photograph, shapes are definite forms created by objects, figures,

and shadows. They are rendered in colors or shades of gray.
Can you find different shapes in the image?
Look for circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, and organic forms.
Look in the shadows for more shapes and echoes of shapes.
Think about how the shapes in the image create balance and
structure.
J) Line In a photograph, lines are the borders between shapes.

Let your eyes follow the lines in the image. Or make a drawing of
the outlines of shapes. How does photography differ from drawing
or painting in terms of line and shape? Sometimes you have to “see
through” what the image is of (e.g., a cat curled on a sunny step)
in order to find the shapes and lines that compose it (e.g., a black
circle, a series of parallel lines).
What qualities do the lines have: strong and bold; light and thin;
curvy or straight; diagonal or circular?
Think about the effect that the quality of the lines has on your visual
experience of the image: Is it activating, calming, or unifying?
K) Angle Angles draw our attention in certain directions.

Study the angles created by the intersection of lines and shapes in
the image.
Point out the direction of the angles. What do they lead your eyes
toward? Do they draw your attention in or out of the frame?

L) Color and A color photograph can offer a range of the visual spectrum of colors,
but not all the colors that the eye can see. Some photographers pay
Tone attention to creating color palette, or a pattern of complementary and
contrasting colors, just like in a painting. The tones in a black-and-white
photograph are the various shades of gray from white to black, and they
can be bright or pale.
Describe the colors or tones in the photograph.
Do you see patterns of colors or tones?
How do the colors or tones make you feel?
M) Pattern Patterns of visual forms—shapes, lines, colors or tones, light and

shadow—create balance and structure in a composition and also can
emphasize the main ideas of the photograph.
What types of patterns can you find in the image?
Can you find any repeated shapes or colors?
Does this pattern create rhythm and emphasis? (Think of pattern in
music.)
Describe the quality of the pattern: loud, quiet, busy, delicate,
heavy.
What does the pattern draw your attention to?
N) Depth Depth in a photograph is an illusion created by the way forms are

rendered on a two-dimensional surface. Perspective (point of view) creates
a sense of depth, especially when it results in a composition with lines and
angles that draw your attention to a distant point. A sense of depth also
comes from areas of light and shadow and the clarity of detail or focus.
Photographers use perspective, composition, lighting, and focus to create
a three-dimensional effect.
Does the photograph look flat and two-dimensional, with the forms
appearing to be on the same plane?
Or does it seem like a three-dimensional world into which you
could slip? Do you feel like you could hold the objects in your
hand?
Consider the relationship between forms by comparing the size of
different elements in the image. What seems close up or far away?
What is clear or blurry?
Are there areas of light and shadow in the image? Is the light
creating a sense of depth?

O) Composition
Taken together, the shapes, lines, angles, colors and tones, patterns,
and depth of the image create the composition. Figures and objects in the
image are considered the “positive space” of the composition. Consider
the “negative space,” too—this is the part of the image between the actual
forms and the frame: the white sky or the gray floor, for example.
Study how the composition keeps your eye busy with its shapes,
lines, and angles. Where is your eye drawn?
Look at the way the forms work together. Consider the shape
that several forms, like three people in a triangular formation,
make together. Is there a prominent shape or diagonal in the
composition?
What are the main elements of the composition? A pattern,
figures, color? What are the complementary elements? Shadow,
background?
Overall, does the composition lead your attention to one thing or to
many things?
Does the composition “work,” effectively contributing to the
meaning?

Content: P-V
P) Subject What is the subject of the picture? A trickier question than it seems,
the subject of Muniz’s photograph, for example, can be creativity or Hans
Namuth or chocolate; it can be an abstract idea, a representation, or
specific content. (See Figure 7.)
All the visual elements are drawing the viewer’s attention to the
concrete subject (what is literally portrayed) and the abstract subject (the
main idea that the photographer is trying to communicate). Sometimes the
subject of art is an idea; in conceptual art, the idea often is the point of the
artwork. In narrative art, the subject portrays a story or part of a story with
the rest implied. In figurative art, the subject is the person, place, or thing
that is represented. The genre of the artwork is a good clue to the abstract
idea that the artist is addressing.
Concrete subject: What is the photograph of? This is what you see in the
image.
Abstract subject: What is the photograph about? This is how you

interpret what you see in the image.
To discover the subject:

– Can you tell what genre it is?
– What is your eye drawn to? What is the concrete subject?
– What is the main idea that the picture makes you think of?
What is the abstract subject?
– Describe what you see in the picture that gives you
information about the subject and main idea.
– Write a caption for the picture that describes the concrete
subject and another that expresses the abstract subject.

Q) Background The background creates a context for the photograph. It can be
a color, a blurry shape, or a highly detailed scene. Color creates a
mood. Details offer hints about the subject. The background provides
valuable information on how to interpret the photograph because it
sets the context.
What do you see in the background? Do you see mainly
colors or shapes? What effect do they create? Do you see
details? Describe them.
How does the background connect to the subject?
R) Foreground The foreground is the area in front of the subject. It also contains
valuable information that reflects the subject, and it can affect the
mood of the image and the access the viewer has to the subject.
Space in the foreground can create a feeling of distance from the
subject. Shading in the foreground can create dimension. Activity or
cropped forms can add dynamism to the composition, even a sense
of mystery. Sometimes there is nothing in the foreground, giving you
direct access to the subject.
Describe what you see in front of the subject.
What effect does the foreground have on how you see the
subject?
S) People Every day we observe people, and from their expression,

gestures, and actions, we interpret who they are and how they are
feeling. When we study a portrait of someone, we use the same
skills, assumptions, and acts of imagination in assessing the subject’s
identity and mood.
Action: What are the people doing? What is the purpose of the
action?
Motivation: Can you guess why they are doing it?
Expression: Describe their expression. Can you guess what they are
feeling?
Clothing: Describe what they are wearing. What can you learn about
them through their clothing? Can you guess where they work or what
they like to do? What age are they? Where are they from? What time
period are they from?

Gestures: Describe what they are doing with their hands. Can you guess
what signals they are giving?
Pose: Describe how they are standing or sitting. Can you guess what their
attitudes are?
Character: From all the concrete details you can observe in the
photograph, can you guess what characteristics the people have? Are they
proud and principled? Lost and tired? Happy and motivated?
T) Story Photographs are a wonderful tool for storytelling. They capture a

moment in time that can be the beginning, middle, or end of a story. In
a photograph, you can often see a character in a situation that poses a
question or presents a mystery leading to story.
Single image: When considering how a single photograph tells a story,

ask three questions: What is happening in this photograph? What might
have happened before the photograph was taken? What might happen
next? Also consider what else you know about the people, situation, or
time period. How does your knowledge add to the story?
Sequence: If you are looking at a series of photographs, try to figure

out what is happening in each image in the sequence, what you imagine
happens between images, and how the sequence paces the story.
Image and text: If you are viewing a combination of image and text that
tell a story, consider how the two media resonate and work with each
other. What does each medium communicate? How does each contribute
to story and meaning? How does the text direct your interpretation of the
image and vice versa?
Setting: What place and time period are shown in the photograph?
Describe the details that you see in the setting.
Character: Describe the people in the photograph. What are they like?
Describe some of the characteristics that they seem to have. What are
they doing? What do you think they want? Can you imagine why? What
challenges do they face?
Situation/plot: Describe the situation that the characters are in. What is
happening in the picture? What do you think happened before the picture
was taken? What do you think will happen next?

U) Mood/ Many attributes of a photograph can create mood: lighting; the colors
and tones; the shapes, lines, and angles; texture of the print; the subject;
Feeling and even the expressions of the people in the picture. Texture refers to the
photographic material (e.g., smooth glossy paper, rough matte paper, or
a Polaroid transfer on handmade paper). Images can also have a tactile
quality reflecting how a viewer may think an object would feel if touched
(e.g., the soft furriness of a dog’s ears). Colors inspire an emotional
reaction: Some colors in the blue family seem cool and in the red family,
hot. Mood is connoted by visual elements but depends on each person’s
subjective response.
How does this picture make you feel?
What elements (lighting, colors, shapes, texture, the subject) make
you feel that way?
V) Symbol/ A symbol is something that stands for or represents something else

besides the thing in itself (e.g., the red, white, and blue pattern that is
Metaphor recognized as the American flag).

Can you see any symbols in this photograph?
Would they be familiar to other cultures?
A metaphor is a comparison drawn between two apparently dissimilar

things to show their underlying connection.
Is there anything in the photograph that could be read as a
metaphor?
Is the whole picture a symbol or metaphor for a state of mind or a
cultural movement?

Style & Genre: W-X
W) Style Everyone has got style! Style is attitude; style is taste. Just as you have
a taste for certain types of clothes, photographers have likes and dislikes
for certain techniques, compositional elements, and working methods.
Consider the vantage point of the photograph. How would you
describe the attitude the photographer has toward the subject?
Look at a series of images by the same photographer. Do you
notice similar techniques, common elements in the composition, a
favored tilt to the camera?
Can you determine the method and aesthetic of the photographer?
Is the style bold and confrontational, or subtle and contemplative?
Describe the photographer’s style.
X) Genre Genre is a type or category based on the photograph’s style, content,

and intended purpose.
Based on the style and content, can you guess what the intended
use was for the photograph (e.g., advertising, gallery display,
personal photo album)?
Can you place the photograph into a genre: portraiture, still life,
fashion, documentary, photojournalism, conceptual, narrative,
figurative, etc.?
Research the photograph in books at a museum or library and on
the Internet to learn more.

Meaning: Y&Z
Y) Artist’s Without a direct quote from the artist, you can only guess about the
artist’s intention. Your observations on intention are based on what you can
Intention/ see in the image and information provided about the techniques used. The
Purpose style, content, and use of the image indicate its purpose (e.g., magazine
illustration, fine art still life).
Consider the photographer’s purpose in creating the image. Was
the photograph designed for use in a magazine, advertisement, or
fine art exhibition?
Can you find any information on what the artist was trying to
communicate?
Check the caption or wall text in an exhibition, publications,
interviews, and the Internet for more information.
Z) Meaning Viewers arrive at an understanding of the photograph’s meaning

through various pathways, which can include their personal responses,
knowledge of allusions to artistic traditions, and an evaluation of whether
the photograph “works” (i.e., communicates its message).
The important thing to remember is that photographers make

choices—from among the elements of photography described above—
when creating, editing, and producing their images in order to get their
message across. By understanding what those elements are and how they
work together, viewers can decode the image and interpret its meaning.
One of the joys in art is that there are many possible interpretations.
For example, one reading of Vik Muniz’s photograph (Figure 7) is that

the angle of the point of view draws you into the image, the rhythm of
lines and curves create an animated feeling, Muniz’s techniques (drawing
with liquid and photographing on a light table) demonstrate speed and
skill, and the selected materials (e.g., chocolate) please the senses and
challenge perception. The subject of the picture is an artist at work, but
the image seems to be in the genre of conceptual art. Overall, the picture
communicates virtuosity and play in the artistic enterprise. It also opens up
questions and options for individual interpretation.
What is the photograph saying?
Describe how the elements of photography—photographic
attributes, composition, content, style and genre—communicate
this meaning.

Personal response: Each person responds to a photograph differently
based on their background and interests.
How does the photograph make you feel?
What does it make you think of?
Do you feel any connection between the photograph and your life,
experiences, memories, dreams, hopes, and fears?
Does it inspire you to work creatively?
Allusion: Allusions are connections to other photographs,

photographers, art history, literature, and other disciplines.
Does the photograph reference other artworks? If so, what do you
think the photographer was trying to comment upon?
Does the photograph follow in a particular tradition?
Evaluation: An evaluation judges how well the photographic attributes,

composition, content, style, genre, and meaning—the language of
photography described above—communicate that main idea.
What is your conclusion about the main idea that the photograph is
communicating?
What elements in particular communicate this idea?
Does the photograph “work”? Do the elements work together to
clearly communicate a strong idea?
What questions or ideas does the photograph make you wonder
about?

Working with Your Students
As you were reading through the definitions and questions, some areas may have
resonated with you more than others. Similarly, your students will connect more readily
to some topics. For example, an English class may swiftly understand the story or the
theme of the photograph, whereas an art class may be more sophisticated in terms of
technical and visual knowledge. You may choose to begin where students are strong
to build confidence or to review, then move to areas where they need to develop.
Have patience: A deep understanding of the medium and a sophisticated approach to
reading and creating images develop over time. Many ways to advance visual literacy
skills are explored in the next chapter. In addition, Part IV presents a range of activities
that explore the elements of photography.

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ Teaching at ICP has been invaluable to my growth as a photographer.

Every time I teach a class, I am forced to reevaluate photography and my
place in the medium. In addition, I have learned never to underestimate
children. They constantly demonstrate their perception of the world and challenge me
to make strong images.
I was introduced to ICP’s Community Programs by first being a docent, leading

tours through the ICP galleries. Each featured photographer met with the docents so I
had the opportunity to meet established photographers (such as Chester Higgins, Jr.,
Fazal Sheikh, Micha Bar-Am) and discover what was important to them and what they
wanted to convey to their audience. I learned how to view photographs critically and
how to talk to others about them. This experience proved very useful for my work as a
teacher.
In the summer of 1999, I led my first ICP class for teenagers, entitled Summertime
in the City. This four-week teen workshop enrolled 14 teenagers (13 girls and 1
unintimidated boy) who took pictures, developed film, and made their own prints. It was
the best group of students I have had to date. They brought tremendous enthusiasm
and energy to every assignment. And they made some fantastic images.
A few exercises worked really well for the class. One in particular was an
assignment to make a portrait of their home or neighborhood. I advised them to
photograph the familiar and print their favorite images. Students then had to describe

their work. The results were as varied as the students (from the piano in a living room
to a backyard pool to pit bulls in East Harlem). My favorite image and description
came from Mayone Butler, who described her picture of a homeless man holding a
sign asking for food. She said, ‘We see homeless people on the street holding signs
all the time, but most times we just walk right past without reading them. This picture
forces you to read the sign.’ Mayone was using photography to call attention to the
homeless in her community and show a bit of her daily experience.
Here is a list of what I stress with students:

1) Photography is fun.
2) Photography is about light: Learn to look for it, observe it, and capture it.
3) Your vision of the world is unique!
4) You are a photographer, and you have control over your images. The harder
you work in my class, the more control you’ll have.
5) Always take credit for your images, whether they are intentional or ‘lucky
accidents.’
6) Learn from mistakes and try to reproduce any ‘lucky accidents.’
7) Think critically about your pictures and learn to talk about your work. (Even
the youngest students can speak critically about photography if you give them
the tools to express themselves.)
8) Talk about what you’ve created. (Concepts ‘stick’ better if they are reinforced
at the end of each class. Gather the students in a circle and let them discuss
each other’s images.)

Favorite Exercises
Figure 10
Focus Link 25 1 Birds and Worms
See Part IV: Resources The object of the Birds and Worms exercise is to teach students
about point of view. It is a great first assignment for younger
students because they can easily understand the concepts and
return at the end of the exercise with good examples of different
points of view. Older children stretch the limits of the assignment
and can be creative with their interpretation of how a bird or worm
sees the world.
Focus Link 20 2 Titling Your Work
Teenagers can learn a lot about their work by being forced to

create titles for their images. Many times it helps students focus
on what subjects they want to photograph, as well as helping to
add coherence to a set of images they see as disjointed. It is also
fun and introduces humor into the class. My favorite title was by a
student named Jane Hong, whose picture ‘First Base’ showed the
clasped hands of two of her teenage friends.”
Mark LaRocca, Photographer/ICP Instructor

3
Visual Literacy:
Concepts and Strategies
OVERVIEW
T his chapter presents strategies for building visual literacy skills through reflecting on
images and having active discussions with students.
Figure 11: Ernst Haas, London, 1951

Visually Literate Detectives
In London by Ernst Haas, we see many expressions of seeing: a glance, a stare, a
regard, a study, and non-seeing—averted eyes, the backs of heads. We see pictures
within pictures, each offering limited glimpses of life on London streets in 1951. At the
same time that these mirrored reflections offer bits of information, the photograph
withholds. The photograph invites and challenges us to see.
As visually literate detectives, we detect, decode, and synthesize the information

from the visual image as if within lies the solution to the puzzle. We ask ourselves
what we are looking at, how the artist created the image, why the photographer made
certain choices, what the photograph is saying. Our eye moves around the image,
entranced by the relationships among forms. As we look at the picture, feelings rise,
and we think of associations between the image and our experiences. We may be
reminded of other artists or traditions in art history. We assemble clue after clue,
looking thoughtfully and sensitively at the image, until finally we see.
There is delight in seeing: in revealing a mystery, considering a new perspective,

discovering what was hidden. Ways of seeing are different for each individual. Seeing
means coming to an understanding, and each of us does that differently. As artist Vik
Muniz says, “The visual world is like a crossword puzzle; we all have the same puzzle
but each of us stores it differently.”1
What is visual literacy?

Visual literacy is the ability to decode visual symbols into meaning.2 Looking at art
involves responding—to what we see in the artwork and how that connects to what
we see in ourselves and in the world around us. Thinking about visual art transforms
our personal responses into “visual literacy”—we construct a visual language so that
we can “read” the visual information.3 When we read images, we are synthesizing our
sensorial, emotional, and cognitive responses to the photograph into meaning. We
also construct a visual dictionary, a mental store of images that serve as definitions
when we compare and contrast images.4 As visual literacy advances, we make more
sophisticated judgments about images based on what we see and what we remember
seeing.
Vik Muniz, Seeing Is Believing (New Mexico: Arena Editions, 1998), p. 25.
1
Howard Gardener, Art Education and Human Development (Los Angeles, CA: The Getty Education
2
Institute for the Arts, 1990), p. 9.
Rudolf Arnheim, Visual Thinking (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969).

3
Harry S. Broudy, The Role of Imagery in Learning (Los Angeles, CA: The Getty Education Institute
4
for the Arts, 1987), p. 18.

38 CHAPTER 3: Visual Literacy: Concepts and Strategies
Literacy, when traditionally referring to verbal literacy, is the “ability to read, speak,
listen, write, and think effectively.”5 Similarly, visual literacy includes the abilities to
“read” or decode visual images; to articulate to others your perception of what the
image communicates and listen to others’ responses; to create visual statements (e.g.,
to adjust the lighting and framing to communicate what you want to say or to edit a
series of images); and to think through problems visually (e.g., to draw as you think,
to compose images, and to stage elaborate studio shoots). (For more information
on visual literacy, see the bibliogaphy and Chapter I: Why Photographic Education?.)
Building these visual literacy skills takes time and involves looking at images,
discussing visual elements, creating images, and reflecting on both the process and
the results. Reflecting and discussing are critical processes; posing questions that
encourage thoughtful responses helps students to get more and more out of the
image.
It is important to note that educators are guiding students along a natural process
when reflecting on images in this way. Visual literacy is related to basic functions
of our eyes and mind. Cognitively and emotionally, we use imagery to make sense
of the world. Every day, navigating the streets as we go to work or to school, we
interpret visual signs. We also create images to remember our experiences; in our
mind’s eye we can see our home or family. These visual images are sensory patterns,
produced by the eye and stored by the brain.6 Similarly, as we look at and think about
a photograph, our eyes and mind take in the sensory pattern and interpret what the
image signifies. We see the arrangements of shapes, respond emotionally, and think
about their meaning.
This is a natural process, one that connects art and life, and yet we must train
ourselves to see. All too often our disposition is to race through a gallery just like we
pass by a poster on the street, in both cases allowing our quick glance and hasty
judgment to tell us what we need in order to make it from one place to another.
However, to truly understand art, and for that understanding to have an impact upon
our lives, education, or our own artwork, we need to take the time to see thoughtfully
and intelligently. Reading images in this way unleashes their power.
Julie Meltzer, Adolescent Literacy Resources: Linking Research and Practice. (Providence, RI: LAB
5
at Brown University, 2002) p. 6.
Harry S. Broudy, The Role of Imagery in Learning, (Los Angeles, CA: The Getty Education Institute
6
for the Arts, 1987) pp. 11-15.
CHAPTER 3: Visual Literacy: Concepts and Strategies 39

Reflecting on Images
Spending time looking at and thinking about images is an activity that needs to be
encouraged. In The Intelligent Eye, David Perkins proposes doing a “seeing,” or writing
for 10 minutes a stream-of-conscious response to art 7 (p. 37). Part of this process
involves asking yourself questions that focus more and more on specific attributes of
the artwork, describing what you see—from the literal subject to the formal qualities—
and then interpreting what you see. As Perkins says, “By looking longer and in more
refined, informed, systematic ways, we can come to see what at first we missed.”8 This
approach allows us to use our intuitive, emotional, and cognitive resources to respond
to art, all the while guided by interpretative questions that take us further into the
artwork. It can make the experience of looking at art richer.
Based on this concept, the following Focus activity engages educators or students
in a process of reflection about a single artwork using guiding questions to inspire
thoughtful looking and free writing. Responses from this activity can be used as a
diagnostic tool to discover what elements of a photograph are hard for educators or
students to comprehend. (This activity is provided in Part IV, Focus Link 44.)
Seeing activity
Select a photograph. Look at it closely and thoughtfully for 30 seconds. (Time yourself;
it will feel much longer than you may expect.) Then use the following questions to guide
your “seeing,” and write your responses quickly and freely. Skip questions that are too
hard and come back to them later. This activity should take about 20 minutes.
First impressions
List ten details that you see in the photograph.
What else do you see?
Composition
Where is your eye drawn?
Describe the pattern, shapes, and colors.
Look away and then look at the photograph again. What caught your eye first?
Why does that stand out?
David Perkins, The Intelligent Eye: Learning to Think by Looking at Art (Santa Monica, CA: The
7
Getty Education Institute for the Arts, 1994) p. 37.
Ibid. p. 17.
8

Photographic attributes
Find the pattern of light and shadow. What does the lighting draw your attention
to?
Describe what is in focus.
What is the photographer’s point of view?
What else do you notice about how the photograph was made?
Content
What is the subject of the photograph?
What questions do you have about the subject?
Style & Genre

Use an adjective to describe the style of the photograph.
Can you guess what genre this photograph represents? What makes you say
that?
Meaning
What does the photograph make you think of?
Why do you think the photographer made these artistic choices?
What do you think the photograph is saying?
Last impressions
Look once more at the photograph and find something you haven’t described
yet.
What is your reaction to this exercise? Did anything surprise you?
Self-assessment
What areas were difficult to answer? Photographic attributes and technique?
Composition? Content? Style or genre? Meaning?
Using the Seeing Activity as an assessment tool

If there were areas that were challenging, review the related categories in Part I,
Chapter 2: The Language of Photography. In addition, Part IV contains a variety
of reflection activities, discussion questions, and worksheets that you can use
with students and other educators to promote visual literacy skills.

Discussing Images
Discussing images—either student images or historical and contemporary
artwork—is a wonderful way to both assess and foster visual literacy skills. As students
voice their impressions of the photograph, educators can find out where they are in
their visual literacy skills. Are they able to describe the effects that certain techniques
have, or do they need to know more about the craft of photography? Do they recognize
that photographers make creative choices, or do they think that photography is not
art? Can they figure out their own ideas about what the photograph is saying, or do
they want someone to tell them what is good and why? When students articulate their
interpretations of the images and listen to others’ responses, they develop a greater
awareness of how the elements of photography work together. In addition, the fluid
nature of a discussion creates the opportunity for students to learn from others who
may be more sophisticated or who have different backgrounds, knowledge, and
cultural experiences to share.
This section introduces strategies for building visual literacy skills and presents
sample discussions so that you can see what to look for in your students’ responses
and how to apply these strategies. Though developed in the museum setting, these
strategies can apply to any classroom where students can see and discuss pictures
together. You can project images using a slide projector in front of the class, show
images from a museum’s online collections on students’ individual computer screens,
or pass out prints and postcards for small-group discussions.
Figure 12

Museum education strategies
In a museum setting, students and educators have a wonderful opportunity to
look at original artwork up close and talk to museum staff who may have additional
information about the artwork.
At ICP, tour guides follow an inquiry-based methodology in which they pose

questions to inspire responses and thoughtful study of the artwork. This encourages
viewers to spend an extended period of time studying and discussing a selection of
photographs. As the guide facilitates the discussion, students make discoveries about
art based on what they see instead of what they are told.
Basic Discussion Questions:

What do you see in this picture?
What makes you say that?
What is going on in this picture?
What information do you see in the picture that makes you say that?9
The idea is to continually redirect the viewer’s attention into the artwork, to look
and look again. Information is not presented in a lecture format. Rather, questions are
posed and responses are paraphrased to facilitate a dialogue that develops visual
literacy skills.
During tours, information is only presented when viewers ask questions and
therefore are ready to receive and process that information in a meaningful way.
This layer of contextual information is an important ingredient in making the gallery
visit educational and in promoting visual literacy skills. An inquiry-based method of
discussing visual art is common in museums and is highly recommended for classroom
discussions as well. To work with this method, educators must be attuned to the
group’s level and advance at its pace.
Visual Understanding in Education, 2000. Available: http://www.vue.org

9

Research in the museum
The above basic discussion questions have been drawn from the Visual Thinking
Strategy, developed by Abigail Housen and Phillip Yenewine. The Visual Thinking
Strategy presents a way of discussing visual art that empowers viewers to come to
their own interpretations (for further information on the Visual Thinking Strategy, see
http://www.vue.org).
For over 20 years, cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen researched the behavior
patterns of viewers in museums by observing, interviewing, and analyzing viewers’
stream-of-conscious interpretations of art. From these broadly based, international
studies, she developed a Methodology and Stage Model of Aesthetic Development.
This informed the development the Visual Thinking Strategy in 1995 in collaboration
with Phillip Yenewine, then director of education at the Museum of Modern Art. (ICP
tour guides were trained in the Visual Thinking Strategy by the Museum of Modern Art.)
In the Methodology and Stage Model of Aesthetic Development, Housen identified

five distinct patterns of thinking about art that are useful to consider when trying to
gauge individuals’ visual literacy skills and teach the class accordingly.
It is important to note that this is one of many excellent approaches. The

bibliography contains references to other valuable resources in visual literacy.
Periodically checking favorite Web sites at universities or art education organizations
can access current trends in these theories, continually informing new approaches.

Methodology and Stage Model of Aesthetic Development
Stage 1: Accountive Viewers are storytellers. Using their senses, memories, and
personal associations, they make concrete observations about the work of art which
get woven into a narrative. Here, judgments are based on what is known and what
is liked. Emotions color the comments, as viewers seem to enter the work of art and
become part of the unfolding narrative.
Stage 2: Constructive Viewers set about building a framework for looking at

works of art, using the most logical and accessible tools: their own perceptions,
their knowledge of the natural world, and the values of their social, moral, and
conventional worlds. If the work does not look the way it is “supposed to”—if craft,
skill, technique, hard work, utility, and function are not evident, or if the subject seems
inappropriate—then this viewer judges the work to be “weird,” lacking, and of no
value. The viewer’s sense of what is realistic is a standard often applied to determine
value. As emotions begin to go underground, this viewer begins to distance him or
herself from the work of art.
Stage 3: Classifying Viewers adopt the analytical and critical stance of the
art historian. They want to identify the work as to place, school, style, time, and
provenance. They decode the work using their library of facts and figures, which they
are ready and eager to expand. This viewer believes that properly categorized, the
work of art’s meaning and message can be explained and rationalized.
Stage 4: Interpretative Viewers seek a personal encounter with a work of art.

Exploring the canvas, letting the meaning of the work slowly unfold, they appreciate
the subtleties of line and shape and color. Now, critical skills are put in the service of
feelings and intuitions as these viewers let underlying meanings of the work—what it
symbolizes—emerge. Each new encounter with a work of art presents a chance for
new comparisons, insights, and experiences. Knowing that the work of art’s identity
and value are subject to reinterpretations, these viewers see their own processes
subject to chance and change.
Stage 5: Re-creative Viewers, having established a long history of viewing and

reflecting about works of art, now “willingly suspend disbelief.” A familiar painting is
like an old friend who is known intimately, yet full of surprise, deserving attention on a
daily level but also existing on an elevated plane. As in all important friendships, time
is a key ingredient, allowing Stage 5 viewers to know the ecology of a work—its time,
its history, its questions, its travels, its intricacies. Drawing on their own history with
one work in particular, and with viewing in general, this viewer combines personal
contemplation with views that broadly encompass universal concerns. Here, memory
infuses the landscape of the painting, intricately combining the personal and the
universal.9
Reproduced with permission from Visual Understanding in Education, 2000

Strategies for Building Visual Literacy
Active learning is key to the development of visual literacy skills. While students
learn best through creative hands-on projects, discussing and reflecting on images
deeply informs their image making and builds their understanding of how images
communicate. Discussing images is an opportunity for learning interactively with peers
and teachers and for making clear one’s ideas by talking through them.
To hold active discussions, educators need to develop their own questioning

strategies. Posing questions invites viewers to consider and assimilate information more
actively than if they were just receiving information. That is, questions keep the thinking
going, whereas statements tends to undercut new observations. By questioning and
seeking answers, viewers at all levels become engaged in the act of seeing, and they
are empowered to trust their own interpretations of art.
The goals of the questioning strategies are:

to advance students’ knowledge of visual art in general and photography in
particular
to develop students’ critical thinking and communication skills
to help students discover the pleasure and power of finding multiple meanings
in art
How can you tell what questions to ask when? The following framework is a useful
starting point for developing questioning strategies to generate a class discussion
about visual images. Strategies and sample dialogues are grouped by level, relating
to Housen’s five stages described above. In addition, while any age group can be at
any level, the framework draws some generalizations about audiences for the sake of
clarity. However, it is important to note that visual literacy is a fluid process, and these
levels and stages are neither fixed nor fully capture the complexity of interpretation.
Even within a class, different students will have varying levels of visual literacy.
Educators face the challenging task of adapting their teaching to the needs of each
student as well as to the movement of the group. Therefore, the strategies are the most
important tools to remember.
Sample dialogues refer to the photograph London by Ernst Haas, Figure 11 at the
beginning of this chapter.

Level 1: Personal connection to the photograph
CHARACTERISTICS
Storytelling and recounting personal associations, which may or may not relate
to the photograph
For example, the viewer might quickly look at the photograph, then turn her
back to it and say, “My aunt has a dog just like the one in the picture.”
Relates to: Housen’s Accountive Stage; beginning viewers; commonly,
elementary or middle school students
Beginning viewers often come to photography with several false assumptions:
Assumption 1: Photographs are snapshots; taken quickly, they do not involve much
thought or technique.
Educators can address this assumption by defining what a snapshot is and introducing
other types of photography, such as portraiture, documentary photography, fine art,
and conceptual photography. (Of course, if what they are looking at is a snapshot,
then that is what it is! Educators can discuss how a snapshot is like a quick sketch or a
visual notation that captures a personal moment.)
It is very important to discuss the choices that photographers make, the techniques
used, the planning, creating, editing, and printing.
Assumption 2: Photographs show reality, like documents, and when used in

newspapers and magazines they represent the way things are.
Educators can address this complicated assumption by focusing on point of view.

Discuss the idea that just as two people in the class see things differently, two
photographers create different images of the same event because of the way they use
technique to convey their individual responses to the event.
Assumption 3: The school or the museum is the authority and knows something
they, the viewers, do not or cannot know.
It is essential to help viewers understand that their interpretation of the artwork is just
as valid as a teacher’s or a curator’s. The curator or teacher may have more information
beyond what can be seen in the artwork, but this invisible information (e.g., research
on the artist, art historical context) adds to the experience and does not invalidate a
viewer’s interpretation with or without that information. Art truly lives when viewers
interact with it; art is designed to communicate and express to an audience. The idea is
to build students’ interpretative skills, so that they can approach artwork with less fear
and greater confidence and find the value inherent in the artwork.

STRATEGIES
Understand that beginning viewers may be intimidated and are trying to find a
personal connection to the artwork.
Make a personal connection to their lives: Try to find something in the
picture that relates to the audiences’ experiences and knowledge base to help
them enter into the picture. If the picture is from a different time period, ask
students to compare the past and the present.
Redirect them to what they see IN the picture: Allow them to find a personal
connection but also continually remind them to respond to what they see IN the
picture. Say: “That is an interesting observation, what in the picture makes you
say that? Describe what you see in the picture.”
Focus on people: If there are people in the picture, focus on describing
and reacting to them. Viewers connect easily and reflectively to people, their
expressions, moods, actions, what they are doing, and why.
Keep it fun: Viewers respond to the story that the photograph tells. Bring out
any narrative, or any mysterious, surprising, or puzzling elements in the picture.
Have viewers guess what might have happened before the picture was taken
and what might happen next, to discover the many possible stories. See Focus
Link 17 in Part IV. If you are dealing with young viewers (elementary school
students) try to create a game out of seeing. “Can you find… Can you guess…
How many circles do you see?” You can design a treasure hunt activity, which
encourages students to look in the picture for visual information. See Focus
Link 25 in Part IV.
To progress to the next level:

begin to define terms like focus and point of view
describe formal elements such as composition
ask students to describe the formal and technical choices that the
photographer made
Educators can tell when students are ready to move on by how much they retain of
these terms. When students start to inquire about why and how the photographer
created the image, then they have “put together” the formal and technical elements and
are trying to understand the choices that photographers make.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Level 1A Building observation skills

Can you describe it more?
What information in the picture makes you say that?
Level 1B Building vocabulary

Can you guess where the photographer was standing when he or she took the
picture? Above the subject, looking down, or below the subject, looking up?
This is called point of view.
What is included in the picture frame? What is not included? This is called
framing. (Think of ways to demonstrate these concepts. Use your fingers to
create a frame, for example. Or have some students crouch down and some
stand tall to illustrate how you see things with different points of view.)
Describe the composition. What shapes do you see? What other patterns do
you notice?

SAMPLE DIALOGUE
Viewing the photograph, London, by Ernst Haas (See Figure 11.)

A man.
Can you describe the man more? What is he wearing?

A hat. A coat. Glasses.
Describe his expression.

Serious. Mad. My uncle looks like that.
Okay, so the man in the picture is serious, and he is wearing a coat, hat, and glasses.
Why is he wearing a coat?
It is cold outside.
Where is he?
On the street.
What else do you see on this street?

Signs. People.
What do the people look like?

Cold.

They are wearing coats, too.
Where are the people? Look closely in the picture; this is a tricky question.
Silence.
What do you see in the background of the picture? The background is the area
behind the subject, behind the man.
I see mirrors.
Are the people on the street or in the mirrors?

Mirrors! Street! Both!
Why do you think the photographer included the mirrors in the picture? He could have
been up close to the man, so you wouldn’t see the mirrors, or he could have framed
the picture differently. Who can tell me what framing is?
It is what is in the picture frame.
Good. Why did the photographer choose to frame the picture this way?

Summary of dialogue
In this dialogue, questions are based on what students say. If they mention people,
then the educator poses follow-up questions regarding people in the picture. While the
students have some success in learning terms, their difficulty with the last questions
shows that they are not ready yet for higher level questions. The educator can go back
to discussing the subject of the picture, to encourage students to look in the picture for
visual information. This helps students to get a sense of the man, the street, the mood
of the picture. Then, they can even write a story based on the character and setting.
This creates a personal connection to the image, via their imagination. See Focus Link
17 in Part IV.
Level 2: Technical connection to the photograph
CHARACTERISTICS
An interest in determining what it is and how it is made; building definitions of
formal composition, techniques, and aesthetics
At this stage, viewers commonly ask, “How did they do that?” and “Why is
photography art?”
Relates to: Housen’s Constructive Stage; beginning viewers in transition to
intermediate; commonly, middle and high school students, and adults with little
exposure to art
At this stage viewers are beginning to see that the photograph is more than a
snapshot. They are appreciating the thought and craft that go into creating an
image. They are beginning to formulate their ideas about art, what it is, how it
works, and what its value or impact is. They want to know more and more, and
they want to feel impressed by technique at the same time that they want to
feel like they can do it, too. They need lots of formal and technical information,
and hands-on activities if possible.
STRATEGIES
Focus on the choices photographers make. Pose questions and deliver
information about the technical and aesthetic choices photographers make and
why. This builds an understanding of photography as an art form.
Keep students interested: Continue to build knowledge of technique and
aesthetics, and tell any behind-the-scenes anecdotes of how the photographer
“got” the shot. However, don’t forsake a personal connection to the artwork for
technical discussions. Continue to keep it relevant to their lives.

Ask them how they might photograph this person or topic. What choices
would they make in film, time of day, color, angle?
To address such a complex question, Why is photography art?, discuss
the choices photographers make to show how photography is an art form.
Discuss how art is essentially a communication, and ask students what and
how this artwork is communicating. Turn the question back to them and ask
them to define art. Acknowledge that the question, What is art?, has been
puzzling art historians, philosophers, and artists for centuries; it is important
for each person to develop a working definition. You could share your personal
definition, as well.

As intermediate viewers become more comfortable about techniques and process,
they begin to ask for more information about art history, artists’ intentions, working
methods, and so forth. At this level, visual literacy is promoted through asking why.
Why did the photographer make these choices in technique and aesthetics?
What is the photograph saying? How? Why?
Note: The starting point is always with questions from Level 1, such as What do you
see in the picture?, to engage students in looking at the image for visual information.
Level 2A Building technical knowledge

What techniques did the photographer use?
What is the point of view?
How is the picture framed?
Describe the quality of the lighting. What direction is it coming from? Point out
the pattern of light and shadow.
Level 2B Building an understanding of the choices photographers make

What choices did the photographer make?
Why did the photographer choose to use that technique?
Why did the photographer choose to compose the picture this way?
What is the photographer’s point of view? What effect does it have?
Why did the photographer choose to frame the picture this way?
What does the composition emphasize?
What does the lighting draw your attention to?

SAMPLE DIALOGUE

35mm camera.
Yes. How did you guess that?

Because with a large-format camera, things look more posed, and here the man is
caught while he was walking on the street.
Good. What other techniques did he use?

Black-and-white film.
Why did the photographer choose black-and-white?

To have patterns of light and dark.
Good, describe the pattern of light and dark.

It is busy and circles the subject.
Tell me more about the composition. What shapes do you see?

Circles.
Where?
In the glasses.
Are there any other curves in the composition?

In the man.
Where?
There, his shoulder, and his hat.
Where else?
In the people in the mirror.
What shapes are the mirrors?

All kinds of shapes. Geometrical forms.
What lines do you see?

Vertical lines on the wall in the background.
Do you see any other designs?

Swirling patterns on the mirrors.
Numbers?
61.
Text?
It says “perfect.”

What’s perfect? What does that mean?
It means there are no mistakes or problems.
Why include the text?

Silence.
We’ve talked about techniques and composition, and the patterns of light and dark.
Why did the photographer choose to compose the picture in this way?
Summary of dialogue
These students have a lot to offer in their knowledge of technique and

observation skills but are still working to put that knowledge together with how a
photograph communicates its message. The end of this dialogue shows that they still
need more experience in thinking about why photographers make certain choices
and interpreting for themselves.
Level 3: Contextual connection to the photograph
CHARACTERISTICS
Placing the artwork into the context of history and culture
Further assembling of knowledge about formal composition, techniques, and
aesthetics
Also characterized by the personal, emotional reaction going underground—
putting the artwork into a scheme and making it “safe”
For example, viewers become overly reliant on the art historian’s viewpoint
and might say, “What makes this photograph good?”
Relates to: Housen’s Classifying Stage; intermediate viewers; commonly
college students and adults partial to art history
STRATEGIES
Keep students interested by providing more information about art history,
aesthetics, cultural history, artists’ intentions, working methods, and career
paths. Help them to build definitions and classifications relating to genre and
other topics.

Encourage personal or emotional associations with the artwork so they
don’t fixate on categorization or value judgments. The danger of this stage is
that the original spirit of the artwork and emotional connection can get lost, as
can confidence in the validity of a personal interpretation of art.
Discuss the subject matter, the people in the picture, concerns relevant
to this audience, or point of view. Ask them if they have any questions
about the subject to encourage them to think for themselves.
If viewers ask “What makes this photograph good?”, turn around the question
by asking them what they think of it, and how they define good and bad.
Discuss the limits of personal judgments such as good and bad, or “I like
this/I don’t like this.” It is more appropriate to discuss the elements of the
photograph and how well they work together to communicate meaning.

Encourage them to talk about what the photograph is saying, what it means,
and how technique and craft are used to forward that meaning. Soliciting
and discussing varying interpretations calls attention to the subjectivity of
artistic interpretation, which helps take them to the next level.
Note: Subject matter and visual information are always the starting point. Then, you
can use other questions on composition, technique, etc.
Level 3A Understanding the context and intended use of the photograph

What was the photographer’s purpose or the intended use for this image (e.g.,
a magazine assignment, photo essay, fine art exhibition)?
Can you tell what genre of photography this is?
What do you know about the time period in which this photograph was made?
What does the photograph communicate about this time period?
Can you make comparisons to other photographers or artists working in this
time period?
Level 3B Relating context to subject and meaning

What choices did the photographer make? Can you guess why?
What is the photographer drawing your attention to? How is this accomplished?
What do you notice about the subject? Or the people in the picture?
Do you have any questions about the subject? Or the style of the picture?
What is the photograph saying? Does anyone have a different interpretation?

SAMPLE DIALOGUE
What do you see in this photograph?

A man, mirrors. Alienation.
Interesting, what creates the feeling of alienation you mentioned?

He is a solitary figure surrounded by distant images of people in the mirrors.
Look at the people inside the mirrors. What are they like?
Serious, busy, tired, cold, like the man.

Their facial expressions, hunched shoulders. Tweed clothing, hats, and coats.
Judging by the style of clothing, when would you say this photograph was created?
1951. (They are reading the caption.)
Okay, even without the caption, would you have guessed it was the fifties from the
style of clothing, the hats men wore, the dresses women wore?
It seems retro, like the fifties’ styles.
The caption also tells us it is London. What do you know about London in 1951?
The postwar climate was difficult. The country was rebuilding itself. Is this a good docu-
mentary photograph?
What do you think?

Yes, it is.
Why do you think so?

Because it is showing the way London was in 1951.
What is documentary photography?

Photography that provides a record.
Good. Let’s discuss it more. What is a document?

A fact.
Is a photograph a fact?
Yes. It can be. You can use it as evidence in court.
Yes, but a photograph is created by an individual who makes technical and artistic
choices. The photographer we discussed last week had a different perspective; what
was it like?
More light and animated.
Yes. So there are two different perspectives. That makes things interesting. What
does Ernst Haas’s picture say about London at this time?

Summary of dialogue
This discussion shows that the students know about genre but make value
judgments and rely on prescriptive information such as a curatorial caption. The
educator encourages them to think for themselves.
Level 4: Meaningful connection to the photograph
CHARACTERISTICS
Ability to find meaning and to combine formal, technical, and aesthetic
knowledge with subjective reactions
The understanding of how personal experience, stylistic and formal analysis,
the knowledge of technique, and the impact of context all shape meaning
Relates to: Housen’s Interpretative Stage; advanced viewers; commonly, art
educators
STRATEGIES
Discussing art at this point is fun because the group can quickly cover different aspects
of the image and compare various conclusions.
It is important to encourage varying interpretations of art to keep their eyes
and minds open.
With time and encouragement of the creative impulse, viewers will define in the
final stage their personal relationship to art, perhaps a lifelong interest.
The most common creative blocks are the admiration for other artists and the “I
can’t do what they do” syndrome.
The point is not to do what others do, but for each individual to do what he or
she is uniquely capable of doing at each stage.
Encourage students about where they are and where they are heading;
remind them that it is a continuous, gradual process.

(Use a variety of questions; relate the questions to discovering meaning.)
Level 4A Finding meaning

Does this element contribute to the photograph’s meaning, or is it distracting?
What was the photographer’s purpose in creating this image? What was the
intended use of the image? How well does it work in this context?
Level 4B Relating meaning to creative choices and larger issues

What is the impact of this image?
What are some issues it raises?
How might you approach this topic matter?
SAMPLE DIALOGUE
What else do you see in the picture frame?

There are prices for food and a sign that says “perfect.”
Why did the photographer include that?

To show the postwar context. Perhaps to play on what is perfect, or the hope for things to
be perfect.
Good. So the framing sets a context. What other techniques did he use?
Handheld camera. 35mm, black-and-white.
What effect do the techniques have?

Sense of spontaneity, timelessness, a moment in the past. Calls attention to patterns of
light and dark. Also mirrors are part of the SLR camera so the mirrors in the background
reference photographic technique.
How does that further the photograph’s meaning?

The photograph is about seeing, different ways of looking, the limits and possibilities of
both seeing and photography as a tool for seeing.
Good. Would you use this technique to approach this topic matter or another one? Why?
Summary of dialogue
This discussion addresses how technique contributes to meaning and begins to
relate technique to students’ creative decisions.

Level 5: Creative connection to the photograph
CHARACTERISTICS
A fluid movement from the personal, technical, contextual, and meaningful
stages of interpreting the photograph, and using that experience to create art
Relates to: Housen’s Re-creative Stage; advanced viewers; commonly, artists
STRATEGIES
Deepen the understanding of the medium by fostering dialogue among
students
Compare and contrast the photograph to other artworks and media
Ask what questions the work raises for them
(Note: In this stage, you can use any variety of questions. Choose a salient quality of
the photograph to get the discussion going or raise issues.)
Level 5 Discussing what the image shows, means, and influences

Which technical or formal elements work well in this photograph?
What do these elements draw your attention to?
What is the impact of this photograph?
Does it inspire you to work creatively in any way?

SAMPLE DIALOGUE
Tell me about the composition. Where is your eye drawn?

To the man. He is in profile, so we see the curve of this back, the curve of his hat.
Describe the pattern in the background.

Different picture frames to look at. The mirrors create a busy background with lots
of information in it, but the composition also holds together because of the repeated
octagonal shapes. Also, there is the white wall, which draws everything into another
frame and keeps the background from being too busy and dispersed. This way, the
attention is focused on the man.
How else does the background work to enhance your sense of the subject?
The man fits into the edge of the white frame. So the background keeps our eye moving
and looking for more information, but it also draws us back to the subject. The curves of
the man, his sloping back, the similar curved line around his nose and cheek, soften the
subject in contrast to the sharp forms behind him. That helps to draw our eyes to him.
And he is looking right at us; it catches our attention when someone is looking directly in
our eyes.
So what is the photographer drawing your attention to?

The man, the gaze.

It’s talking about the act of seeing in bits and pieces.
How does the picture make you feel?

The picture makes me feel curious but challenged, as if I were being offered something
but also prevented from attaining it.

To use photographic technique as a metaphor for reflection.
Summary of dialogue
These comments indicate a fluid movement from subject to techniques to

aesthetics to meaning. The discussion can continue by making comparisons to other
pictures in the gallery or further exploring issues raised by the picture.

Working with Your Students
The strategies in this chapter focus on looking in the photograph for visual
information and describing interpretations based on that information. This approach
has many benefits:
empowering students to articulate their interpretations in their own words and
with new vocabulary
building critical thinking and observation skills
making photography accessible
increasing the skills and confidence to interpret more artwork
Educators can guide students to interpret the photograph by discussing the

elements of photography in a way that is appropriate to students’ levels of visual
literacy. (To develop lessons that incorporate such discussions, use the Discussion
Questions in Part IV, Focus Links 11-15.) Most important is to build the students’
confidence about their own interpretive powers.
As you work with students, you may notice that they often vacillate between levels
as they learn and that they may freeze in patterns of looking, keeping them at a certain
level. To gauge the group’s level, listen carefully to their comments. Then, you can gear
your language and approach more effectively to the needs of each student and the
class. Remember that any age can be at any level and that viewers approach artwork
at multiple stages all the time. You may be surprised by the acuity of children, the fresh
observations of beginners, and the various interpretations sophisticated viewers offer;
the process will enlarge and enliven your relationship to the artwork as well.
Consider where you are starting out. We are living in an image-saturated culture:
On the way to school or work we see advertisements on the street and in the subway;
we receive news about the world through images in print and on TV; for some events,
catastrophic or heroic, we seek images as catharsis; images inspire cravings and
desires and reflect our obsessions; we divert and entertain ourselves with images
in magazines, videos, TV, or movies. Inundated, we therefore know that images
communicate, but to learn how the image works—to decode and read images—
harnesses their power.
ICP educators have found that students are visually attuned simply because of their
exposure to image use in the media. Young people don’t necessarily trust everything
they see; rather than believing the photograph is reality, they consider artifice. They’ve
developed preferences in terms of design and composition. Their observations can be
wise, their images fresh re-workings of time-honored themes. Still, they are not visually
literate until they have the power of seeing under their grasp, until they look at and think
about art intelligently.

An approach to professional development
Determining where students are in their visual literacy skills and how to guide them
requires educators to be visually literate as well. Professional development can help
educators to utilize visual art and photography in their teaching. Opportunities such
as photography courses, team discussions and projects, and extended teachers’
workshops can help school staff build their own visual literacy skills and design a
photography project appropriate to their distinct setting.
To bring photographic education to a particular school setting, educators need to

know—and professional development should address—the following:
the needs and interests of students
how students learn most effectively
what activities engage students most
how art programs can support both academic learning and personal growth
how photographic education can be integrated into the school structure
concepts and strategies in visual literacy
principals in teaching photography
picturing what the photographic education program could be in a particular
school
what resources are needed (ranging from financial support to time for
professional development)
Most important, professional development can create an environment where

educators are learning from each other.
One approach is to begin with the Seeing activity in this chapter as a diagnostic
tool, then work with other educators or organizations to develop visual literacy skills in
targeted areas. An educator can take a photography course to build technical skills, or
a group of educators from different disciplines can take a photography course together
and arrange follow-up meetings to discuss how to connect photography to their
subject area.
An interdisciplinary team of teachers can work with the art teacher or outside
photographers to think of ways to integrate photography-based projects across
the curriculum. Teachers can conduct a collaborative photography project together
before working with their students (e.g., visit a museum, discuss an image, role-play,
create and discuss images, design a curriculum connection). As part of an existing
professional development program, discussions can address how to use Focus as
a resource to create a photographic education project appropriate to the school
environment. School leaders can brainstorm how to capitalize on a school’s existing
photography lab or computer lab.

An extended series of teachers’ workshops can help build visual literacy skills
among staff and clarify a school’s focus on integrating photography into the curriculum.
Inviting educators from museums, arts organizations, and technical assistance providers
to conduct workshops for teachers can help incorporate many of the ideas presented in
Focus. With objective eyes, consultants can help identify what is needed to expand the
school’s capacity to use art to foster student learning.
Effective teachers’ workshops contain the following elements:

collaborative activities that allow educators to experience photographic activities
as their students would, and from that experience to discuss what would work
well with their students
discussion time to exchange ideas and strategies with one another and thereby
enlarge the educational possibilities of the photography project
a supportive environment in which educators can share their thoughts on
challenges faced in reaching students and collectively define a strategy to
integrate the arts into the school structure
Following is an outline for a sample teachers’ workshop in visual literacy. It can be

conducted as an informal study group or with the facilitation of outside consultants. The
goals are to build visual literacy skills and to integrate photographic education into the
school curriculum. Sessions 1, 2, and 3 build visual literacy skills by inviting teachers
to discuss historical and contemporary photographs, to practice image making, and
to reflect upon their images. Sessions 4 and 5 are dedicated to planning ways to use
photography in the classroom. Focus Links refer to lesson plans and activities in Part IV.

SAMPLE TEACHERS’ WORKSHOP IN VISUAL LITERACY
Related Focus Links: Workshop
See Part IV. Session 1 Introduction
Define photography, what it is and what its significance is
Show slides or view pictures in a gallery
Discuss the work using the Discussion Questions in Part IV
(A different member of the group leads the discussion each
time.)
Session 2 Creating images

Focus Link 5 Using Polaroid cameras and materials, do the activity on point
of view
Discuss which images are most successful and why
Arrange similar images by composition, subject, and
sequence
Session 3 Discussing images

Focus Link 16 Select one image for a writing exercise
Read the writing exercises out loud
Discuss the relationship between the image and the text
Reflect upon the medium of photography and its uses
Session 4 Making curriculum connections

Discuss class projects using photography, using case studies
from the chapters in Part III
Brainstorm ways to apply photography to specific curriculum
areas
Each teacher will develop and do an exercise related to his or
her discipline
Session 5 Discussing curriculum connections

Discuss the exercises and how they would work with students
Discuss what it would take to incorporate photography into
the curriculum
Develop a school project (newspaper, exhibition)
Prepare a project timetable
Arrange a time to reconvene and evaluate how photography
has been used in classes

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ The greatest difficulty I have found teaching adults is helping them to

‘unlearn’ what they have learned. By the time people have become
adults, particularly if they have never taken a photography or art
class, they have been bombarded by images and have an almost subconscious
understanding of what a ‘good’ picture is. This ‘good picture ideal’ is technically
correct, consists of ‘famous photographs’ and the advertising images, postcards, and
calendar pictures that we see every day. In adults you find a strong desire to take a
‘good’ picture, something technically correct that includes a complicated set of ideas
about what a ‘good picture’ is.
This problem manifests itself in different ways: either the adult student does
not take that many photographs (they stop themselves from taking the picture)
or they take photographs they have seen before. Fixing the technical problems is
easy in comparison. As a teacher you show your students how to expose properly.
You teach them the tools: depth of field, motion, light, and composition. If their
photographs seem too far away, you tell them to come closer. But sometimes you
tell them to come closer because you hope what they see will become clearer to
you. I usually begin by asking questions such as, ‘Tell me, where is this place you are
photographing? What significance does it have for you?’
I like to show my students the work of other photographers, primarily more

personal, unpolished, technically sophisticated work that breaks conventional
photographic rules. This helps to illustrate the idea of making something different,
strong, and individual. Most important is for them is to begin to develop their own
unique way of seeing not to begin to reproduce your own vision or someone else’s.”
Karen Furth, Photographer/ICP Instructor

Part II
Teaching
Photography
4
Teaching the Basics:

History, Techniques, Aesthetics,
and Practice
OVERVIEW

how to develop an
effective, balanced curriculum
in basic photography.
Sample curriculum and
lesson plans address how
to teach photography in
darkroom and non-darkroom
formats, including using
digital imaging. Examples
are provided for working in
elementary, middle, and high
school settings.
Figure 13
Building a Curriculum
Everyone has the capacity to interpret and create images. As educators, we need
to use a teaching process that best develops our young photographers. A good
curriculum brings out the innate creativity of the students, builds their interpretative
and technical skills, and enhances their understanding of the power of photography to
communicate their perspectives of the world.
To do so, the curriculum should incorporate four main ingredients: history,

techniques, aesthetics, and practice. It should be inspiring and evolve in response to
the needs of the audience.
The success of the curriculum depends upon an educator’s understanding of the

nature of the audience, the setting, and his or her teaching methods.
1 Know your audience. Who are you teaching? Where do they come from?
What interests them? What challenges them? What are their strengths and
weaknesses? Pay attention to what will help them grow.
2 Be realistic about and sensitive to the context in which you are teaching. Each
organization has its own goals, standards, criteria, resources, and working
methods. Whether a school or community center, this atmosphere influences
the students, and therefore, the curriculum must draw on the strengths and
deal with the weaknesses of this setting.
3 Ask yourself what you bring to the equation. What are your strengths and
weaknesses? What are your views on art and the range of your skills? Your
sensibility has an incredible influence on the students and the educational
impact of the curriculum.
At the same time that a photography curriculum should meet both local and
national educational standards, teaching should inspire. Art education can meet many
criteria, but real education takes place when a student beams looking at her newly
printed image, or when one student helps another to get the lighting just right. The root
word for education “educare” means to “lead out,” and when a teacher is able to draw
something out from students, to help them manifest an idea with a new skill or to share
that new skill with others, then real education is taking place.
Therefore, you and your curriculum must be open to the vagaries of the artistic
process. First and foremost, teach students to operate the camera as a tool. To
learn techniques. To understand light. To see and interpret images. To acknowledge
their own point of view as valid. Once students have basic techniques and a little
confidence, their explorations can take on a life of their own. Step out of their way, don’t
be too didactic, let the images happen.
Using the four ingredients of history, technique, aesthetics, and practice as if you
were a chef, add in history when the recipe needs a little base, technique when the
sauce is too thin, aesthetics for seasoning, and lest it all burns, remind students to keep
stirring, to practice, practice, practice.
Part II: Teaching Photography

CHAPTER 4: Teaching the Basics: History, Techniques,
Aesthetics, and Practice
History
Grounding photographic projects in art history is important, but often presents the
challenge of engaging students in something they perceive as dry, boring, or outside
the sphere of their lives. To make it more personal, define history as legacy—a legacy
of which they, as young artists, are part. Rather than lecturing on art history, present
and discuss historical and contemporary photographs in a way that connects the
photographic legacy to the students’ lives. The connection can be as broad as women
photographers or as specific as neighborhood history, depending on your audience
and curricular goals. You can examine contemporary trends in digital imaging or career
opportunities using applications of photography.
Students are interested in how things are made, so discussing the craft and
working method of historical and contemporary photographers is another way to
engage students in art history. Analyzing photographic work with students builds their
visual literacy skills. Discuss the images in terms of craft and composition. Focus on
the choices that the photographer made to create the images. Discover the message
that the photograph is communicating. In this way, you are stimulating the students’
visual sensitivity, which in turn informs their image making. (For guidance in discussing
photographs, see Part I, Chapter 3: Visual Literacy and Focus Links 11-15 in Part IV.
Also see Focus Link 43 – What Makes a “Good” Photograph?)
Timing is flexible. By showing historical and contemporary work before students

create their own images, you can shape and direct a project. This enables the class to
meet a curricular goal and to assemble a final project. Alternatively, you can respond
to students’ images by showing other artists’ approaches. You can use historical and
contemporary work to address ideas and techniques that they are having trouble
understanding. This
approach allows
students to guide the
process, but it can take
more time to achieve a
specific curricular goal,
such as developing a
final photo essay. Either
way, it is important
to enrich students’
understanding of the
medium’s history
Figure 14
so that they grow

photographically.

Technique
Photography is all about process. The latent image becomes manifest because
of process. The creation of the image depends on technique. There are many options
for capturing an image with light: different types of film, cameras, and lighting sources.
There are also different ways to render the images in final form: prints, slides, transfers,
projections, Web sites, etc. The goal is to give students an understanding of the
techniques and their effects on the resulting images.
Begin by teaching the basics: the camera as a tool. Demystify the camera; it is,
after all, a dark box. (The word “camera” literally means dark box.) You can work with
any type of camera or image-making device from 35mm cameras to digital cameras
to automatic cameras to pinhole cameras, and so forth, depending on your students’
level and curriculum project. Rather than intimidating or overloading students, instruct
technique at their pace. The mastery of technique, when it becomes second nature,
and the development of an individual working method can take a long time.
If appropriate to the students’ level, ICP educators highly recommend using manual
35mm cameras, because students learn how to manipulate controls, such as shutter
speed and aperture, ultimately gaining confidence from achieving the desired effect.
When using digital cameras, it is equally beneficial to teach mastery of the camera
controls. If necessary, cameras can be shared in pairs, and this has the added benefit
of encouraging students to work together as they learn how to operate the camera.
When using alternative or automatic cameras, be aware of the technical limitations and
set expectations accordingly.
Key concepts, such as point of view, framing, lighting, and composition, can be
taught using any camera and should be part of every course. These concepts are
important to emphasize when using automatic or digital cameras. Also, if there is no
access to a darkroom, many hands-on activities impart a sense of process, and these
can be combined with using digital and traditional 35mm cameras. (See the non-
darkroom curriculum in this chapter.) Having film and prints processed outside of class
actually opens up more instruction time for making meaningful images and discussing
how pictures communicate.
Technique and process are often what captivate students most. They enjoy learning
about how to operate the camera and compose an image. They are entranced by the
magic of watching the latent image appear in the darkroom. Hands-on learning can
channel their energy and focus their attention. Finally, they feel gratified to hold in their
hands a concrete representation of what they saw with their eyes.

Figure 15: Photographer Chester Higgins, Jr. meets with students.
Aesthetics
Appreciating the aesthetics of art is like having an appreciation for the qualities of
life. Aesthetics asks, What is the nature, quality, and meaning of art? When we consider
aesthetics, we look at the way artists describe what they see and sense in the world
and what they think is beautiful. In turn, this expands our own idea of what is beautiful.
You can build students’ aesthetic sense by developing their understanding of the
composition, the style, and the formal qualities of the artwork. This can be achieved in
many ways:
1 Discuss their imagery

Critiquing student work is an important way for students to receive feedback
and encouragement from teachers and peers. Instead of using the value
judgments of “good” and “bad,” focus on technique and effect, on how the
photograph “works.” Ask students to talk about their favorite picture and why
they think it works. What specific techniques are working well? What effect
does the lighting have? What is the photograph saying? Be sure to be specific
and to use terms that are familiar from past discussions. (See Focus Links
11-15.)
2 Present the work of other artists

The discussion of artwork using slide presentations, books, and original art
broadens students’ understanding of aesthetics. Tailoring the presentation to
the class theme helps build knowledge on the topic. Slide presentations should
be brief and contextualized, meaning students should understand why they are
viewing the images. (See Focus Link 11.)

3 Bring in guest artists
Students understand aesthetics much more clearly through a personal
connection. A guest artist can visit the class to share his or her work,
demonstrate a technique, or work on a project. The guest artist provides
a positive role model and inspiration for future careers in art. Avoid the
temptation to let the guest artist simply present work or “take over” the class.
It is important to integrate the guest artist visit within the class. Beforehand,
plan with the guest artist and prepare students. Make sure you keep the visit
oriented to the theme. During the visit, have students interact with the artist.
Afterward, follow up with a related activity. (See Focus Link 9 for a lesson plan
on integrating the guest artist visit.)
4 Visit museums and galleries

Seeing original artwork up close in a museum or gallery helps students
understand the formal and technical qualities of the photograph. Touring
pictures in an installation is an experience in itself, with attributes like pacing,
sequencing, the assimilation of textual information and other media, all of which
expands an understanding of aesthetics. (See Focus Link 7 for a lesson plan
on integrating the gallery visit.)
Figure 16

Practice
Students learn photography best by doing it. Hands-on learning should be
part of every session. Practicing technique focuses students, creates vital learning
experiences, and builds confidence. Once you have provided just enough information
for students to absorb, let them practice using the camera, mixing chemistry, or
making the print on their own. Prepare worksheets or signs to help students remember
important information when they work independently. Have them work in pairs or teams
with clearly defined roles and assignments so they can learn from each other. As the
teacher, circulate through the group to repeat instructions and offer suggestions as
needed, guide students when they have questions, and challenge them to experiment
with new ideas and techniques. Be aware of when they are ready for more information,
when they need help, or when they are best left to practice on their own.
Equally important is reflection. Having students write, draw, or create image

journals helps them process art’s impact. They use visual thinking skills as they draw
and arrange images. They practice their writing skills as they explore what they think
and feel about their artwork. Holding active, constructive discussions about artwork
with peers builds their communication—and diplomatic—skills. Using other art media
for reflection activities is engaging and also opens more opportunities to talk about
photography in comparison to other media, what each media can say and how it says
it (see Part III, chapters 14 and 15). In addition, the resulting reflections provide another
way to gauge students’ progress (see Chapter 6: Meeting Educational Goals). Most
important, reflecting upon their images lets what they are learning about photography
“sink in” and deepens their approach to image making. Without an understanding of
the choices they are making and why, they will not grow as artists.
Practice is the heart of a photography course. Because of the high level of active
engagement, hands-on practice and reflection sessions most effectively build visual
literacy skills and reinforce academic topics in a curriculum connection. (See Part III.)
Figure 17

Timing Activities in a Curriculum
Timing can be tricky: Each setting has a different amount of time allotted for class,
and students learn at different paces. When timing the activities in a curriculum, judge
how long it will take your students to cover certain topics. Be open to adapting your
curriculum to allow for more time to practice a technique or reflect on process.
Logistically, when ICP educators work in schools, they request two periods, totaling
1½ hours. One and one half hours is the minimum amount of time needed for creating
pictures during field trips in the neighborhood. Two hours is better, if possible. Two and
one half hours works well for an active darkroom session. Three hours is too long for
younger groups to stay focused in class, but older groups can handle three hours if
darkroom work is incorporated into the class time. (You’ll have a hard time getting them
out of the darkroom!)
Hands-on activities such as camera handling and photographic field trips take 1 to
1½ hours. Film processing takes 1 hour. Printing requires a minimum of 2 hours. Slide
presentations should last for about 15 to 20 minutes, any longer and you may notice
students dozing in that nice, warm, dark atmosphere! Sometimes, ICP educators have
added music to slide presentations to provide another level of emotional connection
(and keep students awake). Educators have also intermingled student work with that of
professional photographers to (1) make the point that they are part of the photographic
legacy and (2) address a certain concept, such as point of view, with a variety of work.
Some have even included slides of written terms as part of the sequence to build
vocabulary.
The curricula in this book typically uses a 2-hour class session, meeting once a
week, based on ICP partnerships in schools and community centers. Focus curriculum
activities should be adapted to your setting and audience.
Sequencing the Lessons

Students learn in a variety of modes: receiving information (reading and listening),
doing, discussing, writing, and reflecting. A good curriculum integrates all these modes
to engage different learning styles and to allow for the material to “sink in.” Ideally, each
lesson or each sequence of lessons on a topic should include activities that involve
these different modes of learning.
For example, a curriculum on basic photography first introduces point of view

through a brief slide presentation showing examples of point of view, followed by a
shooting assignment on point of view. After the film is processed in the next lesson,
students discuss and edit their work, pose questions, and then write reflections. In
this way, the concept of point of view is previewed, practiced, and reviewed. Each

lesson has incorporated different modes of learning: receiving information, practicing
technique, and reflecting upon the results. In addition, a connection to another
curriculum topic, literature, for example, can be made by discussing the point of view
in an assigned reading. Students then can write a creative story from the point of view
of someone in a photograph. This connection adds the learning modes of reading and
writing. Moreover, the whole process is a visual learning experience that builds visual
literacy skills.
Basic sequence
The following basic sequence is the cornerstone of a good curriculum. All Focus
curricula illustrate various adaptations of this sequence.
Session A: Instruction
Introduce aesthetics and techniques by presenting and discussing relevant
photographic work
Familiarize students with tools and techniques by showing examples and
demonstrating or practicing use
Provide instruction on the camera as a tool, lighting, or printing
Session B: Practice
Allow hands-on practice in techniques
Guide students as they create images, working independently, in teams, or as a
group
Provide opportunities for photographic field trips or studio shoots
Session C: Reflection
Display resulting images so all students can see and review them
Reflect on the results through discussion, writing, or a hands-on activity
Edit images independently or in teams, write an artist’s statement, or make a
final slide show
(Note: At this point, you may wish to review Part IV’s sequential series of Focus Lesson
Plans. Focus lesson plans are the building blocks for the curriculum in this book and
are referred to in the following samples. You can adapt Focus lesson plans to the
needs of your age group or the theme of your curriculum.)

Sample lessons plans for an elementary, middle, and
high school setting
The following series of sample lessons shows how the basic sequence is realized
and also how activities can be adapted to various age levels. It presents an elementary
school activity for Session A, a junior high school activity for Session B, and a high
school activity for Session C. (More information on working with specific age groups
can be found in Chapter 5: Strategies for Developing Projects.) The topic explored in
this series is point of view.
Figure 18

10 CHAPTER 4: Teaching the Basics: History, Techniques,
SESSION A: INSTRUCTION – Elementary School
Goal
To familiarize students with techniques and aesthetics of photography by showing

examples and conducting hands-on activities
To introduce the concept of point of view
Materials
Slides/Slide projector
Polaroid cameras
Polaroid film
Duration
2 hours
Activities
Discussing pictures: [30 min.]

Discuss point of view by projecting a slide.
– Can you guess where the photographer was standing when he/she took this
picture? This is called point of view.
Ask students to describe what they see in the picture frame
Ask students to imagine what they would have seen if the photographer had taken
the picture from a different point of view
Repeat with several slides that connect to their class project
Show examples of a bird’s-eye view and a worm’s-eye view
Illustrate point of view by asking half of the students to stand up pretending to be
birds and half crouch down on the ground pretending to be worms. Have them
look at each other from their point of view. Then switch.
Creating images: [1 hr.]

Demonstrate the steps to use a Polaroid camera (Note: Pre-load the film.)
1 Choose a point of view
2 Press the shutter release
3 Take the picture from the front of the camera and let the picture develop on a
table
CHAPTER 4: Teaching the Basics: History, Techniques, 11

Give them their assignment: Take five pictures
1 Bird’s-eye view
2 Worm’s-eye view
3 Mystery view: Pretend you’re a different animal and take a picture from that
point of view
4 Your eye view
5 Surprise me
Wrap-up [30 min.]

Put all the pictures on tables to discuss the various viewpoints. Use this as an
opportunity to categorize. Put birds and worms on separate tables. Put the eye
view, the mystery, and the surprise in a row.
Discuss the images. Let the students guess what kind of animal the mystery is.
Have them share their surprise image.
Discuss how point of view affects composition
Why it works for this audience
This lesson is hands-on and interactive. For an elementary school audience, the
pacing is fast, and objectives are simple. The definition of point of view is presented
and reinforced in a variety of ways. Discussing and creating images is turned into an
imaginative game.
Figure 19

SESSION B: PRACTICE – Middle School
Goal
To practice and learn photographic techniques and the concept of point of view
Materials
35mm cameras
Black-and-white film
Large prints that show bird’s-eye, worm’s-eye, and other points of view
Duration
2 hours
Activities
Preparation [30 min.]

Show and discuss samples of point of view
Review camera-handling techniques
Present assignment:
1 Take a picture of yourself to identify your roll of film
2 Take two pictures from a bird’s-eye and two from a worm’s-eye point of view
3 Choose five subjects
4 Take five pictures of each subject from different points of view
Review camera-handling basics:
1 Choose your point of view
2 Check the exposure: depth of field and shutter speed
3 Focus
4 Frame the image
6 Advance the film

Hands-on practice [1 hr. 15 min.]
Hand out cameras and do the assignment
Wrap-up [15 min.]

Rewind film
Return cameras
Review journal assignment: Write reflection on taking pictures (See Focus Link 34.)
Why it works for this audience
In middle school, students responds especially well to hands-on activities and

thematic topics. In this lesson, the assignments and expectations are clear. This lesson
emphasizes spending time on preparation and using the camera as a tool, thereby
instilling a sense of the thought that goes into the creative process.
Figure 20

SESSION C: REFLECTION – High School
Goal
To display and reflect on the resulting photographs through discussion, writing, or a

hands-on activity
Materials
Contact sheets (2 sets)
Loupes
Grease pencils
Scissors
Tape
Journals
Duration
2 hours
Activities [1½ hrs.]

Introduce editing assignment: having the class role-play as magazine editors
– To review a photo essay in a magazine
– To edit student images from the last shoot with several editorial criteria in mind
Present magazine layout (Depending on the class size, you may wish to show the
actual magazine, slides, or selected pages, mounted on poster board placed in a
visible spot in the classroom.)
Review examples of point of view in the magazine

– How does the point of view work to reveal the photographer’s attitude toward
the subject?
– How do the pictures work to tell a story?
Define different kinds of shots: context (showing the environment around the subject),
action, and close-up. (See Part III, Chapter 14’s exercise on Picture Stories.)
Discuss how the images work because of design and content as a single image
and in the layout (See Focus Link 43 – What Makes a “Good” Photograph?)
– What are the formal qualities of this picture?
– What is its subject?
– How do the formal qualities work to reveal the subject?
– How does this picture work next to that one in the layout?
– What would the story be like without this picture?

Review student images and the concept of point of view
Have students review their contact sheets with the eyes of editors
Mark selections with a grease pencil on the contact sheet
– Look for interesting point of view, revealing subject matter, strong design, and
content
– Look for a variety of types of shots (context, action, and close-up)
Have them describe in their journals why they like their selections
Cut out selections from the extra contact sheet
Choose six pictures that tell a story
Play with sequencing them
Tape the final sequence in the journal
Wrap-up [30 min.]

Review their sequences individually and select some for class critique
Address any questions about point of view
Ask them or have them write about what their experience of taking pictures was
like. Was it different from how they had approached taking pictures before?
Ask them or have them write about the editing process. Was it different than the
last time, when there were fewer criteria?
Remind them that the goal is to find a good point of view that communicates what
you want to say about the subject
Figure 21
Why it works for this
audience
This lesson puts a spin on the

editing process by placing
students in the position of
being magazine editors. This
is an effective way to connect
to a high school audience, as
they tend to be interested in
how things are done and in
professional aspects of the
medium.

Putting It All Together
Once you have a basic sequence, you can build a curriculum step by step to cover
necessary techniques, skills, and subject matter. For an ideal 15-session course, the
basic sequence (instruction, practice, reflection) is repeated over and over, each time
delving more deeply into the topic matter.
The following sample curricula illustrate how these sequences can be arranged
for either a darkroom or non-darkroom 15-session course. The essential difference
between a darkroom and non-darkroom course is that a non-darkroom course
compensates with hands-on activities that provide a sense of the photographic
process. Because the benefit of the darkroom curriculum is devoting time to printing
techniques, and because students can practice those skills in either a traditional
darkroom or a digital “darkroom” (computer set up), the darkroom curriculum presents
options for photography and digital imaging interchangeably.
It has been ICP’s experience that an effective photography curriculum incorporates

history, technique, aesthetics, and practice, in the format of the basic sequence
presented (instruction, practice, reflection). This framework provides a solid educational
structure that builds photographic, visual literacy, and communication skills, while also
allowing incredible freedom in course design, from thematic to technical choices.
A student’s excitement is visible whether clicking the shutter in time to capture

motion or editing a contact sheet. Practicing photography helps students to value
themselves and the world around them by seeing and reflecting upon it in new ways.
With each image, students see more in themselves. It is as if they are pursuing their
own mercurial reflection through photography. Making the latent materialize is powerful.
Helping latent photographers become young artists, able to articulate their deepest
feelings and ideas, is a thrilling educational gift.

SAMPLE BASIC 15–SESSION CURRICULUM
with darkroom access
Note: Because students can practice printing skills in either a traditional darkroom or a digital
“darkroom” (computer set up), the darkroom curriculum presents both options. For more information
on these darkroom set ups, see Appendix 3. For more information on digital imaging, see Part III,
Chapter 16: Photography & Digital Imaging.
Goal
Introduce students to the history, technique, aesthetics, and practice of photography

using printing techniques to emphasize craft
Materials
Journals (blank pages)
Polaroid cameras (can be shared in pairs)
Polaroid 600 Plus film (5 shots per student)
Materials for activities (See Part IV)
35mm manual cameras, traditional or digital (can be shared in pairs)
Darkroom or computer lab
For traditional camera:

Film (1 roll/36 exp. per camera per shoot)
Negative sleeves (1 x rolls of film)
Photographic paper (3 boxes RC 8” x 10” 500 sheets)
Chemistry and related darkroom materials (See Appendix 3.)
For digital camera:

Zip disk to store final images and curriculum resources at school
Printing paper (60 sheets, 8” x 10”, six prints per student)
Computer software, scanner, and related materials (See Appendix 3 and Part III,
Chapter 16: Photography & Digital Imaging.)

Related Focus Links: Curriculum
See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 Introduction

Pose questions about photography, what it is, how it works,
and where students have seen photographs, to assess
what they know
Present slides and discuss how to look at photographs
– Pose questions appropriate to levels of visual literacy
– Present samples of the final form of their project, if
known, to show where they are heading
Brainstorm theme
Conduct hands-on Polaroid activity
Distribute journals
Homework: Free-writing related to theme
Focus Link 2 Session 2 Camera as a tool

Discuss how the 35mm camera works, all its parts and its
controls, using handouts and cameras (Note: If the manual
controls on a digital camera don’t allow for practicing
certain techniques, such as shutter speed or depth of field,
gear the lesson to framing and focus instead.)
Let students practice operating the camera
View examples of work illustrating controls such as shutter
speed, depth of field, framing, or focus
Homework: Take home an empty slide frame and view your
home and neighborhood settings to practice framing
Focus Link 3 Session 3 Creating images

Assignment: Practice techniques (stop motion, depth of
field, framing, focus, or blur)
Homework: Review technical reading (See the bibliography.)
Session 4 Processing images

Demonstrate traditional film processing in a lab/uploading
digital images into a computer
Tutor students as they process their own film/use computer
software

Session 5 Printing images
Make contact sheets or prints (two copies)
Focus Link 34 Homework: Paste images (cut selections from contacts or
use prints) in journal and write about the images and the
experience of creating them

Assignment: Point of view
Homework: Process film/download digital images on own, if
lab access allows (If not, you will need two printing sessions
for every one listed in this curriculum. You can also do one
less shoot.)

Work on printing skills
Pin up samples of prints made at different settings so
students have reference points
Focus Link 16 Homework: Paste images in journal and write about them,
focusing on point of view
Focus Link 6 Session 8 Editing images

View student work as well as relevant historical and
contemporary work
Focus Link 17 Conduct story-writing exercise
Discuss what to think about for the next shoot
Homework: Collect images from publications relating to
theme for journal
Focus Link 7 Session 9 Gallery visit

View artwork related to project
Discuss artwork and techniques used to communicate
theme
Document the trip
Focus Link 21 Homework: Write a review of one of the gallery shows

Assignment: Focus on theme
lab access allows

Discuss samples of prints made at different settings so
Homework: Paste images in journal and write about
them, this time in sequences (See Part III, Chapter 14:
Photography & Writing.)

Discuss editing, showing examples of the final form of the
project
Make selections based on a theme
Homework: Review images and make editing choices
Focus Link 9 Session 13 Guest artist visit

Introduce artist, who presents artwork and experiences as
a professional
Have students interview the artist
With artist, review student work
Select work for final format
Homework: Continue printing
Session 14 Final prints

Tutor students as they make final prints
Discuss an artist’s statement
Focus Link 22 Homework: Write an artist’s statement
Focus Link 10 Session 15 Final project

Assemble final project (class review, exhibition, or
publication)
Evaluate class

SAMPLE BASIC 15–SESSION CURRICULUM
without darkroom access
Goal
Introduce students to the history, technique, aesthetics, and practice of photography

using non-darkroom activities to impart a sense of process
Materials
Film (1 roll per camera per shoot)
35mm manual cameras (can be shared in pairs)
For materials for activities, see Part IV
Lab processing fees

See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 Introduction
Pose questions about photography, what it is, how it works,
and where students have seen photographs, to assess
what they know
Present slides and discuss how to look at photographs
Pose questions appropriate to levels of visual literacy
– Present samples of the final form of their project, if
known, to show where they are heading
– Brainstorm theme
Conduct hands-on Polaroid activity
Distribute journals
Homework: Write about Polaroid pictures in journal
Session 2 Process: Sun prints

View sample sun prints and discuss the history of the
process
Create drawings on acetate relating to theme
Focus Link 29 Illustrate the photographic process with a sun print activity
Focus Link 34 Homework: Write about the images in the journal

Discuss how the 35mm camera works, all its parts and
controls, using handouts and cameras
Let students practice operating the camera controls
speed, depth of field, framing, and focus
Homework: Take home an empty slide frame and view your
home and neighborhood settings to practice framing

Assignment: Practice stop motion, depth of field, framing,
focus, and blur
Homework: Collect images from media and write about
them in the journal
Process: Film processing and printing (4” x 6” prints) done
at lab

View student work and discuss successes and bloopers
Discuss techniques and things to think about for the next
shoot
View and discuss relevant historical and contemporary work
Focus Link 17 Conduct story-writing exercise with projected slide
Focus Link 34 Homework: Paste images in journal and write about the
images and the experience of creating them

Assignment: Point of view
Focus Link 16 Homework: Collect images that illustrate different points
of view on the theme; write from the point of view of a
photographer, then of a subject
Process: Film processing (slides) done at lab

Introduce artist, who presents artwork and experiences as
a professional
With artist, conduct hands-on demonstration of lighting
using Polaroid film
Review student work (slide show)
Homework: Research a photographer
Session 8 Process: Polaroid transfer

Focus Link 27 Conduct a Polaroid transfer activity using slides
Homework: Free-writing on theme

Homework: Continue working on image journal
Process: Film processing and printing (contact sheets) done
at lab

View original artwork
Discuss artwork and techniques used to communicate
theme
Document the trip
Process: Film processing and printing (contact sheets) done
at lab

Discuss editing, showing examples of the final form of the
project
Edit and discuss student images based on theme
Process: Print selections (4” x 6”) done at lab

Homework: Continue working on image journal
Process: Film processing and printing (4” x 6”) done at lab

Introduce artist who presents artwork and professional
experiences
Review student work
Select work for final format
Homework: Paste images in journal and write about
them, this time in sequences. (See Part III, Chapter 14:
Photography & Writing.)
Process: Final printing (8” x 10”) done at lab

Edit final prints
Focus Link 22 Discuss artist’s statement
Homework: Write an artist’s statement
Session 15 Final project

Present work in final format
Evaluate class

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ When you work with kids, you quickly realize how much they are products
of their environment, and at the same time completely themselves. They are
struggling with a lot of things. They have a lot on their minds. I definitely try
to avoid the social-work aspect of teaching, but sometimes I think of photography as
being broken down into little life lessons. Lessons about attention to detail, about how
work can pay off, about the search for beauty, about how to clean up after yourself,
about working together, about listening, and about possibility.
Teaching photography is compelling because it has so many elements. There

are the obvious ones, such as math, chemistry, and hand-eye coordination, but then
there is also this alchemy of ‘the decisive moment’ that can’t really be taught. You can
only lead students on the path to the discovery of the true magic and heartbreak of
photography. It is often only arrived at by lucky accident. Part of what I do is to try to
set the stage for the unexpected.
The stage is set by teaching camera skills and patience. It’s also about organization
(of negatives and contact sheets) and consistency (temperatures, agitation, mixing of
chemistry). I feel these lessons carry over beyond photography. Yet there are many
ways to arrive at the same goal. For some kids, the ‘magic’ precedes the patience and
inspires it to develop.”
Mara Faye Lethem, Photographer/ Program Manager, ICP at The Point

“ My teaching philosophy is to trust the photographer. I try to give essential
practical information about using the camera, supported by many examples
from the history of photography, stressing at all times that I take the students’
own efforts seriously. I try to make them aware that they are expressing a particular
point of view, and the subject is as much that point of view as the scene in front of the
camera. When I juxtapose their own work with that of established photographers, they
feel empowered and can see that they could have a valid place in the production of
images of their time.
Practically speaking, here is how the field trips worked. The students were divided
into groups of four and five, each group assigned one or two teaching assistants and
one camera, which would be passed around the group in a fair way. (Each student
would get to use the same amount of film, 18 frames per photographer, for example.)
They were given different territories, a certain street corner and the sidewalk around
it. They could photograph the exterior detail of Carnegie Hall as context, as well as the
surrounding buildings, but they were encouraged to concentrate on little actions.
When it comes to actually taking the pictures, I try to stay out of their way as much
as possible, to intrude on their experience as little as possible. Some are extroverted
and some are introverted and there is no right or wrong way to photograph: There
is just each person’s way, and each person must arrive at that way of working. Our
most conscious efforts as teachers and teaching assistants on the field trip were to
make sure the students were safe in their activity. They were sometimes close to the
street and working among strangers. Creatively, they were on their own, with a lot of
preparation. They were exhilarated to claim that space and we were all ‘wow’-ed by
their results.”
“
Allen Frame, Photographer/ICP Instructor
Photography is visual communication, and kids have a lot to say. Let them say
it, but guide them, show them the possibilities and the alternatives.
Young students have a shorter attention span, but you can show them the
magic of photography in a way that will capture their imagination. Creative motivation
should come from visual sources, for the most part, but words help. It is important
to take students to galleries to see what we should call the end result. In class,
show different types of images from the early days of photography to contemporary
photographers. Show how images have changed over time, and also ask students an
interesting question: What would your personal life be like if photography didn’t exist?
This makes students think about the importance of these images.

With older students, I stress being an individual. We talk about how we are
different because of education, gender, religion, sexuality, culture, language, whether
we’re boring, and so forth. What makes us different? Why do we respond to things
differently? We see and embrace that difference.
When we critique images, we break up into small groups and look at another
group’s work. The group talks about it; they elect one person to give their summary.
There is less pressure in these small groups. I go from group to group and listen and
give a suggestion here and there, but basically I let them do it on their own. We talk
about composition, we talk about colors, we talk about tones, and what a person has
to say.
I have many syllabi, but each time I teach it’s a mixture of different ones. I start off
with one syllabus, and after a week or two I get to know the students, and then I come
up with different projects that work with the dynamics within that class.
Polaroid is a great teaching tool, with instant gratification that enables me to

explain, motivate, and correct. You can cover depth of field, shutter speed, and
composition. A digital camera is immediate too, but the Polaroid image is tangible: You
can feel it, you can touch it, you can mark on it, it works.
Before taking a photography class, students are probably used to using point-and-
shoot cameras. When you bring in a manual SLR (single lens reflex camera), and you
start talking about the controls and the different types of film and how you can change
the lens and how to shoot on days when it isn’t bright, students get excited. They
say, ‘Are you kidding me, I can develop my own film at home and make pictures?’ It’s
amazing to them. They don’t understand that you can make a camera, create images,
develop the film, and make prints. This is something new to them. It’s hands-on. It’s
tangible—something they can do, something they can see developing right in front of
their eyes.
I do a demonstration with each camera, and then I proceed to produce images.

After the initial introduction to the 35mm SLR controls, I usually break it down in a
simple way: one session on the 4” x 5” camera. Using the view camera, which is a little
bit more sophisticated, we talk about how the shutter and the aperture work. I show
how the controls on the view camera refer to both the view camera and the SLR. I use
Type 55 Polaroid negative film, which gives a nice negative that you can use later for
making contact prints and sun prints. I explain depth of field and illustrate it, and I do
the same with shutter speed, and then with composition. The look on their faces says:
‘Here is control.’”
Curtis Willocks, Photographer/ICP Instructor

5
Strategies for Developing Projects
OVERVIEW
T his chapter offers

strategies for designing
short-term and long-term
projects in schools and
community centers.
Figure 22
Short-Term Projects
Integrating photography into the school curriculum

Photography is a wonderfully accessible medium that can reinforce curricular
topics in even a short-term project. The keys to integrating the photography project into
the school curriculum are to link to the course theme, prepare beforehand, and follow
up afterward.
Whether going on a museum visit or documenting a school event as a short-term

project, integrating photography into the course will make these experiences more
meaningful. For example, just taking a history class to an exhibition of photographs
on the Civil War does not capitalize on the educational potential of the experience.
Successfully integrating a museum visit into the course involves preparatory activities,
such as discussing Civil War photographs and reading about the exhibition; a tour
with a guide or a discussion sheet that fosters visual literacy skills; and after the
visit, a hands-on reflection activity that addresses how images communicate about
history. Likewise, documenting a school project can include discussing elements
of documentary photographs, inviting a guest artist to help create documentary
photographs, and investigating creative methods to present the final documentation.
Because of time constraints, an effective strategy for integrating short-term projects

is to simplify technique. The short-term project can still cover important principles in
image making, aesthetics, and image interpretation and use. Using digital imaging,
automatic cameras, or Polaroid materials can efficiently and easily add a hands-on
photography component to a course. In such a short-term project, it is best to focus
instruction in camera use on the elements of point of view, framing, composition, and
lighting. These are some of the most important concepts in making photographs, they
can be taught with any kind of camera, and the resulting skills apply when using any
camera. To make the hands-on session meaningful, the activity should relate to the
course theme, and students should discuss photographs beforehand and then reflect
upon the images they created.
Even the simplest of projects should integrate history, technique, aesthetics, and
practice. (See Chapter 4: Teaching the Basics.) The sequence of activities in the lesson
should reinforce the skills to be learned through previewing, practicing, and reviewing.
(See the basic sequence discussed in Chapter 4—instruction, practice, and reflection.)

30 CHAPTER 5: Strategies for Developing Projects
In designing a short-term project, ask some guiding questions:
What are the goals of the photography component?
What skills will the students learn?
How do these skills relate to educational standards?
(See Chapter 6: Meeting Educational Goals.)
How will the photography project connect to the course’s overall theme?
What activities will integrate the photography component into the course?
How many sessions will the photography component be?
What materials and techniques do I need for this project?
How much will it cost?
Figure 23
The following sample curriculum illustrates how to integrate a short-term project

into a history course.
CHAPTER 5: Strategies for Developing Projects 31

SAMPLE SHORT-TERM PROJECT
Class Theme: History/1930
Project: Family Heritage & Photography
Goal
To explore family heritage and create a final photography project that illustrates the
collective heritage of the class
Duration
Four 2-hour sessions with homework
Preparation
Prior homework: Ask students to bring in photocopies of an important family portrait.

Encourage students to find a picture that relates to the course theme.
Materials
Digital, disposable, or automatic cameras with flash
35mm color print film and processing
Tape recorders and tape
Poster board, tape, and other collage materials
Slide projector
Copier

Related Focus Links: Activities
See Part IV.
Session 1 Introduction to family portraiture
Discuss images [1 hr.]

Introduce family portraiture through a slide presentation
of work by artists dealing with family issues (e.g., Clarissa
Sligh, Tomai Arai, Tina Barney, Deborah Willis)
Pose questions appropriate to levels of visual literacy by
asking students to describe what they see and the choices
the photographers made
Discuss: What is a portrait? What is a snapshot?
Discuss students’ family portraits
Have each student describe to the class what he or she
sees in the family portrait by answering: Who is in the
picture? What does the picture mean to your family? What
story does it tell?
Focus Link 17 Conduct a writing activity [45 min.]

List 10 details you notice in the picture
Write a description of what you see in the portrait; include
the 10 details
If the person in the picture could speak, what do you think
he or she would say?
Wrap-up [15 min.]

Focus Link 38 Homework: Research project
What time period does the family picture show?
What was going on then?
Write a report including facts from your research
Session 2 Photographic techniques
Introduce camera-handling techniques [30 min.]

Using several slides or original artwork, point out different
attributes of family portraits: use of details, framing, lighting,
setting, foreground and background
Review basics for operating the camera

Demonstrate camera techniques (Note: With one roll of film,
use student models to demonstrate lighting. Use the light in
the room and place the model in different poses in relation
to the light to illustrate effects.)
Have students work in groups and practice illustrating point
of view by taking pictures from different vantage points
Create images [1 hr. 15 min.]

Review assignment
1 Create portraits of family members from at least three
different points of view
2 Create a portrait of a family member showing something
in the background that is important to them
3 Create a portrait that reveals something about the family
member, without showing the person
(Note: Remind students to pay attention to lighting and
framing.)
Wrap–up [15 min.]

Collect cameras and discuss processing
Process: 4” x 6” prints
Session 3 Reflecting on images
Critique pictures [45 min.]

Focus on use of point of view, lighting, framing, and setting
Focus Link 16 Conduct a writing activity [45 min.]
Write about the person in the photograph. What do you
think person is thinking about?
Wrap–up [30 min.]

Discuss and role-play interviewing techniques
Review assignment
– Interview family members using a tape recorder
– Show them their portrait and ask them what they see
– Ask them for a story from a time period relating to the
class theme
– Transcribe the story

Session 4 Assembling the final project
Reflection activity: Collage [2 hrs.]

Show samples of collage and discuss basic principles for
combining visuals, colors, and text
Create a collage by cutting out different pictures and
combining them with writing, research facts, interviews, and
copies of the older family pictures
Mount the resulting pictures on poster board in the
classroom or an exhibition area

Long-Term Projects
When developing a long-term project, consider using the Focus lesson plans in
arrangements that correspond to your course theme. (See Part IV.)
Lining up the dominoes: Concept and structure

When you develop a long-term project, you are building a structure out of
concepts, which need to be clear, coherent, and manageable. Think of these concepts
as dominoes, which can be arranged in multiple and winding patterns, but which need
to line up with the right connection to one another in order to click together and reach
the desired endpoint.
First, articulate your ideas and clarify your operating concepts, the what, why,
and how (the dominoes). Then, turn your initial inspiration into a concrete structure, a
curriculum and budget (the pattern of the dominoes). What is your project idea and
how will the art be taught? You need to ask hard questions about yourself, the setting,
and the audience. Then, you can plan a realistic timeline and project proposal that will
structure and realize your idea.
Figure 24

Developing your idea into a project proposal
The dream stage involves writing down your project ideas and making an outline of
your dream curriculum. Considering finances provides the reality check. Figure out how
much your dream curriculum will cost to implement. What resources do you have, and
what more do you need? Alter your project plan and curriculum based on a realistic
understanding of your available resources and what funds you can raise.
Free-writing answers to the following questions can help flesh out your ideas.
Guiding questions:
What kind of project do I want to create?
What skills, ideas, and experiences do I bring to the equation?
Who is my audience? What do they need to learn? What topics do they
connect to most?
What is the setting (e.g., school, museum, community center)?
What is the nature of my partner (the partner can be an art educator, a school,
or a cultural institution)? What does each partner bring to the equation?
What are the goals?
What are some project themes?
What are some ideas for final projects?
What are the educational objectives?
What are the criteria for assessment?
Where will class sessions take place?
When will class sessions take place?
What activities does the teaching space allow?
What techniques can I teach?
Who can I contact to teach other techniques?
What field trips do I want to take?
What equipment is available? What else do I need?
What is the timetable?
What is the curriculum?
What financial resources are available?
What is the project budget?

Five steps to developing a long-term project
Step 1: What do you want to do? Why? How will you make it happen?
The answers to what, why, and how are your goals and operating concepts.
Step 2: With whom are you working?

Understanding the nature of all partners involved helps to focus ideas so that what you
do makes sense for a particular age group or setting.
Step 3: What will the result be?

Keeping in mind the final project and the educational objectives will help you plan your
project and define your assessment criteria.
Step 4: Articulate your course overview.

Flesh out exactly how you will meet your goals. You can then use a course overview
to communicate with staff about what you want to do and what you need to make it
happen.
Step 5: Make a project proposal, curriculum, timeline, and budget.

Once you have a sense of what kind of course works in your context and is appropriate
to your audience, you need to define what you need to make it happen.
This involves many steps:

1 Draft an outline of your curriculum.
2 Define your final project.
3 Move forward considering the skills that students need to learn step by step
toward realizing their final project. In the curriculum, every step along the way
needs to connect like dominoes or the educational process won’t work and the
final project won’t happen.
4 Make a timeline. Work backwards from when your final project is due. Review
your “dominoes.” What do you need to do to make the project happen, and
by when? Fit these needs into your class schedule. To double-check your
curriculum, review it backwards and forwards. Remember that a curriculum
will shift depending on how your students respond. Try to allow room for a
reasonable amount of adjustments in your timeline and curriculum.
5 Craft your budget. The financial resources are the parameters that define what
can be part of the course. Resources afford the following elements:
equipment
techniques
materials
number of class sessions with paid faculty and guest artists
First, dream big, then be practical. There is always a chance that you can raise
money, create needed change within an organization, or partner with someone

to help create your dream project. And if not, keep your curriculum and budget
flexible. Consider which project ideas and costs are nearly interchangeable.
(For hints on planning a budget, see below.)
6 Draft the project proposal. It should answer the what, why, and how questions.
It should specifically describe:
statement of need
goals
educational objectives
curriculum overview
criteria for assessment
timetable
budget
description of the final outcome
Planning a budget
Price materials by calling or visiting your local photography store. Final projects
can be the most expensive component of a project, but you can reduce costs in many
ways: using in-house resources, seeking volunteer help, asking for donations from local
camera stores in exchange for credit and publicity, or contacting design schools to see
if they would like to assist with an exhibition invitation or book as a class project. You
can also apply for grants to support the project.
Basic budget categories for sample Focus curriculum:
Faculty ($rate x number of sessions)

Guest artists ($rate x number of sessions)
Film ($price x number of rolls – half the number of students if sharing
cameras)
Processing ($price x number of rolls – either lab fee or chemistry)
Paper ($price x number of boxes) Note: Mete out paper to students based on
what you can afford; use test strips; have students buy extra paper as
needed.
Journals ($price x number of students)
Misc. (tape, paper) ($price – depends on activities)
Cameras ($price x ½ number of students.) Note: This is a capital investment.
Field trips ($admission x number of students; $transportation x number of trips)
Final projects ($price – depends on project)

It is challenging to translate an idea into the words and figures that represent a
concrete structure, such as a project description, timeline, and budget. Therefore, it is
important to retain a sense of play for yourself as well as for the teaching artists and
students. Once the concept (the what, why, and how) is defined, you have your set of
“dominoes,” and then you can be inventive and playful in your design.
To illustrate the five steps to developing a project, the following case study outlines
an ICP In-School Partnership. It is important to note that project design evolved
through staff meetings with all partners. The teaching artist designed a curriculum in
response to students’ interests, while navigating the goals of partnering organizations
and contributing his own artistic expertise and ideas. This case study shows how the
five steps play out in the context of an effective and multi-layered project.

CASE
STUDY
PORTRAIT RHYTHMS
Figure 25
Step 1: What do you want to do? Why? How will you make it happen?
The answers to what, why, and how are your goals and operating concepts.
What: In this In-School Partnership, ICP educators designed a connection

between photography and music. To realize this project, ICP partnered with the
Carnegie Hall Link Up Program, which provided extensive music appreciation and
practice sessions for students at the Adolph S. Ochs School.

Why: Teaching photography in combination with music provided this at-risk
audience with the motivation to learn, amplifying their studies in both media. The
connection also was an opportunity for this school audience to access the resources
of two nearby cultural institutions behind-the-scenes and to learn firsthand about
professional artists, art’s importance in culture, and the language of art.
How: The operating concept was to focus on the history, techniques, aesthetics,
and practices of photography. While the connection between the language of
photography and the language of music is abstract, focusing on portraiture made the
connection more concrete. Technical assignments in photography and a discussion of
composition explored movement, pattern, and rhythm in visual form. These concepts
related to what was being taught in the music classes. To discuss the curriculum
connections, planning meetings drew together staff from both organizations, the art
instructors, and the school faculty.
Step 2: With whom are you working?
Understanding the nature of all partners helps to focus ideas so that what you do
makes sense for a particular age group or setting.
The partnering school was open to incorporating studies in portraiture into the
school curriculum. Carnegie Hall educators were interested in a broad thematic
connection between photography and music as well as a direct connection such as
playing music in class. The idea was to keep reinforcing the concepts of movement,
pattern, rhythm, and most important, composition—how artists compose with visuals
or sounds in order to communicate what they see, feel, and sense in the world around
them.
The students were seventh and eighth graders with a beginning knowledge of
photography. They had to learn to operate the camera, understand lighting, and master
ICP Community Record at the Adolph S. Ochs School

1997-1998
The Adolph S. Ochs School (PS111), located in midtown Manhattan, serves children in grades K– 8.
Audience: eighth-grade students
Collaborating staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Allen Frame; ICP
Teaching Assistants Lou Dembrow and Karen Lindsay; OCHS Faculty George Morgan and Ellen Procida;
Carnegie Hall Director of Education Phyllis Susan; New York Times Liaison Carolyn Lelyveld.
Funding for this program was provided by the New York Times Company Foundation Inc. and the Surdna
Foundation.
The resulting curriculum met national and state standards in the visual arts.

other technical elements. Portraiture was an attractive theme because this audience
had had little opportunity to create images of themselves or each other the way they
wanted to be seen.
Additional strategies were used to engage students. Technical assignments in

stop motion and blur allowed students to explore movement with the camera in the
playground, allowing kinesthetic learning. They enjoyed group portrait sessions in
which they pretended to be a music group, composing the cover of their CD, seeing
themselves in new roles.
Step 3: What will the result be?
Keeping in mind the final project (e.g., exhibition) and the educational objectives
(e.g., photographic skills, music appreciation) will help you plan your project and define
your assessment criteria.
Educators wanted to create an opportunity for students to present their final

portraits. Because of the partnership with Carnegie Hall, educators worked with
Carnegie Hall designers to create posters of student photographs. The final posters
visually illustrated what the students had learned about portraiture, rhythm, pattern,
movement, and composition. One of the most exciting aspects of this final project was
that the posters were six-feet tall and presented in street-level cases, providing the
opportunity for a wide audience to see the students’ work and to learn about this art
education partnership.
Figure 26

Step 4: Articulate your course overview.
Flesh out exactly how you will meet your goals. You can then use a course
overview to communicate with staff about what you want to do and what you need to
make it happen.
Course Overview:
In this 30-session program, ICP will teach photographic skills and the art of
portraiture to 35 seventh graders and 35 eighth graders. Students will learn to visually
communicate how they see themselves and the world around them. The class
will examine the historical and contemporary aspects of portraiture through slide
presentations and several guest artist visits. Student will learn camera handling and
photographic techniques. Portraiture assignments include creating:
portraits of each other in familiar settings of the classroom and playground
group portraits for a book cover and a CD cover
portraits of strangers in the school neighborhood
portraits of people in another neighborhood around Carnegie Hall
Writing exercises will help students reflect upon what they have learned about
photography.
The photography program will make a connection to the Carnegie Hall music
program in various ways:
focusing on concepts such as composition, movement, pattern, and rhythm

making concrete connections such as creating CD covers
listening to music while viewing images
documenting the neighborhood around Carnegie Hall
visiting the artists’ studios within Carnegie Hall
The final outcome will be exhibition posters, representing at least one submission
by each student.

Step 5: Make a project proposal, curriculum, timeline, and budget.
Once you have a sense of what kind of course works in your context and is
appropriate to your audience, you need to define what you need to make it happen.
The goals are to engage 70 middle school students in the art of portraiture and
to make connections between photography and music.
The educational objectives in photography are to teach camera handling, an
understanding of lighting, and the elements of portraiture. The educational
goals of the curriculum connection are to develop the students’ understanding
of the language of photography and the language of music, emphasizing the
concepts of movement, pattern, rhythm, and most important, composition.
The course theme is how art communicates and portrays our sense of the
world and ourselves.
The budget allows for 30 sessions, including 15 35mm cameras for use during
class time, photographic shoots, lab processing, and guest artists’ visits.
The criteria for assessment are the realization of the portraits by students and
their written reflections, which demonstrate skill mastery and visual vocabulary.
Faculty also evaluate the students’ personal growth, as shown by their
motivation and attitude in class.
The final project is an exhibition of four six-foot posters containing images by all
the students, mounted in street-level cases at Carnegie Hall, with an opening
reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony for students, staff, and families.
The course will run from October 15 to May 15; the final exhibition will be
produced in May and will run during New York City Arts Education Week.

Figure 27

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
Figure 28
“ Portrait Rhythms was a project in which the students did ‘street

photography’ at Carnegie Hall and its external environment, the
intersection of 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. The students were asked
to make photographs that would portray ‘rhythm’ in the day-to-day life of a busy urban
environment. While the Carnegie Hall program introduced the musical concepts
of rhythm and beats, the photography program necessarily emphasized ‘action’ in
photography as a concomitant of ‘rhythm.’ Action in this case ranged from the obvious
motion of cars and taxis rushing by to the subtler motion of pedestrians’ gestures and
changing traffic lights. The students’ skills in photography had already been prepared
by studies in portraiture, followed by assignments aimed at making them aware of
the relationships between shutter speeds, movement, stopped action, and blur. In
the controlled environment of the school playground, they took pictures jumping
and running and posing in groups. The practice at portraiture prepared them for the
more difficult challenge of seeing things happen in a bigger field of activity. The busy
atmosphere of midtown New York could be daunting, so there was a lot of advance
thinking about the particular context in which they would be photographing, and we
looked at many examples of photographic cityscapes from the history of photography
before setting out to portray the area around Carnegie Hall.

Before our first excursion to photograph at Carnegie Hall, I asked the students
to list things they imagined they would see that reflected street rhythms. Then I
made slide texts out of their lists and interspersed them among slides of New York
cityscape photographs by a range of noted photographers, and I chose Gershwin’s
Rhapsody in Blue as an accompanying soundtrack. Their own remarks were presented
anonymously so that the emphasis would be less on individuals at this point than
simply on the concept of various points of view being expressed about the city. Later,
after two visits to the site and a rigorous editing process, we made slides of the
students’ work and created a new slide show, still including the students’ original lists
of rhythms that they would anticipate. Of course, sometimes what students anticipated
actually became photographs, but often they did not, and I liked leaving in the
discrepancy to emphasize the difference in anticipation and experience. Also, I think
that odd little discrepancies create more magic and less predictability, reminding them
of the place subjectivity has in the process.”
Allen Frame, Photographer/ICP Instructor
Figure 29

Working With Partners
If you are establishing a long-term project or multi-year program with a partnering
organization, you need to understand who they are and what their goals are. A good
partner demonstrates an ability to contribute and commit to the project (e.g., offering
resources, being clear about roles, and being organized about communication). A
partnership works best when each partner brings something different to the table.
Otherwise, skills and expertise are duplicated, and administrative work is doubled,
not streamlined. If you have difficulty communicating or defining roles then that might
indicate a trouble area in the partnership, or that the two partners are too similar.
Guiding questions:
What are my organization’s goals and expectations?
What are the history and mission of the partner organization?
Who are the key players?
What are their goals and expectations for this project?
Based on their nature, resources, and expertise, what will they bring to this
project?
What means of communication will this partnership use?
How committed and organized are they in relation to this project?
Is this organization the right partner for my organization’s project ideas and
goals?
Managing the project: Communication and flexibility

When a long-term project is in action, the educational partners must communicate,
discuss, and periodically review the project and its goals. Good communication
ensures that all involved—staff, teachers, and students—are clear about the
expectations and any changes in direction. Define partners’ roles and establish a mode
of communication early in the process. (Given busy schedules, this is easier said than
done, but the effort toward good communication is crucial.)
If you are managing the project, then you need to communicate to all partners what
they need to know. Teaching artists need to know what the educational objectives are,
how many sessions they have, and what resources they have to work with in order
to develop their lesson plans. They should tell the students what they need to know
and what is expected of them. You may also be working with administrators who
need reports on what happened. Track facts and figures, from student attendance to
expenses, and observe classes periodically with your criteria in mind.

Planning meetings should take place before the project begins and then at critical
junctures, such as the mid-point and before the final project. Meet with or speak on
the phone with faculty biweekly. Make a brief outline of the project for distribution to
administrators, partners, and teaching artists. Ask your partners questions to check
what their understanding of the project is. Facilitate an open dialogue to direct the
course and accommodate any needed changes in direction.
Managing a project is not about what you wrote on paper in the beginning
but about how you steer the project based on your judgment and your partners’
observations of its progress. You may need to rearrange the pattern of your
“dominoes,” but the dominoes themselves, the concepts—the what, why, and how of
your project—should remain stable throughout. This will keep the project focused.
Most important, you need to create a teaching space that lets art happen. The
curriculum follows from an understanding of the audience and how they are learning
the material. Here is where the planning needs to allow for flexibility. You may need
to devote more or less time to certain topics, or do an extra activity, take a domino
out or put a domino in, allow a new pattern to emerge as long as the dominoes all
connect. The final form of the project—whether it is an exhibition or publication—is
often more clear once students have created images. Make sure your budget allows for
change and growth. (For example, if you are considering two possible final projects, a
newsletter or an exhibition, budget for the more costly option.)

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ Teaching is a collaborative process. It takes the commitment of the

teachers, the students, their families, and the organizations that
administrate the project. When each contributes to their role, the
learning experience is most successful. The teacher must create an environment
that nurtures trust and respect, both between the students and teachers and, more
important, among the students themselves. The teacher must set achievable high
standards for the class and clearly communicate those expectations, continually giving
encouragement and positive critique. The students must come committed to learn and
accepting the responsibility that participating in a community of equally committed
individuals requires. It is the organization’s role to steer the project it creates, defining
its mission by giving support and guidance, encouraging excellence while accepting
teacher innovation. The organization should be flexible enough within its guidelines to
allow for creativity.
It is the family who has the most integral job. The family members are the ones who
will be participating in the students’ joy when they return home with the fruits of their
labor. When the students are able to share their accomplishments with their family, they
return to the class invigorated. In the real world these conditions rarely fall into place
immediately. It is only after sustained efforts and willingness of all parties involved that
the rewards will be achieved. In the meantime, it is the precious moments of wonder
and joy that show on the face of the student that make the long road worth traveling.”
Matthew Septimus, Photographer/ICP Instructor

Working with Different Settings and Age
Groups
Figure 30
Following are general observations relating to working with various age levels,
based on projects that ICP has designed in partnership with schools and community
centers. (See Part 3 for specific case studies.)
Elementary schools
Don’t underestimate this young audience because of their relatively short

attention span. They are wonderfully creative and able learners, and the active art of
photography will channel their energy. They can learn many techniques, both simple
and complex, but it may take more sessions to teach them. Assess what their attention
span is, and be clear about how many sessions you need to teach a certain technique.
Integrate photography into a general theme and school philosophy. Younger audiences
(grades K to 4) work well with simpler techniques such as Polaroid materials, automatic
cameras, sun prints, and drawing and writing activities. With technique simplified,
they enjoy more time and space for their imagination to play. In our yearlong In-School
Partnerships with elementary schools, we found fifth- and sixth-grade students to
be quite adept at complex technical-skills mastery: from black-and-white and color
photography with manual 35mm cameras to alternative processes such as sun prints,
pinhole photography, hand coloring prints, and Polaroid transfers.

Middle schools
Curriculum connections work extremely well with this age group. ICP educators
have found this age group to be particularly interested in portraiture and identity and
to respond very well to thematic projects. They like to explore their own neighborhood
but truly enjoy contrasting neighborhoods and cultures (and going on field trips) as
they puzzle out self and community identity. Interactive activities and role playing are
important ways to channel students’ physical and emotional energy. Projects should be
designed to connect to their lives as well as academics. Students with artistic promise
and interest should be encouraged to develop a portfolio for application to a high
school that is strong in the arts.
High schools
Technical-skills mastery is the focus of this age group but with an interest in
using these skills to reflect upon who they are and their emerging role in the world.
Personal projects and portfolio development are valuable, open-ended ways to
explore and reveal their individuality. Professional assignments help students bridge
the gap between school and their next step (i.e., college, work). Contact with guest
artists is particularly meaningful at this time when they are seeking role models in the
“real world.” Photography projects that tap into teenagers’ need for connection to the
real world and for individuality are naturally motivating. It is important to keep some
freedom, surprise, and fun in the atmosphere, as this age group often feels pressure,
especially in their senior year.
Community centers
Whereas schools follow highly structured schedules, a community center is more

flexible, and, therefore, the project design needs to accommodate that quality. Working
on personal projects and portfolios enables students to learn at their own pace. In
addition to the instructor, it is a good idea to involve many teaching assistants, as long
as they are well-qualified, to guide students in a multi-level class. The teaching artist
needs to construct flexible lesson plans, for example, conducting demonstrations not at
the beginning of class but when a critical mass has appeared. Projects that center on
the elements of a community or that respond to attributes of the center make sense in
this context and draw people together.

Cultural institutions
Cultural institutions usually have specific directives regarding their missions, their
artistic media, and their expertise. Projects should center on artistic expertise and
the high caliber of teaching artists and resources available. Students respond to the
reality of this artistic experience and ultimately feel like they could become artists—
which means they have opened up to what art can offer in their life, as opposed
to just completing an academic assignment. In addition, partnering with a cultural
institution introduces students and their families to the rich store of resources within
their communities. This can help break down some of the boundaries between the
organizations and the community and make art more accessible.
EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ Elementary school is a wonderful age group—and perfect for teaching

Polaroid with its ease of operation combined with instant feedback. We
explored bird’s-eye view, worm’s-eye view, pattern and movement, simple
geometric shapes in the world around them. After-school projects for this age group
pose special challenges: fatigue, attention span, snack, birthday parties, focus, and
attendance. All vary tremendously, so flexibility and the ability to improvise are essential
to success.”
Karen Lindsay, Photographer/ICP Teaching Associate
Following are the stories behind establishing two multi-year programs, one in
partnership with a school and one with a community center.

CASE
STUDY
IN-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Figure 31
Program overview
ICP Community Record teaches photography to young people in partnership with
schools throughout New York City in a year-round program, which includes hands-
on instruction, classroom activities, guest artists’ presentations, museum visits, and
field trips in the neighborhood, resulting in a final project that celebrates the students’
accomplishments. Each 30-session course is a combination of history, technique,
aesthetics, and practice. Classes meet at the school once a week. ICP instructors
conduct the photography course, in collaboration with school faculty, who are then
able to reinforce topics and make connections to photography during the week. In
the partnership, ICP manages the project and budget and incorporates photographic
expertise into the curriculum, while the school handles logistics, contributes staff and
space resources, and ensures that the project is appropriate for the school.
At the High School of Fashion Industries, the partners have developed a multi-
tiered program that serves a model of integrating photography into the school setting.
Since 2000, the photography program has offered: foundation classes integrated

into the school day for art majors (for credit); an after-school club for non-art majors,
exploring all genres of photography; an advanced after-school class in practical
applications from fashion photography to advertising; and teachers’ workshops to
explore curriculum connections and utilize the school’s new photographic resources.
The ICP-designed facility features a 15-station darkroom, separate film loading and
processing area, print finishing area, and convertible studio in the classroom.
Program history
Located in Chelsea, the High School of Fashion Industries (HSFI) is a vocational
school that focuses on the field of fashion, design, and merchandizing. ICP courses,
therefore, integrate basic photography skills with concepts in design and fashion.
In 1998, Arts Connection introduced ICP and HSFI, and in the first year, three
partners worked together to establish the program concepts. A highly committed
partner, HSFI dedicated classroom space to the photography facility, contributed and
raised funds for the program, and hired a new art teacher with a strong background in
photography.
Then in 1999, ICP launched a non-darkroom after-school club and a series of

teachers’ workshops while the darkroom was under development. These classes
built enthusiasm for the photography program among the student body and the
teachers, who were learning about the possibilities of integrating photography into their
classroom projects. By pairing the ICP instructor with the HSFI art teacher during that
year, the two staff members had time to develop a rapport and establish the basis
of the collaboration. The facility was constructed over one year in collaboration with
CoopTechnical High School, a vocational program whose construction class executed
ICP’s architectural plans.
ICP Community Record at High School of Fashion Industries
The High School of Fashion Industries (HSFI) is a vocational school located in the Chelsea neighborhood.
Audience: Hish school students
Collaborating staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Deputy Director for Programs
Phillip Block; Director of Arts Connection Steven Tennen; Deputy Director of Arts Connection Carol Morgan;
Principal Charles Bonnici; Assistant Principal Madeleine Appell; Art Teacher Lisa Takoushian; Photography
Instructor Curtis Willocks.
Foundation.
The resulting curriculum met national and state standards in the visual arts, as well as state standards in social
studies.

Figure 32
Figure 33

Program structure
In the 2000-2001 academic year, the classes focused on using the new darkroom
facility. The teachers’ workshops and after-school club continued. The after-school
club attracted 70 students each semester for its 20 spots, indicating the need for
expanded programming in 2001-2002. The HSFI faculty launched the foundation class,
which met daily and incorporated photography into the design foundation class for art
majors. The year’s finale was an exhibition of student and faculty photographs in the
school’s gallery, as a way to inaugurate the program and highlight its accomplishments.
Several factors are key to the success of this in-school partnership:
the school’s contribution of time, space, staff, and funds

the school’s acknowledgement of photography as a credit class for art majors
using teachers’ workshops to emphasize ways to integrate photography into
the classroom and capitalize upon the new photography facility
offering various courses that enabled different types of students to
participate—art and non-art majors, beginning and advanced students
Curriculum connections
Teachers involved in workshops initiated a variety of connections to their curriculum
areas. One social studies teacher demonstrated to his class how his own photographs
illustrated the composition of the local neighborhood and other geographical areas
the class had studied; then he encouraged students to use photographs in their
reports and assignments. One English teacher had students write about images
in two projects: (1) assembling an autobiography in words and pictures (from baby
pictures to current portraits) and (2) using a picture by Diane Arbus as a starting point
for a dramatic monologue written in the voice of the subject of the photograph. The
guidance counselor used photographs of people in various professions to talk about
career options. She also used photographs of people in abusive situations to provide a
“safe” way for students to discuss their feelings.

CASE
STUDY
COMMUNITY-BASED
PARTNERSHP
Figure 34
Program history
Created in 1996, ICP at The Point is the result of an intensive partnership between
the International Center of Photography (ICP) and The Point, a community development
corporation, located in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx.
ICP was interested in designing an on-site program with a fully equipped

photography facility that offered a community the space and time to learn photography.
In identifying a partner, ICP was especially drawn to The Point’s unique combination
of social service and the arts. The Point’s mission is to use art as a stimulus for
cultural renewal and enterprise in the Hunt’s Point community and to encourage
“self-investment” by its residents, especially its youth. The Point offers a variety of arts,
enterprise, and environmental programs, and in its three main buildings provides a
theater, dance studio, sound studio, radio station, Internet center, artist’s studios, the
ICP photography program, and a marketplace for emerging businesses.
Each partner offered different expertise: ICP designed and oversaw the educational
component, the program design, and final projects; The Point ensured that the
program met the needs of the community, recruited the audience, and managed the
physical space. ICP was also designated as lead fundraiser and managed the budget.

In designing the program, ICP considered the best way to combine ICP’s photographic
expertise with the nature of a community center and the students’ need for the
program to seem unlike school.
Figure 35
First, a flexible workspace was created. In 1996, The Point’s truck garage was
renovated to create a photography facility. It features: a darkroom with nine enlarger
stations, studio lighting equipment, a variety of camera formats, fiber printing
capacity, a film processing lab, and a classroom that converts into a professional
ICP at The Point
ICP at The Point is a community-based photography center, featuring a studio, darkroom facility, gallery,
and business. The goal is to teach photography in the community as a way to foster creative expression,
communication skills, and professional experience.
Audience: Local community, ages 8 to adult
Collaborating Staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; Associate Director of The Point
Maria Torres; ICP Deputy Director for Programs Phillip S. Block; and Executive Director of The Point Paul Lipson.
Funding for this program was provided by Art+Commerce, Altman Foundation, New York City Department of
Cultural Affairs, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Ethel & Irvin Edelman Foundation, Bernard F. and Alva
B. Gimbel Foundation, Mary A. Goodman, Charles Hayden Foundation, William Randolph Hearst Foundation,
Dorothea Leonhardt Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas, The Edward S. Moore Foundation,
Open Society Institute, The Pinkerton Foundation, Surda Foundation, and the Harold Roth Fund for Young
Photographers.

studio. Students learn in a dynamic atmosphere in which many activities happen
simultaneously: instruction in camera handling, film processing, and printing. This type
of individualized instruction is possible because of the number of faculty, teaching
assistants, and volunteers, a 1 to 3 teacher-student ratio. Because the program
emphasizes individualized hands-on instruction, participants learn at their own pace—
from the instructor and each other—and create portfolios that express their personal
vision.
Taught by leading professional photographers, multi-level classes in photography

are offered free to young people after school and to adults at an affordable tuition on
weekends. The first courses began in the spring of 1997 and have continued with good
Figure 36
enrollment, involving some of ICP’s best teaching artists: Allen Frame, Frank Franca,
Karen Furth, Deborah Klesenski, Dona Ann McAdams, Matthew Septimus, and Curtis
Willocks. After the first year, the partners created an annual publication to chronicle
the program’s activities and highlight student accomplishments. In January 2000, the
partners opened the Vantage Point Gallery in The Point’s main atrium to showcase
student photographs. By 2001, ICP at The Point had achieved its goal of establishing
a solid program structure and had developed enough advanced students to set the
foundation for a student-run business.

Program structure
ICP at The Point explores both the creative possibilities and practical applications
of the medium. The courses cover the history, techniques, aesthetics, and practices
of the medium, all within the context of individualized projects that connect to the
students’ lives and interests. Classes focus on developing each student’s technical
skills and artistic vision through the completion of portfolios and projects. For
example, instructors motivate students to develop personal projects, document dance
performances, take portraits of families and models, photograph for annual report
assignments, and create images of their own neighborhood. In the lab, students
process their film and print their pictures. Guest artists share their work experiences
and photography projects with the class. Visits to museums, galleries, and businesses
in New York City reveal the aesthetic and professional aspects of the field.
Figure 37

Practical applications and projects
The program provides various venues for the presentation of student imagery. In
this way, students are rewarded for their accomplishments at the same time that they
learn about the use of photographs in print, media, exhibition, fine art, and professional
work. These projects also set up an exchange of imagery with the community.
Portfolios: Portfolio development is the ongoing project emphasized in every class.

Each student’s portfolio reveals his or her developing personal style and traces their
progress in different genres. Students learn to edit and sequence their portfolios to
illustrate their skill and vision to a potential client.
Figure 38
Vantage Point Gallery: With expert guidance, students create and edit photographs
for exhibition, and they learn to curate and install exhibitions three times a year.
Annual Publication: The ICP at The Point publication traces the evolution of the
program and highlights students’ accomplishments and portfolios.
Monthly Newspaper: Hunt’s Point Alive!, The Point’s monthly newspaper, features
a centerfold of students’ photographs and invites photographers to create work on
assignment, documenting local events in the neighborhood and the news at The Point.

The Archive: A collection of each student’s best imagery and a safe storage place
for their work, the archive is an ongoing project for students and staff. Student
photographs are a valuable insider’s glimpse into lives and a community often
misrepresented by outsiders. Clients interested in publishing or exhibiting student work
can draw upon the resources of the archive.
Business: The business class teaches students how to become professional

photographers by working together on real assignments, from family portraiture to
actors’ head shots to annual reports. The class has also helped students to attain
positions working as printing technicians in major photo labs.
Career Development: As students progress in the study of photography, they

become eligible for job opportunities assisting with the classes, the lab, the business,
and gallery exhibitions. Students have contact with professional photographers,
museum professionals, and other talented artists, all of whom are committed to guiding
students to discover their potential and to explore the field.
Figure 39

STUDENTS’
QUOTES
“ In the past four years, The Point has played a very large part of the
success in my life. I considered The Point a guide, adviser, and most of
all a friend. Everyone there has such compassion about everything they
do. They dedicate their lives and hearts to the type of art that they love and provide
inspiration for young nurturing minds such as myself.
At ICP at The Point, I was able to discover a love for photography that I would have
never had if it wasn’t for some ICP’s instructors by the names of Dona Ann McAdams
and Frank Franca, who put their trust and a camera into the hands of a complete
stranger. They taught me the basics of photography. I learned that the core of a good
image is lighting. The way you use your light source is very important to an image. It
also tells a lot about the photographer’s creativity.
I thank ICP and The Point and all who are responsible for supporting my wishes
and dreams.”
Eboni Peartree, 18, ICP at The Point Student
“ I have been going to ICP at The Point for two years now. When I first
got here, I knew a lot about photography, but ICP taught me a lot about
medium format and also different techniques with a 35mm camera.
Now I’m the Assistant Lab Manager, and I’m teaching kids, teens, and adults about
photography. I like to take pictures of fashion in the studio and street photography. ICP
at the Point is a great opportunity to learn about photography with great professional
photographers.”
Jason Tirado, 17, ICP at The Point Student

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ It is important to keep a keen eye on what makes students’ work unique,

and to help them see that for themselves. Because our program has
students that range in age from 13 to 24, and because their level of
experience ranges from 4 years to 3 weeks, it is extremely important to engage all of
them on an individual basis, almost like a tutor. Not all students will volunteer to show
me their work, and so I must ask to see it. Not all students will admit they are having
problems coming up with new projects, and so I must scratch the surface and make
suggestions. Occasionally this gives our class the kaleidoscopic appearance of a
three-ring circus: a studio shoot, a printing session, students developing film, portfolio
reviews, a community shoot, students learning history and technique from books,
colorizing black-and-white photos. At the same time, it gives our classes a sense of the
dynamism and excitement that is absolutely imperative when dealing with the attention
spans of young people. I try to teach students to apply the critical eye that an artist
brings to anything he or she sees. I do this by dissecting contemporary images and
speaking in great detail about a particular image (published or their own). Not only
does this teach them about photography, but also it gives them a language to describe
their own work.”
Frank Franca, Photographer/ICP Instructor

6
Meeting Educational Goals
OVERVIEW
T his chapter presents

ways to assess
student progress, evaluate
photographic education
projects, and meet
educational standards.
Figure 40
Using Assessment and Evaluation as a Guide
Curricula represent our best intentions. Then, there is what actually happens.
Students hit stumbling blocks. They take longer to learn than estimated. Or, they create
from the heart and take the course in a more personal direction. To address a need, you
overspend in one category in the budget and cannot do what was originally planned in
another area. A technical glitch, such as ordered equipment not arriving in time, calls for
an alternate plan. Or, you have an inspiration midway and change the course.
A good curriculum is a road map that allows for change and problem solving. Keep
extra activities in a bag of tricks for each lesson. Continually try to gauge how your
students are responding and learning. Reflecting upon student progress and curriculum
structure, not just at the end of the course but throughout, can help you to meet
the various educational goals—your teaching goals, the students’ interests, and the
organization’s standards.
When working in a school, educators must assess student progress and evaluate
the course in light of national and local educational standards. In general, assessment
refers to looking critically at student work, and evaluation regards the course or project.
Matching student assessment and educational standards can be tricky: How can you
grade a student’s photograph, for example? But, without seeing evidence of student
progress, how can you evaluate the effectiveness of your course? Often, assessment
is seen as a scary word in the arts: It involves judgment, the silent killer of the artistic
process. Just as art can become strained and wily when you heft rigid expectations and
concepts upon the process, so can art education.
Yet, assessment and evaluation are valuable tools for informing and improving
curriculum and instruction. As measures, they help determine how well goals have been
met. As prompts for reflection, they help you to understand what worked and what
could be done better next time. And, as a record of the course, they provide a way for
you to share your students’ success with others. One way to think about it is to see
assessment and evaluation as questioning where you are and where you are heading.
Throughout the course, ask yourself questions about where your students are in
their photographic skills and determine what they need to advance. Ask yourself what is
coming across well and why students are not connecting to some material. What types
of activities engage these students best? What skills do the students need in order to
grow as photographers? What type of instruction will help them get there? At the end of
the course, the form of the final project becomes apparent. You may have planned for
an exhibition, a book, or a Web site, and each of these venues requires different types
of final selections. Now the class needs to edit the work to meet the criteria for the final
project; this actively engages them in assessment of their own work. A culminating
project such as an art opening not only shows others that the course met educational
goals, but also it is an occasion to celebrate the students’ first steps as artists.

68 CHAPTER 6: Meeting Educational Goals
The resulting artwork tells the story of the course. Compare the beginning work
with the end results. This form of assessment reveals the educational impact of
photography best; after all, art is essentially about reflection and the re-presentation
of ideas. Use the photographic art itself as the assessment tool: The proof is in the
gelatin.
Means of Assessment and Evaluation

To meet your educational goals and to communicate with others—project directors,
funders, parents, and other educators—about educational benefits of your course,
you need to use various means of assessment and evaluation. The following examples
describe what you can use for both student assessment and project evaluation goals,
noted as follows:
Student assessment (SA), how well students have met learning goals
Project evaluation (PE), how well the project has met curricular and
organizational goals
Figure 41
CHAPTER 6: Meeting Educational Goals 69

Portfolios and final projects such as exhibitions are the best way to assess
student progress and evaluate the end result of the course. The portfolios or
final projects should represent the best images and show the range of work
covered. They also demonstrate how well students understood the topic. To
see how much students have progressed, you can compare artwork from the
beginning and end of the course. Culminating projects provide an opportunity
to tie together what the course covered and showcase what students achieved.
(Note: Make sure you keep copies or copy slides of the final projects for project
evaluation, public relations, and funding purposes.) SA, PE
Artwork illustrates how well students have learned techniques and aesthetics.
Looking at their successes and bloopers during class assignments can help
you determine if you need to review certain concepts and techniques or if you
can move on to other topics. The final images—and the way students discuss
or write about them—can reveal how their approach to making art has evolved.
(Note: During the course, it is a good idea to have students make two copies
of their best prints and store them in an archive box in the classroom. Ask
students to put their names on their work.) SA, PE
Figure 42
Contact sheets provide a good checkpoint to monitor students’ progress

during a course and their performance on an assignment. A contact sheet is
a map of seeing; it reveals how a photographer thinks visually. Look for how
students are approaching subject matter: if they are exploring point of view,
taking more than one picture of a subject, and using a variety of techniques.
Consider how well they focused on the assignment. Evaluate how well they are
mastering techniques like exposure, focus, lighting, and framing. This can guide
you to structure the next activity based on how students are responding and
learning. SA

Figure 43
Discussions about artwork reveal how well students are learning photographic
terms and developing a vocabulary to talk about art. Ask them specific, guiding
questions and pay attention to their language use. (For more information on what
to look for in students’ language, see Part I, Chapter 3: Visual Literacy.) SA
Journals can document the effects of the course from the students’ viewpoint.
Journals that include both images and text can chronicle students’ evolving
approaches to art-making. Their images can show what ideas and techniques
are important to them, and their writing can show how they have been thinking
about art. (Note: At the end of the course, you can ask students for permission
to copy selected pages for more public project assessment purposes, but the
journal should remain a safe space for exploration during the class.) SA, PE
Figure 44

Worksheets and writing assignments can indicate how well students
are learning photographic terms, vocabulary, and concepts. These are not
“tests,” but rather an opportunity to respond to photography through writing.
The process of writing can clarify students’ understanding of photographic
concepts. Their written responses make their thinking visible to themselves
and others. For students who are not able to write well, these assignments can
build writing skills, but also you can have students talk about their responses to
the worksheets together. SA, PE
Figure 45
Problem-solving skills often are demonstrated as students work on hands-

on photographic assignments either independently or with peers. You can
see how well students work with the camera, the lights, or the chemistry. In
addition, you can observe how well students work with others, respond to
feedback, deliver constructive comments, and express their emotions and
thoughts. This can indicate what students are learning and how they are
growing as individuals. The development of their thinking and communication
skills is an important benefit of arts education. SA
Documenting activities throughout the course, either with still cameras or

a video camera, provides a valuable record of students at work and may
reveal some of the excitement and impact of photographic education. (Note:
You should ask students if you can use pictures of them publicly for project
evaluation purposes.) PE

Figure 46
Curriculum, lesson plans, and any handouts illustrate how the teaching was
accomplished. These materials not only provide a record that tells the story of
the course but also are a starting point for the next time you teach. PE
Course evaluations by students convey their personal reactions and empower

them to grade the course for a change! In addition, sometimes students give
“thank you” notes and images to guest artists who had a strong impact on
them. SA, PE
Classroom environment can show the progress of the class, and student
work can be displayed in any kind of container: an image box, a portfolio file,
“newspaper clipping of the week” or “image of the week” posted on bulletin
boards, and images with writing in exhibition cases. SA, PE
Lastly, finding a way to share your story about the photography project can
offer other educators inspiration, practical tips, valuable resources, and ideas for
collaborating. (Contact ICP’s Education Department to share your project ideas.)

How Photographic Education Meets National
and Local Standards
To assess student progress in a school-based course or project, educators need
to bear in mind national and local standards for visual art specific to their grade level.
The following two sections describe how photographic education can meet national
and local standards. This can help you to plan your curriculum, define criteria and
means of assessment and evaluation, and communicate about your success to others.
When a curriculum incorporates history, technique, aesthetics and practice,

photographic education meets the national and local standards for visual arts
education (see Part II, Chapter 4: Teaching the Basics). Balancing this combination is
key. Without a connection to art history, for example, you will have difficulty meeting at
least half the national standards for visual art (e.g., standards 3, 4, and 6 on page 75).
Importantly, seeing and discussing good examples informs a photographer’s technical
growth, and this focus on craft also meets national standards (e.g., standards 1 and
2). In addition, allowing time for students to reflect on images is critical. Without it, you
will have difficulty meeting standards calling for an understanding of the merits of work
(e.g., standard 5). Moreover, students will not grow as photographers unless they reflect
upon and are aware of the choices they are making. This is why the basic sequence
for lessons, described in Part II, Chapter 4, has proven effective for ICP educators. The
sequence allows time for: (1) instruction, when teaching artists impart their knowledge
and passion for the medium; (2) practice, when students are free to create images and
experiment as artists; and (3) reflection, when students and teachers respond to the
photograph through discussion or other artistic media to uncover the many ways the
photograph communicates its message. In this way, students are continually learning
new information, creating images, and responding to images.
Meeting national standards

Below each national standard, you will find comments on what students learn in
various photographic activities. This can help you see what your course should cover
to meet the standards. Consider how the skills and activities described are part of a
balanced curriculum in photography (see Part II, Chapter 4).

National Standards for Visual Arts Education, Grades K-12
1 Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
2 Using knowledge of structures and functions
3 Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
4 Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
5 Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the
work of others
6 Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines
© 2000 National Art Education Association

(Retrieved June 1, 2004: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/standards.cfm)
Standard 1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes

To create photographs, students must know how to operate the camera, make
an exposure, focus, use lighting, and frame the picture.
In a darkroom-based class, students learn about chemistry (dilutions and
ratios), timing, and proper handling of materials.
To edit photographs, students need to have a clear idea of what they want to
say and an understanding of how the photograph communicates.
In assembling a final project, students draw together and apply what they
have learned to present final slides, exhibitions, or printed materials using
photography.
Standard 2: Using knowledge of structures and functions

To discuss and create photographs, students need to understand what a
photograph is, how it is made, and what its elements are.
Students demonstrate their knowledge when they complete assignments,
portfolios, and class projects.
Standard 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
Students choose from a diverse range of genres, styles, applications, and
subject matter when they create and discuss photographs.
Students develop the ability to communicate their ideas through photography in
hands-on activities, assignments, and final projects.
Students appreciate the many possible interpretations of a photograph when
discussing their own work and others’.
Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

Students gain an understanding of the history and cultural impact of
photography as they discuss and view historical and contemporary artwork,
visit galleries and museums, and meet with guest artists.
Assignments and projects can relate to historical and cultural studies.

Standard 5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their
work and the work of others
Students write reflections on their own images, create journals, and write or
draw creatively in response to photographs.
Students critique their own and their classmates’ photographs in class.
Students discuss the qualities of historical and contemporary photographs in
slide presentations, gallery visits, and guest artist presentations.
Standard 6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

Class projects can make connections between photography and other
disciplines such as social studies and English language arts. (See Part III,
Chapter 9: Making Curriculum Connections.)
In addition, digital imaging projects can meet national educational technology

standards. (See Part III, Chapter 16: Photography & Digital Imaging.)
National Educational Technology Foundation Standards for Students
Standard 1: Basic operations and concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology
systems.
Students are proficient in the use of technology.
Standard 2: Social, ethical, and human issues

Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology.
Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.
Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning,
collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
Standard 3: Technology productivity tools

Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote
creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models,
prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
Standard 4: Technology communications tools

Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and
other audiences.
Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to
multiple audiences.
Copyright © 2000-2004 ISTE NETS Project

(Retrieved June 1, 2004: http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_stands.html)

Standard 1: Basic operations and concepts
In digital imaging projects, students learn the basic technological operations
involved in using the camera, downloading the images into the computer, and
altering the images using computer software.
Standard 2: Social, ethical, and human issues

Educators can design projects in which students work in teams, address social
and ethical issues, and reflect upon the impact of technology on their lives as
they discuss, create, and produce digital images.
Standard 3: Technology productivity tools

When fine-tuning and altering digital images or adding other media such as
writing or digital video, students are using advanced knowledge of technology
tools to produce creative artworks that communicate their thoughts and
feelings.
Standard 4: Technology communications tools

When students create a Web site or online portfolio, they are using technology
to publish and share their work with others.

Meeting local standards
Photographic education can support state standards for the arts as well as for
academic disciplines. Below each standard are some ways that ICP photography
projects (fully described in Part III) have met the New York State standards in the arts,
social studies, and English language arts. This can help you see how a specific project
connects to a standard. Consider how closely these examples relate to the national
standards and to your local setting.
New York State Standards for the Arts
Standard 1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts

Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the
arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.
Standard 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources

Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for
participation in the arts in various roles.
Standard 3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art

Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to
other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.
Standard 4: Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts

Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic
communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.
New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning

(Retrieved June 1, 2004: http://www.nysatl.nysed.gov/artstand.html)

Standard 1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts
In Portrait Rhythms, students learned about two art forms, music and photography.
Through creating individual and group portraits, some of which were rendered into
CD covers, students gained an understanding of the language of photography and
the language of music. Students focused on concepts common to both media:
movement, pattern, rhythm, and most important, composition. Finally, students
created an exhibition of their artwork, displayed in six-foot tall posters in street-level
cases by Carnegie Hall. (See Part II, Chapter 5: Strategies for Developing Projects.)
Standard 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources

In the photo/theater projects, students mastered camera handling, studio lighting,
and the arrangement of a set with models and props as they played the roles
of photographer, model, and lighting technician to create images, or “historical
fictions.” (See Part III, chapters, 10, 11, and 13.)
In documentary photography projects, students learned how to operate a camera,
work with available lighting, and compose an image to communicate what they
wanted to say. As they edited their resulting images, they made further decisions
as to which images communicate better than others and even how to sequence a
series of images into a more complex commentary on a neighborhood or situation.
Many ICP projects included the art of documentary photography. (See Part II,
Chapter 7: Documentary Photography Projects.)
Standard 3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art

In addition to discussing historical and contemporary artwork and meeting with
guest artists to learn about artistic approaches, students edited their images and
wrote reflections in many ICP projects. (See Part III, Chapter 14: Photography &
Writing for specific exercises.)
Standard 4: Understanding the Cultural Contributions of the Arts

Students gained an understanding of the artistic legacy and rich history of their
local neighborhood through reading historical accounts, viewing historical and
contemporary pictures of the area, and creating their own images describing local
cultural traditions. Students’ perception of their neighborhood expanded from
familiar terrain to a place where other artists have worked and lived. (See Part III,
Chapter 12: Photography & Multicultural Education.)
Students learned how photography works in relation to other artistic media (from
writing to sculpture) through the series of projects in Re-Visions of El Barrio. (See
Part III, Chapter 15: Photography & Other Art Media.)

New York State Standards for Social Studies
Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas,
eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New
York.

(Retrieved June 1, 2004: http://www.nysatl.nysed.gov/ssstand.html)
Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

Students learned about the Second World War through viewing and discussing
images from the time period, listening to guest artists share their war-time
experiences, and creating staged images, “historical fictions,” that expressed their
understanding. (See Part III, Chapter 10: Photography & History.)
Students learned about the history of immigration in New York City by reading
historical material and visiting local sites, and they expressed their understanding
through creating pictures and writing the stories of immigrants’ experiences. (See
Part III, Chapter 11: Photography & Social Studies.)
New York State Standards for English Language Arts
Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners
and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and
generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced
texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted
conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances
from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and
develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and
performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language
that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic
creation.
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and
readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others
using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written

language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a
variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and
issues.
Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and
written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective
social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the
social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

(Retrieved June 1, 2004: http://www.nysatl.nysed.gov/engstand.html)
Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

In many ICP projects, students read a variety of technical photography texts,
learned photographic and artistic vocabulary, and demonstrated their knowledge in
class discussions and written reflections. (See Part III, Chapter 14: Photography &
Writing for a range of exercises that tap into these language skills.)
Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students gained a deeper understanding of the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine
Hansbury as they created images based on the characters and situation. (See Part
III, Chapter 13: Photography & Literature.)
Students learned to express their cultural identity through images and poetry in the
Re-Visions of El Barrio project. (See Part III, Chapter 15: Photography & Other Art
Media.)
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

In many ICP projects, students shared their opinions of classmates’ artwork during
editing sessions. (See Focus Link 43 for criteria used in discussing and editing
photographs. Also, see Part III, Chapter 14: Photography & Writing for a range of
exercises that tap into analytical language skills.)
Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

Students built communication skills as they interviewed classmates, teachers,
family, and community members in the immigration project: Who Are We and
Where Do We Come From? (See Part III, Chapter 11: Photography & Social
Studies.)
By discussing photographs that describe different cultures and deal with critical
issues, such as race and identity, students developed stronger communications
skills and learned to appreciate the various perspectives that their peers, teachers,
and artists have. (See Part III, chapters 12, 15.)

Applying the standards
While applying the standards to an art education project can seem daunting, it can
also strengthen your curriculum. The following steps and chart show how you can put
all the pieces together.
This example is based on a project combining photography and social studies,

in which students created stories about the experiences of immigrants coming to
America. (See the case study in Part III, Chapter 11: Photography & Social Studies.)
Basic steps
1 List the course objectives

For example:
A Learn beginning photography skills, including (1) camera handling, (2) lighting,
(3) composition, (4) artistic vocabulary
B Create a final project using studio set up and storytelling
C Complement social studies class’s focus on immigration
2 List the standards that apply (Review this chapter for ideas.)
For example: state standard 1 for social studies; national and state standards for
visual arts.
3 List the assessment and evaluation criteria

For example:
A Photography Skills
1) Students can make good exposures using a manual camera.
2) Students can use lighting equipment.
3) Students approach subject matter from different points of view and
experiment with angles.
4) Students have learned technical terms and discuss classmates’ work with
constructive language.
B Final Project
1) Students participate in the creation of a final project.
2) Students can create images using a studio lighting set up and can make
choices that show they can use photographs to tell stories.
C Curriculum Connection
Students have a deeper understanding of the experiences of immigrants
coming to America.

4 Note the ways you intend to meet these criteria
(Review this chapter for ideas.)
For example:
A Photography Skills
1) Artwork: Examine prints for consistent exposures
2) Problem solving: Observe use of equipment during shoots
3) Contact sheets: Examine contact sheets for approaches to subject matter
4) Journals, writing, discussions: Observe language use in journals, reflective
writing, and editing sessions
B Final Project & C: Curriculum Connection
Produce final project of historical fictions telling stories in pictures about
immigrants’ experiences coming to America (meets state standard 1 for social
studies; national and state standards for visual art)
Course objectives Educational goals Assessment and Means of assessment

evaluation criteria and evaluation
A. Photography Skills A: Photography Skills A: Photography Skills A: Photography Skills

Learn beginning Meets national standards 1. Students can make 1. Artwork: Examine
photography skills: for visual art good exposures using prints for consistent
1. camera handling a manual camera. exposures
2. lighting Meets state standards 2. Students can use 2. Problem solving:
3. composition for art lighting equipment. Observe use of
4. artistic vocabulary 3. Students approach equipment during
subject matter from shoots
different points of view 3. Contact sheets:
and experiment with Examine contact
angles. sheets for approaches
4. Students have learned to subject matter
technical terms and 4. Journals, writing,
discuss classmates’ discussions: observe
work with constructive language use in
language. journals, reflective
writing, and editing
sessions
B. Final Project B: Final Project B. Final Project B. Final Project

Create a final project Meets national standards Students participate in the Produce final project of
using studio set-up and for visual art creation of a final project. historical fictions telling
storytelling Students can create stories in pictures about
Meets state standards images using a studio immigrants’ experiences
for art lighting set up and can coming to America
make choices that show
they can use photographs
to tell stories.
C: Curriculum Connection C: Curriculum Connection C: Curriculum Connection C: Curriculum Connection

Complement social Meets state standard 1 for Students have a deeper Produce final project of
studies class’s focus on social studies understanding of the historical fictions telling
immigration experiences of immigrants stories in pictures about
coming to America. immigrants’ experiences
coming to America

In addition to making a curriculum connection that meets the state standard 1
for social studies, this example’s final project meets the national and New York State
standards for visual art. To create final pictures in the photo/theater activity, students
must know how to operate cameras, use lighting, and compose pictures containing
people and props to communicate their stories about immigration (national standards
1, 2, and 3; state standards 1 and 2). The activity itself is high-energy, challenging, and
engaging as students perform various roles—photographer, model, set designer, and
lighting technician (state standard 1).
This project ties together all the concepts and techniques students have learned
throughout the course (national standard 2; state standards 1 and 2). Editing the
resulting pictures draws upon what students have learned about how historical and
contemporary photographs tell stories; it engages students in a critical discussion
about which images work together best for their immigration project (national standards
4, 5, and 6; state standards 3 and 4).
Most important, the final project taps into students’ personal resources—their
experiences and identity—and develops their sense of who they are in the world. The
culminating display of images acknowledges their accomplishments in a public forum,
and students are thrilled to see themselves—not only as various characters in the
images—but also as artists.
Means of assessment and evaluation are powerful communication tools about

what made your course successful. By assessing student progress and evaluating your
course effectively, you can improve your instruction, positively affect student learning;
enhance an organization’s approach to curriculum development, communicate with the
public about student accomplishments, document your work, share your success story
with fellow educators, and even build community pride.

STUDENTS’
QUOTES
“ I always imagined myself doing something in the arts. I picked up a

camera for the first time three months ago. I like to put things together. I lie
in bed and get images. I want to create those images, and photography
is a great way to do it, probably the only way. When I get an image, I write it down and
then I go and shoot it. I like printing because it’s a rush. When you are in the darkroom,
you get excited because you don’t always know how the picture will turn out.”
Priscilla Lopez, 17, ICP at The Point Student
“ Art needs creativity, pride, feeling. But what it really needs is a piece
of you. And it needs to touch the audience. It needs perfection, and it
needs drama, real life, and aspirations. It needs to be personal. I wish that
others had the same opportunities as I had, you know, having this class. I really like
photography. Thank you.”
Lillian Martinez, 18, ICP at The Point Student
“ I learned that light means a lot to photography and that speed is needed
to make good pictures, and I learned new words to spell like shutter,
aperture, camera, image, and depth of field. I liked that we got work
hands on with the camera and experience real photography and not just being told
how its done and not doing it.”
Abby Rivera, 10, The Earth School Student

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ Most of the fifth-grade students at The Earth School appeared to have

learned that they are in control of any photographic process and that this
control is characterized by both responsibility (adherence to certain rules)
and occasional freedom from that responsibility (and those rules). They developed
creative confidence and became less concerned about taking risks.”
Christopher Spinelli, Artist/Teaching Assistant
“ Image making is a wonderful equalizer and particularly positive for the

students with academic challenges or social interaction issues. So much
classroom teaching is aimed at the average student, especially in large
classes: ‘teaching to the middle.’ One of the joys of teaching photography is that you
can reach to the extremes both ends of the spectrum as well as the average student:
Bright students who are ready to work independently can use the extra
challenge and opportunity to explore and create original work.
Struggling students who are isolated socially or by language, culture, or ability
can experience success and create strong work.
It is also nice to know that you are offering something that can provide some
direction in a child’s life, the choices of a high-school job or after-school activity, the
newspaper, yearbook, and many positive experiences and memories.

Photographic education becomes a reason to come to school for many students
and for this teacher, especially when you walk into school and a student says, ‘Do we
have photography today?’, accompanied by a big smile and a welcome.”
“ One tool that I use to make photography personal is the journal. It gives
the student the ability to write about their images and produce images
about their writings. This gets students thinking about putting not one
image but many images together with words. Some journals are just pure visual
language, but the most effective ones add text, two forms of communication. We all
have a lot to say.”

7
Documentary Photography
Projects
OVERVIEW
T his chapter discusses how documentary photography engages students and

presents sample curriculum for darkroom, non-darkroom, digital imaging, and other
activities.
Figure 47
Teaching the Documentary Statement
Teaching young people to document their community may be one of the most
powerful and revealing projects in photographic education. In their images, students
show us how they see their world.
Rather than watching their lives and
community depicted in the media
or by others, this is their chance to
say what they see. In taking hold of
their lives within the camera frame,
they are building, image by image,
a more confident sense about
their connection to the world. Like
a visual index, their images reveal
who they are and where they are.
The key is to teach students

how to use the camera and then
let them freely express their
observations of the community.
Figure 48
Figure 49

90 CHAPTER 7: Documentary Photography Projects
This process is as natural and immediate to them as sight. And yet, it changes their
perception of their world. Walking through the neighborhood with a camera in hand
changes the experience of the same route they travel every day. With photography, they
can capture, reflect, and imagine. In the afternoon light, the bridge looks composed
Figure 50
Figure 51
CHAPTER 7: Documentary Photography Projects 91

of angles, lines, circles, and shadows; it has beauty. Suddenly, the street is filled
with motion that can be blurred or stopped mid-air; the young photographers have a
measure of control over their environment. What do they want to say about it? What’s
going to happen next? Their neighborhood, while familiar, now has more possibilities.
Others have photographed it before. The neighborhood has a visual past, present, and
future, of which these young photographers are part.
Documentary photography, and its cousin photojournalism, are the great

storytellers and spies of the medium. They endeavor to show things as they are. They
call upon the aspect of the camera as observer, an objective eye pointed toward the
world. While documentary photography is an effort to record the way things are, either
in a single image of a situation or an extended series on a topic, photojournalism is
an effort to explain the way things are and often needs many images in sequence
and perhaps text to tell the story. Topics range from light to dark, from documentary
photographs of people at work and at play to difficult situations that call for change.
Bear in mind as you discuss images with students that there are many issues
related to the ability of documentary photography and photojournalism to record “how
things are.” Each photographer has a different perspective, and, therefore, each will
render a different photograph on the same topic. Because of photography’s attributes
of point of view, framing, and cropping, when we look at a photograph we see a
selection, a slice of life, as seen through a particular photographer’s lens. Documentary
photographers use the aesthetics and techniques of photography to communicate;
therefore, their visual statements, however objective they may seem, are still artful
representations. Sometimes, because the image is so clear or truthful or emotionally
compelling, we forget that it is a perspective and hold it as a fact.
Indeed photographic evidence has made dramatic and important changes in

our lives. (See the bibliography for historical resources.) Lewis Hines’s documentary
photographs of child laborers indicted factories and influenced labor laws at the turn
of the century. Dorothea Lange’s photographs chronicled the effects of the New Deal
in the 1930s. Robert Capa’s photographs, such as documention of D-Day during the
Second World War, broadcast the horrors of war to the world in picture magazines.
His brother and founder of ICP, Cornell Capa, coined the phrase “concerned
photography” to signify photographic work that contributes to the understanding of
humanity by focusing with compassion on the human condition. Cornell Capa founded
the International Center of Photography as a place where the art of photography—
documentary photography and photojournalism in particular—could be studied,
collected, and discussed. Photographers’ continuing contributions in this field (e.g.,
James Nachtwey’s images of world conflict, Donna Ferrato’s images of domestic
violence, Joseph Rodriguez’s images of gangs) remind us of the power of ICP’s
mission and of the photograph to communicate. Even if now we don’t expect a single
photograph to change the world, documentary photography broadens our awareness
of the world by its multiplicity of perspectives and its powerful, lasting memory.

Often people harbor the expectation that documentary photography and
photojournalism should present an unadulterated vision of a particular time, place,
and reality. However, photographers are not invisible, and their presence influences
the situation, in as much as we behave differently when we know that we are
being watched or recorded by a camera. These are large issues in the field, and
photographers have different standards and strategies regarding the way that they
photograph in a community.
All these issues need to be considered when teaching documentary photography,

as well as its most appealing use: to capture a slice of life. A documentary photograph
clearly shows us what someone else saw. It connects us to one another. Perhaps this
pure vision is what a young eye has to teach us.
Figure 52
The following discussion questions address key issues in documentary

photography. The sample curricula that follow illustrate a balanced approach to
teaching the history, techniques, aesthetics, and practice of documentary photography.
Focus Links reference general lesson plans and activities in Part IV.

Discussion Questions:
Interpreting Documentary Photographs
1 Definitions
What is documentary photography? What is photojournalism? (Consider
this: Documentary photography is like a statement; photojournalism is like an
explanation; fine art photography is like an expression.)
What is a document?
Are documentary or photojournalistic pictures the same as facts?
If two photographers took a picture of the same thing, would they look the
same or different? Why?
What is point of view?
2 Issues in Documentary Photography

What kind of impact do photographs have?
Can photography be used to effect social change?
How are photographic images used by the media?
What is a stereotype? How are stereotypes perpetuated and broken by
photography?
How do you establish a connection to the community that you are
photographing?
How do you approach people when you photograph them?
3 Personal Projects
How would you approach taking photographs of your community or another
neighborhood?
What kind of research would you do?
How would you develop a rapport with your subject?
How could you earn the trust of the people you photograph?
What problems would you face? How could you overcome them?
What is your responsibility to the subject?
What artistic choices would you make?
What techniques (e.g., lighting: flash or natural; film: color or black-and-white)
are best for this subject matter?
What style is most appropriate for this subject?
What point of view best expresses your relationship to the subject?
When editing the final pictures, which would you include to tell the story?

SAMPLE DOCUMENTARY 15-SESSION CURRICULUM
(with darkroom access)
Because students can practice printing skills in either a traditional darkroom or a digital “darkroom”
(computer set up), this darkroom curriculum presents both options. For more information on these
darkroom set ups, see Appendix 3. For more information on digital imaging, see Part III, Chapter 16:
Photography & Digital Imaging.
Goal
To create a documentary photography essay with final layouts either mounted on

poster board or produced as a magazine
Materials
Exhibition materials (poster board)

For digital camera:


See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 Introduction: What is documentary
photography?
Present slides, magazines, and books to discuss
documentary photography
Ask students: What is a community? What would you like to
show about your community?
Write their definition on the board and have them write in
their notebooks
Conduct hands-on Polaroid activity practicing point of view
Distribute journals and tape portraits in journals
Homework:
Focus Link 19 - Write about what you see in the scene
Focus Link 16 - Write about what the photographer’s point of view was

controls, using handouts, manuals, and cameras (Note:
If the manual controls on a digital camera don’t allow for
practicing certain techniques, such as shutter speed or
depth of field, gear the lesson to framing and focus instead.)
View examples of documentary photographs illustrating
controls such as shutter speed, depth of field, framing, or
focus
Homework: Using the empty slide frame, view your home
and neighborhood settings to practice framing

Group students in pairs to share cameras and take
photographs in the neighborhood
Assignments: Practice stop motion, depth of field, framing,
focus, or blur
Homework: Do technical reading (See the bibliography.)

Demonstrate traditional film processing in a lab/
downloading digital images to a computer
software

use prints) in journal and write about the images and the

View different styles of documentary photography
Discuss techniques used
Document the trip
Focus Link 4 Session 7 Discussing images

View student work and discuss what they noticed about the
community
Show magazine photo essays and discuss sequences and
projects
Further define the theme for the class project (Sample
themes: how can you define what a community is and
visually represent its different elements; people at work
and issues of labor and commerce; the ethnicity of the
neighborhood, past and present, and how traditions are
sustained.)
theme

Review framing and focus
Assignment: Create images that focus on the class theme
lab access allows (If not, you will need two printing sessions
for every one listed in this curriculum.)

Homework: Paste images in journal and write about the
theme

Assignment: Create photographs relating to the class theme
and practice point of view
Homework: Process film/download digital images and make
contact sheets or prints, if lab access allows

Focus Link 43 Edit and discuss images, being clear about criteria for
editing: content and design
Show examples of the final form of the project
Show samples of street portraits
Discuss how to approach strangers and ask to take their
portrait
Role-play in class
Homework: Continue printing

Introduce artist, who presents work and experiences as a
professional
With the artist, edit prints and contact sheets

Assignment: Create portraits of strangers

Session 14 Making final prints

Edit and make final prints
Discuss artist’s statement

Edit, sequence, and discuss images relating to theme
Arrange edited images in final layout (Note: To display,
mount on poster board or bulletin board. To produce as a
magazine, look at samples and create mock ups, or try to
work with a guest artist designer.) If necessary, schedule
extra sessions with a few students interested in helping with
the final project.
Evaluate class

SAMPLE DOCUMENTARY 15–SESSION CURRICULUM
(without darkroom access)
This curriculum uses a variety of hands-on activities to impart a sense of process even without access
to a traditional darkroom.
Goal
To create documentary picture stories describing the community presented as a slide
show (in black-and-white for a different effect)
Materials
Film (1 roll/36 exp. per camera per shoot) black-and-white
Polapan processors
Black-and-white Polapan film and slide mounts
Copy slide film
Slide projector
Lowel hot lights
Black poster board
Lab processing fees

See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 Introduction: What is documentary

photography?
Introduce the theme of documentary photography in the
community
Present slides, magazines, and books to discuss
documentary photography
Ask students to define their neighborhood
Write their definition on the board and have them write in
their notebooks
Conduct hands-on Polaroid activity (black-and-white film)
practicing point of view
Homework:
Focus Link 19 – Write about what you see in the scene
Focus Link 16 – Write about what the photographer’s point of view was

controls, using handouts, manuals, and cameras
speed, depth of field, and focus (Note: This could be a slide
show with text headers defining each technique.)

Group students in pairs to share cameras and take
photographs in the neighborhood
focus, and blur
Focus Link 40 Homework: Collect images from media, and write about
them in the journal
Process: Film processing and printing 4” x 6” black-and-
white prints at lab

Session 4 Discussing images/picture story
(See Part III, Chapter 14: Photography & Writing.)
Tape student photographs onto poster boards so everyone
can view them
Discuss examples of good technique as well as bloopers
Discuss and demonstrate techniques to think about for the
next shoot
Discuss photo essays in magazines and images that
students brought in
Discuss a sequence of pictures (post on the blackboard or
show in slide form)
Include and describe the context shot (neighborhood
background), a narrative sequence (with a person in action),
and close-ups
Focus Link 17 Assignment: Write a story based on the sequence of
pictures
Focus Link 34 Homework: Paste images in journal. Write about the images
and the experience of creating them.

Assignments:
– Take pictures in the neighborhood of an event or activity
– Try to include a context shot, a close-up, and an action
series
– Take many pictures on a particular topic from various
angles and points of view
Homework: Write in a journal about what you saw in the
neighborhood while taking pictures
Process: Film processing and printing two sets of contact
sheets at lab
Session 6 Discussing images/picture stories

Discuss and edit contact sheets. Look for context shot,
close-up, and narrative.
Cut out edits and glue in journal
Write about images, label the shots, write the story they tell
View relevant historical and contemporary artwork
Discuss and further define the theme for the class project

theme
Process: Print best edit of selections 4” x 6” prints, two sets

View different styles of documentary photography
Document the trip
Focus Link 21 Homework: Write a review of one of the gallery shows.
Process: Film processing and printing 4” x 6” black-and-
white prints at lab

Using Polapan slide film, return to the neighborhood to take
pictures
Assignments:
– Create images related to class theme
– Include a context shot, a close-up, and an action series
Homework: Writing exercise
– Select image from media or 4” x 6” prints
Write about class theme from selected images
Focus Link 26 Session 9 Process: Polapan activity

Process Polapan film and mount slides, working in small
groups
View slides and discuss technique and content as a class
Edit and sequence slides on light tables in small groups
Homework: Write about class theme from selected image

Introduce artist who presents work and experiences as a
professional
Show slide show of student work
With the artist, comment upon student work
With the artist, edit 4” x 6” black-and-white prints
Homework: Write about class theme from selected images

Session 11 Creating images/picture stories
Return to neighborhood with the guest artist
Using Polapan black-and-white slide film, create picture
stories
Assignment: Include a context shot, a close-up, and an
action series
Homework: Write about class theme from selected images
Session 12 Processing and editing images

Process Polapan film and mount slides
Edit Polapan sequences
Edit 4” x 6” prints related to theme
Focus Link 20 Assignment: Write caption for selected image
Focus Link 8 Session 13 Lighting techniques

Demonstrate how to make copy slides and create a set up
with tables and lights.
Make “image-and-text slides”
Mount the 4” x 6” sequences from the previous session on
black paper, leaving space for text
Select quotes from student writings on theme or generate
new text
Write in white chalk on the black paper around the pictures
Create copy slides of the mounted pictures and text using
the copy-slide set up
Focus Link 10 Session 14 Assembling final project

Edit and sequence work for final slide show with text
Discuss what music should accompany the images and text
Session 15 Final slide show

View slide show with music
Evaluate class

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ No matter how many times we walk through the same neighborhood,

our photography students, new and old, see and discover new things
or new ways to photograph them. It’s amazing. The work illustrates
the importance of ongoing projects and helps to show us how our neighborhood
changes. ICP at The Point gives young photographers the opportunity to share their
work, not just by taking the photographs, but also by returning the photographs to
the community in the form of an exhibition here in their gallery, or in the publication,
or in The Point’s newspaper, or by simply bringing a picture back to someone
they photographed. Whether these young artists continue with the documentary
tradition doesn’t really matter; it’s a springboard to other ways of seeing. Teaching
documentary photography as a primer provides a solid foundation. It’s so important
to have this basic foundation, it’s the ABCs of photography, and from there you
can develop a language for just about anything, from photojournalism to fine art
photography.”
Dona Ann McAdams, Photographer/ICP Instructor

“ I’ve been making these Tuesday after-school documentary forays in
Hunts Point for over two years now. Oftentimes the terrain covered is
as quotidian as my route from the subway station, but to this is added
the heightened awareness of walking with a group of high-energy kids, armed with
cameras and intent.
Now for the students, this ground is even more well trod, but when they start
making comments like, ‘Look at this light,’ or approaching a policeman and politely
asking to take his picture, or just huddling over a frozen puddle intently, I know that
Tuesdays have irrevocably altered their way of looking at the world and its possibilities.”
Mara Faye Lethem, Photographer/ Program Manager, ICP at The Point
“ The images that students make and the pride that they feel create a
perfect avenue for communication with those around them. Whether
speaking with a parent who is disappointed about a child’s performance,
a grandparent who adores that child, a concerned teacher in school, or friends from
the neighborhood, the student’s images provide the vehicle for a meaningful dialogue.
The photograph gives those around them a glimpse into their mind. It can also express
feelings that are difficult to articulate at that age.
The most important thing we are doing is giving our students a sense of self-worth.
I try to help each student understand that he or she is unique and has a wonderful and
interesting story that the world needs to hear, that the life of a young person today in
the South Bronx is a story worth telling, and that people are very interested in hearing
it. I tell them to think of it as a film, to document their lives, not just for others but also
for themselves. They will soon grow up and treasure the vanished moments and
people that they are documenting today. Whether they go on to work as professional
photographers is irrelevant; they will always take and look at pictures.”

8
Portraiture Projects
OVERVIEW
T his chapter discusses how portraiture engages students and presents educational
material and sample curriculum using a variety of hands-on activities.
Figure 53
Portraiture: A Tool for Reflection
Ever since the first portrait was created in 1839 on the mirrored surface
of a Daguerreotype, portraiture has been one of the most popular, captivating
uses of the medium. The excitement surrounding the first portraits was called
Daguerreotypomania, describing the frenzy over the startling invention, its unlikely boxy
tool, eager photographers, and customers seeking likenesses. Imagine seeing for the
first time a near-permanent reflection of what you look like, the illusion in the mirror
preserved and wrapped in a velvet frame. The essential kernel of this thrill continues
today. Whether looking at a professional studio portrait or a photo-booth snapshot,
there is the sensation of surprise as you assimilate your appearance in the picture with
your self-image and inner identity. Looking at a self-portrait, you may think, “Is that
what I really look like? Is that who I am?”
Because of the connection to identity, portraiture is one of the richest areas to

explore with students. At a time in their lives when students are defining themselves,
portraiture can serve as an important tool for self-reflection. Constructing a self-portrait
empowers students to define and represent themselves. Discussing and writing about
their portraits can reveal how they see themselves. Negotiating a portraiture session
with a classmate reveals the limits of our ability to control how we are represented and
perceived.
Figure 54

108 CHAPTER 8: Portraiture Projects
Figure 55 Part of the excitement comes from
the opportunity to present the self in a
photograph. Ultimately, the resulting image
shows more than what was planned and
less than who the person truly is. We can
critique the shortcomings of the photograph,
its inability to reveal the complete spectrum
of our character, moods, and life story.
We can also commend the photograph’s
ability to capture the essence of a person
or a particular characteristic. Ironically, two
adages are equally true: “The photograph
is a lie,” and “Photographs never lie.”
Nevertheless, the difference between what
is outside and what is inside becomes clear,
and this is an important recognition for young
people.
“Who am I? How do others see me?

How do I look today?” These are pressing
questions for young people, and the drama
of creating portraits can exorcise many of
these issues. “Should I dress up for the shoot
today? I am afraid of being in front of the
camera. I can’t wait to be an actor in front of
the camera. Wait a minute, that is not what
I look like. Is it? Look at my friends—they
look different. They look upset! They look like
movie stars!”
A portraiture activity never fails to engage students in both creating images and
in thinking about how images communicate. Students learn about the elements of
photography at the same time as they practice dealing with people. Taking portraits
of one another encourages students to work together. Determining where to set
the picture, how to pose, or what expression or gesture to emphasize, all require
communication and thought. Assuming roles of fictional or historical characters in
costume is a wonderful way to connect to literature or history as well as an opportunity
to role-play and imagine. Creating portraits is personal, interactive, and challenging. In
short, portraiture is fun.
The following discussion questions and activities present ways to explore

portraiture with students. The sample curricula illustrate a balanced approach to
teaching the history, techniques, aesthetics, and practice of portraiture. Focus Links
reference general lesson plans and activities in Part IV.
CHAPTER 8: Portraiture Projects 109

Discussion Questions: Interpreting Portraits
Every day we observe people, and from their expression, gestures, and actions, we
interpret who they are and how they are feeling. When we study a portrait of someone,
we use the same skills, assumptions, and acts of imagination to interpret the subject’s
identity and mood. A portrait provides us with a glimpse into someone’s character and
life. It is an opportunity to study who the person is, based on the visual description
of that person at a certain place and time, and as interpreted by the photographer’s
sensibility and technique. A portrait provides a rare opportunity to stare and not be
considered rude!
Look carefully at a portrait and discuss the following questions.
Expression: Describe the person’s expression. Can you guess what the person is
feeling?
Gesture: Describe what the person is doing with his or her hands. Can you guess
what signals the person is giving? What habits or mannerisms does the person
have?
Pose: Describe how the person is standing. Can you guess what his or her attitude
is?
Action: What is the person doing?
Motivation: Can you guess why the person is doing it?
Clothing: Describe what the person is wearing. Does the clothing indicate the time
period? Is the person wearing clothing for a particular type of activity? Can you
guess what the person is like?
Setting: The setting, the background, and the foreground often provide information
about the person in the photograph. What details do you see in the setting? What
does the setting add to your interpretation of the subject?
Composition: Describe the composition. Do you see any prominent shapes,

diagonals, patterns, or colors?
Techniques: Consider the use of lighting and other techniques. Does the lighting
add to the atmosphere surrounding the subject?
Point of view: From where did the photographer take the picture? (From above,
below, the side, or at an angle?)
Character: Consider the details in the picture, your observations, and the
techniques used to create the photograph. If the person could speak, what would
he or she say?

Portraiture Assignments
CREATE PORTRAITS! Self portraits, family portraits, portraits of others, portraits against
a plain background, portraits in the environment, posed and candid portraits, portraits
without showing the face using an object or symbol, portraits of the community…
Consider the subject: What you want to say about them?

What features do you want to highlight?
Consider setting: Where do you want to take the portrait?

Environmental portraits include details in the environment that reveal something
about the subject. Do you want the setting to include details?
Portraits against a plain background call more attention to the face and body of
a person, to pure character unrelated to context. Do you want the setting to be
a simple background: a wall, a color, or a pattern? You could also use a shallow
depth of field or blur the background and keep the subject in focus.
Consider lighting: How do you want to use lighting?

Do you want the lighting to be soft or hard, natural or artificial?
What features do you want the lighting to accentuate?
Light on the forehead can make a person seem intellectual.
Highlighting the lips can make a person seem sensual.
Lighting on the side of a face can indicate two sides to a person, light and dark.
Lighting that casts a triangle on the cheek is called Rembrandt lighting. Its
quality of dimension can suggest a complex person.
Consider framing and point of view:

A portrait taken from above makes the subject look small, suggesting inferiority.
A portrait taken from below makes a person look taller, suggesting superiority.
Types of portraits:
Experiment with different types of lighting and points of view.
Take one picture that is a close-up, one headshot, and one full-body portrait.
Hint: Talk to your subject to help them relax.

Self-portraits:
Assignment: Create one picture that includes the environment and one against
a plain background.
Hint: Use a tripod and a self-timer or a cable release to take the shot.
Family portraits:
Assignment: Create one candid portrait and one posed portrait in the home
environment
Hint: Use either a flash or very fast film, such as TMAX 3200, when you take
pictures indoors.
Symbolic portraits:
Assignment: Create a portrait of a person without showing the person
physically.
Hint: A symbolic portrait of a person can be a picture of something significant
to that person, a sneaker for an athlete, a personal object from the backpack, a
bedroom, the house, or something the person created.
Portraits of the community:

Assignment: Create portraits of people in your community, walking on the
street, working in their stores, or enjoying themselves.
Hint: You can legally create candid portraits of people in public spaces.
However, it is considerate to ask people if you can take their portrait, which
often results in a richer portrait for the collaboration.

SAMPLE PORTRAITURE
15–SESSION CURRICULUM (with darkroom access)
Because students can practice printing skills in either a traditional darkroom or a digital “darkroom”
(computer set up), this darkroom curriculum presents both options. For more information on these
darkroom set ups, see Appendix 3. For more information on digital imaging, see Part III, Chapter 16:
Photography & Digital Imaging.
Goal
To explore identity and to create an exhibition of natural and posed portraits of students
Materials
Large-format camera, film, and lighting equipment for demonstration
Exhibition materials (box frames or foam core)

For digital camera:


See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 Introduction: What is portraiture?
Introduce the theme of portraiture and techniques that the
class will cover
Present slides and discuss portraiture
Conduct hands-on Polaroid activity taking individual and
group portraits
Homework: Write about how you see yourself in the
portraits

controls, using handouts, manuals, and cameras (Note:
If the manual controls on a digital camera don’t allow for
practicing certain techniques, such as shutter speed or
depth of field, gear the lesson to framing and focus instead.)
View examples of portraits illustrating controls such as
shutter speed, depth of field, framing, or focus

Group students in pairs to take portraits of classmates in
a familiar context: schoolyard, classroom, neighborhood
location
focus, or blur
Homework: Do technical reading (See the bibliography.)

Demonstrate traditional film processing in a lab/
downloading digital images to a computer
software


use prints) in a journal and write about the images and the

Discuss framing and show samples of point of view as well
as close-up and full-body portraits
Assignment: Take pictures of classmates from different
points of view and create close-up and full-body portraits
contact sheets or prints, if lab access allows (If not, you
will need two printing sessions for every one listed in this
curriculum.)

Focus Link 16 Homework: Paste images in a journal, and write about
them, focusing on point of view and perception

View different styles of portraiture
Document the trip

professional
Have students interview the artist
Homework: Write about visit in a journal

Demonstrate lighting effects using a large-format camera
and lighting equipment (Note: You can also invite a guest
artist to show this technique.)
Create individual and group portraits
Work in teams, as photographer, lighting assistant, stylist,
and model using 35mm cameras in addition to large-format
equipment
Homework: Write in a journal about how you see yourself in
the studio portraits
Session 11 Discussing images

View and discuss student work
Show samples of natural lighting, environmental portraiture,
and self-portraits by historical and contemporary
photographers
Demonstrate using a light reflector
Discuss things to think about for the next shoot
Homework: Create a self-portrait at home

Discuss applying knowledge of studio lighting to natural
light
Assignment: Create portraits of classmates using natural
lighting and found frames in the environment

Focus Link 43 Edit and discuss images, being clear about criteria for
editing: content and design
Show examples of the final form of the project
Homework: Write about your best self-portrait

Session 14 Making final prints
Edit and make final prints
Discuss artist’s statement

Edit and discuss images
If possible, assemble edited images into final format (e.g.,
box frames or dry mount on foam core). If necessary,
schedule extra sessions with a few students interested in
helping with the final exhibition or project.
Evaluate class

SAMPLE PORTRAITURE
15–SESSION CURRICULUM (without darkroom access)
Goal
To explore identity and color portraits using a variety of materials—color photographic

prints, sun prints, Polaroid transfers, and collage
Materials
Large-format camera, if possible
Polaroid PN film (several boxes for one shoot)
Color print and slide film
Polaroid transfer processor
Watercolor paper for Polaroid transfers
Lighting equipment
Disposable cameras
Collage materials: white poster board, scissors, glue, paints, acetate, tape, etc.
Materials for activities, see Part IV
Exhibition materials (frames or poster board)

See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 Introduction: What is portraiture?
Introduce the theme of portraiture and techniques that the
class will cover
Present slides and discuss portraiture
Explain how the camera works
Conduct hands-on Polaroid activity taking individual
and group portraits (Note: If possible, for demonstration
purposes, use a large-format camera and Polaroid PN film,
to create a negative and a print. Let each group work with
the large-format camera and with the one-step Polaroid
cameras.)
Homework: Write about how you see yourself in the
portraits
Session 2 Process: Sun prints

View sample sun prints and discuss the history and process
Focus Link 29 Illustrate the photographic process with a sun print activity
Use personal objects such as jewelry
Create self-portrait drawings on acetate (use text, too)
If possible, use negatives from the introductory class
Focus Link 34 Homework: Write about the images in a journal
Focus Link 2 Session 3 Camera as a Tool

Demonstrate how the 35mm camera works, all its parts and
controls, using handouts, manuals, and cameras
speed, depth of field, framing, and focus
Homework: Using empty slide frame, view their home and
neighborhood settings to practice framing

Group students in pairs to take portraits of classmates in
a familiar context: schoolyard, classroom, neighborhood
location
Assignments: Practice stop motion, depth of field, framing,
and focus
Homework: Collect images from media, paste them in a
journal, and write about how people are represented
Process: Film processing and printing 4” x 6” prints at lab

View student work and discuss successes and bloopers
Discuss and demonstrate techniques and things to think
about for the next shoot
Explain color theory, using relevant historical and
contemporary artwork
Conduct drawing activity to reinforce color theory:
– Tape a photograph in the journal
– Use colored pencils to draw around the image using a
similar color palette to the photograph
Focus Link 34 Homework: Paste images in a journal and write about what
works well and what doesn’t and the experience of creating
them

Discuss framing and show samples of point of view as well
as close-up and full-body portraits
Assignment: Take pictures from different points of view and
create close-up and full-body portraits
Focus Link 16 Homework: Using pictures of the self and others, write from
the point of view of a photographer, then of a subject
Process: Film processing and printing 4” x 6” prints, two
sets, at lab

Using 4” x 6” portraits, discuss elements of portraiture and
edit the pictures
Conduct reflection activity:
– Choose the best self-portrait
– Paste in a journal, draw and write your reflections around
it
– Make a line drawing from one of the best portraits
– Trace the image on acetate
– Write on or around the image
Write about portraits in a journal: How do you see yourself
in the pictures?

View different styles of portraiture

Discuss candid and posed portraits, family snapshots, and
portraits
Lighting demonstration in class
Homework: Using disposable flash cameras, create family
portraits. Create candid, posed, individual, group, close-up,
full-body, and environmental portraits. Create a self-portrait
with yourself in the picture and one just of your bedroom.
(Note: In order to create successful pictures in the home
setting, students need explicit assignments.)

professional
With artist, conduct hands-on lighting and studio technique
activity
Homework: Bring in props and clothing
Process: Film processing and printing 4” x 6” prints, two
sets, at lab

Create a studio setting for portraits, with teams playing role
of photographer, model, stylist, and lighting technician
Hand out family prints
Focus Link 41 Homework: Show prints to family and ask for reactions and
stories inspired by pictures. Transcribe stories into journal.
Process: Color slides at lab
Focus Link 27 Session 12 Polaroid transfers

Edit and discuss color studio slide work
Conduct Polaroid transfer activity to illustrate the
photographic process using the color studio work
Focus Link 34 Homework: Write about Polaroid transfers
Session 13 Collage
Hand out the other set of family pictures and extra work
prints from class portraits
Create a collage with the family portraits, extra class
portraits, and Xeroxes of family snapshots, text from family
story
Homework: Edit and type best family story

Edit and discuss final prints
Discuss artist’s statements

Mount final portraits and artists’ statements
Evaluate class
Work with a small number of students to install the
exhibition

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ The theme of our class was Our Selves and Our Community. The
students were given various assignments in portraiture, with particular
emphasis on technical or formal elements. During photographic field trips,
we posed questions to help focus the day: What does my world look like? What and
who do I care about? How do I look today? What is my strongest feature? The goal
was to explore with the camera, to learn to see with their developing visual language.
As one of my students shared, ’Photography lets me say, for the first time, something
that comes from me, what I want to say, not what someone else is telling me to say.’ It
is a tool to use with respect toward yourself and others.”
Lina Bertucci, Photographer/ ICP Instructor
“ I am currently witnessing specific growth in one student. She impresses

me as shy, quiet, and thoughtful person, who comes from a fairly
conservative background. Although she adheres to a standard, her mind
is actively questioning conventional thought. Our conversations always revolve around
something she finds controversial and seems somewhat fearful of.
Up until two weeks ago, she had never taken a portrait. She always shoots at a
considerable distance from her subject, and her subject matter is either her dog or
a landscape. (Preferably her dog in a landscape!) She told me that she is afraid of
entering someone’s space. We discussed this topic informally in preparation for our
next assignment—a portrait. I was conscious of creating a shooting environment that
reduced her stressful feelings about approaching a subject.

I had instructed students on how to shoot using strobe the previous week, and
after we arranged the classroom into a photo studio, I took Polaroids and showed
them exactly what I wanted them to do. I then turned the Polaroid camera over to the
students. They took turns shooting Polaroids. Some of the braver students began
shooting with their 35mm cameras.
When this student took her turn, she immediately got right into it — experimenting
with camera angles, directing the model. She really liked shooting portraits in the
classroom in part because she liked the literal space. She said that it felt ‘good’
there. There was a lot of positive laughter in the room, to which everyone responded.
We succeeded in creating an informal atmosphere in which everyone felt that
experimentation was okay. During our last session, she printed her first successful
portrait. I could see that she felt not only pride, but also a sense of accomplishment.”
Deborah Klesenski, Photographer/ICP Instructor
“ Our street studio project consists of bringing a backdrop and all of the
accessories for a daylight studio directly into the streets of the South
Bronx. This provides a marvelous opportunity to create portraits that
are stylistically formal but also imbued with the casual attitude of ‘the street’ with all
its inherent style. In addition to learning about formal portraiture, students interact
with strangers and direct the subjects of portraits. It also teaches students interested
in fashion photography the importance of personal style and how ideas from the
C
street can be applied to their own work. The street studio creates a dialogue with the
community. Inevitably, someone commissions one of the students for a project. The
street studio has been invited to various street fairs and Family Day events, where
students shoot portraits and are paid for their work. This is a perfect balance of art,
education, and industry. On the one hand, wonderfully unique images are preserved on
film, and, on the other, students are learning about commerce and getting paid for their
work.”

STUDENT
QUOTES
“ Art is a way of getting away from your problems and finding the answer to
the question, ‘Who am I?’ and that’s why I like photography. When I take my
pictures I try to see what the person feels and if I feel the same way. There is a
connection between how I am feeling and the way the people I photograph are feeling.
I get my ideas from people’s souls. You can see people’s feelings in the picture. A
camera is like a soul capturer. I would tell young photographers to take pictures the way
you want, understand them, and make the picture show who you are at the time you
took the picture.”
Jasmine Alvarez, 18, ICP at The Point Student
“ I took this picture because the building is tall and skinny like me. It also
reminds me of all the tall and skinny people in my family and in basketball
teams like Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.”
Sean Boddie, 14, Adolph S. Ochs School Student
“ I like this picture because the camera is focused on my friend Sean. It looks
like I told him to get in that position, but I didn’t. The background is very slow
and blurry so only Sean is in focus.”
Steven Ramos, 14, Adolph S. Ochs School Student
“ My friend Katie Ruiz took this picture. In this picture I feel very happy and
proud of who I am because I always thought I was ugly, but then my friend
Katie made me realize that I’m pretty in pictures and in every way. So I felt very
happy in this picture, and I thank Katie very much for being there for me. “
Venus Badillo, 14, Adolph S. Ochs School Student

Part III
Curriculum
Connections
9
Making Curriculum Connections
OVERVIEW

how to make
connections between
photography and other
academic disciplines.
Figure 56
From Textbook to Image
The medium of photography is so diverse in genre, style, and application, it has
such a broad history, and it is so rich with themes that it is the ideal medium to connect
to a range of disciplines—history, social studies, science, math, literature, or languages.
Integrating photography into the school curriculum can supplement the study of
academic disciplines by creating visual and experiential pathways for learning. Many
students who do not do well in traditional academics succeed in the active art of
photography. The idea is to use the immediacy and clarity of photography to make
academic topics vivid and relevant to students’ lives. From photography’s rich imagic
store, educators can select historical and contemporary images that connect to the
curricular theme. Whether responding to existing images or creating original images,
students are engaged in activities that reinforce the curricular topic. By re-creating
a historical photograph, for example, students role-play and feel history come alive,
seeing similarities and differences between the past and present. At the same time
as they learn about history, they develop visual literacy skills by learning about how
photographs communicate and mastering photographic techniques (see Part III,
Chapter 10: Photography & History).
When developing a photography project in connection with the school curriculum,

the first question is: How does this academic topic relate to our lives? To these
students today? Then, the task is to figure how that might translate into a visual project.
The case studies in Part III describe several ways that ICP educators have approached
the translation from textbook to image. This is only a selection; the options are as
varied and endless as the medium itself!
In general, remember that images come from the imagination, so let your
imagination play with the curricular topic. What do you see when you think of this
book, this time in history, this social issue? What might your students see? What is the
broader theme? How might your students relate to these images and the theme? From
this personal connection, try to figure out what visual form the students’ responses
might take. Is this theme best explored through portraiture or documentary work,
natural or staged pictures? Work with the techniques, aesthetics, and genres that
are familiar to you. Enlist guest artists to share their perspectives and techniques that
may not be part of your repertoire. Take inspiration from working artists and other art
education programs. Above all, make the connection meaningful to your audience.
Part III: Curriculum Connections

CHAPTER 9: Making Curriculum Connections
Steps for Making a Curriculum Connection
1 Once you have your project theme, clarify your goals. Explore
innovative ways to teach photography skills and to reinforce
studies in an academic area.
For example, a social studies teacher wants to make the 1930s more
accessible to her high school students, so she decides to explore artwork from
that era and historical landmarks in the students’ neighborhood. She designs a
digital imaging photography project that has three teaching goals: (1) to teach
basic photography skills so students can create images of historical places in
their neighborhood; (2) to teach analytical skills so students can research the
local history through accounts and art work; (3) to teach communication skills
in art—writing, photography, and multi-media—so students can use these
media to respond to what they learn about the local history. The final project is
to create a collage combining the students’ images, the historical images and
information, written reflections by students, and selected quotes from writers
they have read. This project will demonstrate their understanding of local
history through their artistic response and will help them relate to the 1930s
history and authors that they are studying.
2 Identify what the curriculum needs to cover. What skills do

students need in order to meet the project’s goals?
In this example, they would need skills in: documentary photography, digital
camera handling, digital image alteration using available software, Internet
research, looking critically at historical photographs and their own images,
reading historical accounts and novels by local writers, writing responses to
photographs, and creating collages.
3 Plan a curriculum. What activities and types of instruction

will build these skills?
Focus provides some resources to help educators plan activities for this
example. To review what to cover in digital imaging, read Part III, Chapter 16:
Photography & Digital Imaging. For sample curriculum, see the Focus Darkroom
Curriculum, adapted for digital imaging, in Part II, Chapter 7: Documentary
Photography Projects. To plan lessons see Part IV, Focus Lessons 1-10. Use
Focus Link 15 to look at and analyze a historical photograph. To generate
student writing for the collage, see section 3, Writing About a Historical Image
in Part III, Chapter 14: Photography & Writing. For inspiration on combining art
media, see Part III, Chapter 15: Photography & Other Art Media. Add lessons
on conducting Internet research and reading historical accounts and literature,
with the goal of selecting facts and quotes from this material for the collage.

4 To make the project cohesive, examine the curriculum from
another perspective: How do these skills in photography
relate to the school’s educational goals?
This example’s project meets New York State social studies standard 1; English
language arts standard 2; national educational technology standards 1, 2,
and 3; and the national and state visual art standards. See Part II, Chapter 6:
Meeting Educational Goals.
5 Make sure the project is appropriate to the school’s needs and

resources.
For example, how much time do you need in the computer lab? Is there
someone on staff to help you with any technical glitches? If you are using
donated digital cameras that are each different, do you need to make
instruction sets for each camera and take extra time to explain the controls
to students? Does this project meet the school’s learning goals for students
in technology, art, and social studies? Can you describe to school leaders
how this project is an important way to motivate students to learn about their
community history (see the rationale in Part I, Chapter I: Why Photographic
Education? and Part III, Chapter 10: Photography & History)? Can you articulate
why you think this project will engage and benefit this particular group of
students? How can this connect to other projects or courses conducted by
your colleagues? Can you garner support from others to show the resulting
collages, for example, in the computer lab during a parents’ open house?

Finding Inspiration
Whether you are working in a team with other faculty, or individually as an art
teacher or in another discipline, you can find connections and activities that work
within your means. You can view images, discuss images, collect images, create
images, exhibit images…
Figure 57

Some examples:
Discipline Connection
History Study and re-create a photograph of a historical
event.
Social Studies Document a current example in the community of the

topic being studied (e.g., labor, women’s issues, civil
rights, the environment).
Science Study optics and the science of light in camera

obscura and pinhole photography activities. Develop
observation skills by photographing nature.
Mathematics Practice ratios in photographic techniques, such as

lighting, exposure, and mixing chemistry. Create an
income and expense sheet for a photographer’s busi-
ness. Create images that illustrate mathematical con-
cepts: numbers, infinity, ratios, quantities, sequences.
Create images of geometric shapes found in architec-
ture.
Literature Create photographs of characters and scenes. Create

photographic narratives with a similar theme to a book
but make the story contemporary to students’ lives.
Language Arts Discuss and write about photographs to build reading,

speaking, and writing skills in any language.
Music Focus on rhythm and pattern. Create CD covers using

photographs of students in group poses.
Theater Create photographs for background set design as

inspiration for monologues or as a way to narrate part
of a story in a play.
Painting Re-create historical artworks by master painters or

photographers.
Sculpture/Installation Mount photographs onto a three-dimensional sculp-

ture or project them as part of an installation.
Computer Technology Use the Internet to research topics and collect im-
ages. Create original digital images and incorporate
them into multimedia projects. Create a Web site or
online portfolio of student work.

About the Case Studies in Part III
The following chapters in Part III illustrate ways to teach photography in connection
with different disciplines. Based on ICP’s experiences, the case studies can offer you
inspiration for designing your own project.
Because most of the ICP In-School Partnerships took place in middle schools, the
case studies reflect middle school programming and adolescent concerns. A few case
studies include high schools (see chapters 14, 15, and 17). Chapter 14: Photography &
Writing also contains examples from an elementary school partnership. If the topic of a
chapter interests you, but the case study is about a program at a different level, review
Part II’s discussion on adapting curriculum to the audience (see chapters 4 and 5).
Each chapter in Part III contains introductory comments on the principles for
making the curriculum connection that you can incorporate into your teaching practice,
even if the case study is about a different level. The case studies offer a glimpse into
the many ways that you can use photography in the curriculum as well as how you can
apply the Focus lessons plans and activities.

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ To be a good photographer, you have to be a well-rounded person; you have

to know history, social studies, everything; you have to know a little bit of each
subject, because photography touches on all of it. In terms of photography
and science, I think of cyanotypes, sun prints, camera obscura, pinhole, exposure, and the
photocell reflecting light. Photography and math: shutter speed, aperture, and exposure—
what they do, how they show things. Social studies: journals on different cultures, photo
essays. I like to put small groups together to photograph different cultural areas or events.
It’s almost like traveling to a different country. Usually when kids go out and explore, I
have them focus on a culture other than their own, something they’re interested in and
something that’s different from what they’re used to. They need to discover things, they
need to see what’s different, and also what’s similar.”
“ Many of our fifth-grade students transferred what they learned about

photography to other areas of the curriculum. On walks outdoors they
talked about photo opportunities because of light, and they applied their
photography knowledge to computer digital work.”
Kate Hogan, Faculty, The Earth School

“ What better way to enhance the school’s curriculum than to add the
experiences that come along with learning photography, giving our students
yet another tool to express their ideas and feelings.“
Linda Hill, Director, Academy for Community Education and Service

10
Photography and History
OVERVIEW
T his chapter explores ways to connect photography and history and presents
a case study with two curricula at the middle school level.
Figure 58
Portal to the Past
One way to help students relate to a topic in history or an event that happened 50
or 100 or 1000 years before they were born is to use art as a portal to the past. Art-
making and the discussion of art are powerful ways to understand another time and
place.
Looking at a photograph of the Second World War can place students in the 1940s
with vivid, sensory information. Viewing and discussing a portrait of a historical figure
such as Abraham Lincoln helps make history personal and real. When students re-
create a historical photograph, posing as characters and re-enacting the event, they
connect emotionally to history. In photographing the scene, students also develop
visual thinking skills as they consider what details to include in the setting and choose
symbols to convey important ideas.
Another engaging activity is taking a historical walking tour of the neighborhood,

first viewing old photographs of the site and then creating new photographs there.
Documenting traces of history and change during such a tour helps students compare
the past and the present. It also expands their perspective of a familiar neighborhood.
Another topic to consider is media itself—how photographs are used to record

both world history and personal memories and how media plays a role in telling the
story of history.
This chapter presents a case study from an ICP In-School partnership in which
students learned how photography can communicate about the past and present.
As with all ICP In-School Partnerships, the photography project covered the history,
techniques, aesthetics, and practice of photography, meeting once a week in collabo-
ration with school faculty. Planning took place among ICP staff, the school director,
and collaborating faculty—the language arts teacher and the art teacher. The partners
decided to use photography in the language arts and art classes as a way to enhance
their curriculum and also link to what the eighth grade was covering in history. With
such an ambitious agenda, constant communication among staff helped create the
curriculum connections. The goal was to use photography to help students see a
connection between their lives and history.
The curriculum connection was implemented in two ways:

activities, assignments, and even the selection of the guest artists were geared
toward encouraging personal responses to historical topics
students developed the technical and aesthetic skills to create both
documentary and studio pictures, ultimately resulting in historical fictions
This case study includes two curricula, Records of War and Voices for Freedom,
which explored both traditional and nontraditional ways of seeing history through
photography.

10 CHAPTER 10: Photography and History
CASE
STUDY
SEEING HISTORY
THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY
Figure 59: Robert Capa, U.S. Troops Landing on D-Day, Omaha Beach,
Normandy Coast, June 6, 1944
Seeing History Through Photography: Part 1

Records of War
1998-1999
In connection with the eighth-grade’s studies on the Second World War, this 10-
session project incorporated photography and writing assignments, slide presentations
on historical and contemporary war photography, and guest artist visits.
To learn how documentary photographs communicate about world events,

students viewed historical photographs by such renowned war photographers as
Robert Capa, whose photographs of D-Day appeared in Life. (See Figure 59.) Students
also viewed current ICP exhibitions by contemporary documentary photographers to
discuss aesthetic possibilities.
CHAPTER 10: Photography and History 11

To personalize history, a group of storytellers from Elders Share the Arts visited the
class to talk about authentic experiences of the war. Director Susan Perlstein shared
her father’s journal of drawings, writings, and his letters home to her from the war.
Second World War veteran Roy Godes told stories and sang songs from the war era.
He showed his album of snapshots through which he remembers these events.
Figure 60
Following an introduction to camera handling, students learned to create images

in black-and-white and color. Using 35mm manual cameras, students practiced
techniques during field trips to neighborhood locations. For example, students created
photographs of war ships during a field trip to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in
Midtown Manhattan.
ICP Community Record Program at the Academy for Community Education and Service (ACES)
1998-1999
The Academy of Community Education and Service (ACES), located in East Harlem, New York, was a middle
school with an emphasis on communication arts and community service.
Audience: 30 eighth-grade students
Collaborating staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter; ICP
Teaching Assistant Jeannette Rodriguez; Director of ACES Linda Hill; ACES Language Arts Teacher Elise Merraw;
and ACES Art Teacher Dave Mosher.
Funding for this program was provided by the Rudin Family Foundation Inc. and the Surdna Foundation.
The resulting curriculum met state standards in art, English language arts, and social studies.

In discussions of their work, students applied the vocabulary of photography, such
as light, shadow, blur, focus, point of view, foreground, and background. They critiqued
4” x 6” color prints, viewed color slide shows, edited black-and-white contact sheets,
and discussed the final enlargements from negatives. In this way, students learned how
photographs can be processed using a variety of materials even though this was not a
darkroom course.
For the final project, the classroom was transformed into a studio to re-enact a
historical scene. Students designed the set based on the book The Last Mission by
Harry Mazer, which they had read in class. Working with the art teacher Dave Mosher,
they painted a backdrop of an old Second World War plane’s cockpit. Guest artist
Matthew Septimus helped lead a studio shoot in which students played the roles of
soldiers and fighter pilots. Working in small groups of six to eight students at a time,
students posed in costumes. Some played Rosie the Riveter in overalls and a bandana,
and some draped themselves in the American flag for portraits. To involve those groups
waiting for the studio activity, ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter conducted a tabletop light-
ing demonstration using toy soldiers and the American flag.
Figure 61
In the next session, the students edited their contact sheets, choosing images that
best illustrated the historical scene. They critiqued the final prints, which were devel-
oped with a sepia tone to recall the look of the past. Class discussions centered on
imagery and technique, as well as the role of photography in recording both personal
and world history. This final project drew together the students’ photography skills, their
knowledge of language arts and history, and their understanding of topics that they had
studied in class.

Figure 62
Figure 63

CASE STUDY CURRICULUM: YEAR 1
Records of War
1998-1999
This curriculum outlines assignments and activities for the class sessions described in the case study.
Many sessions are based on lesson plans or activities that correspond to the Focus Links in Part IV.
To adapt this project to your setting, review the related Focus Links to find general lessons plans and
exercises that you can tailor to your students’ needs.
Related Focus Links: Case Study Curriculum

See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY

Present slides by historical and contemporary
photographers of world conflicts: Gordon Parks, Robert
Capa, and James Nachtwey
Discuss composition and meaning
Hands-on exercise: Compose portraits of each other using
Polaroid cameras
Focus Link 2 Session 2 CAMERA AS A TOOL

Instruct camera handling using the 35mm camera
Focus Link 3 Session 3 PRACTICING TECHNIQUE

Photograph in Central Park to practice camera handling
Assignments:
Create at least one close-up portrait of someone you know
Approach and photograph someone you don’t know
Process 4” x 6” color prints at lab

Photograph the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in
Manhattan
Assignment: Create photographs to document what you
see as “historical”
Process black-and-white contact sheets at lab

Focus Link 43 Review color prints to discuss what makes a “good” picture
Introduce the principles of focus, blur, movement, and
context
Demonstrate lighting effects using hot lights
Assignment: Create portraits in class using artificial and
natural light
Focus Link 6 Session 6 Editing photographs

Review contact sheets from the previous two classes
to address how students are handling techniques and
approaching picture-making
View and discuss slides of Second World War photographs,
including the personal snapshots
Assignment: Using a photograph, write about what
someone from that scene would remember about the war

Conduct story-telling activity with Elders Share the Arts to
hear stories from war
Discuss the historical set (the backdrops, props, and
costumes) needed for the next class
Session 8 Photo/theater with guest artist

Matthew Septimus
Transform the classroom into theater, moving aside desks
and chairs, hanging a backdrop, setting up studio lights
Demonstrate use of lights and large-format camera
Assign students roles as photographer, assistant, lighting
technician, stylist, and prop manager
Create portraits of historical characters
Demonstrate lighting on tabletop using toy soldiers
Tour at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum with role-
playing activities
Document trip

View and discuss the documentary approach of
photographers in the ICP exhibitions Walker Evans: Simple
Secrets and Intimate City: Photographs by Thomas Roma
Focus Link 10 Session 10 Editing the final project

Review contact sheets and final prints
Focus Link 34 Assignment: Write a reflection on your work
Evaluate class

Seeing History Through Photography: Part 2
Voices for Freedom
1998-1999
In the spring, the eighth-grade curricu-

Figure 64
lum addressed the American Civil Rights
Movement. The 10-session ICP project
investigated the role that photography
played in the media during the struggle
for freedom. At the same time, students
addressed ideas of freedom in America
today through their personal responses
and images.
Slide lectures included the work of

important documentary photographers
and provided a visual history of the events
and leaders of the movement. Guests from
Elders Share the Arts added a personal
note to the class. Carrie Raiford, a story-
telling artist, spoke of her experiences in
the South in the 1960s. Actress Dawn
Formeby conducted warm-up exercises
and discussions relating to issues of race
and culture.
For the final project, guest artist Matthew Septimus assisted ICP Instructor Nancy
Wechter in conducting a studio shoot in which students re-enacted iconic photographs
of protests from the movement. (See Figures 64 and 66.) To prepare, Art Teacher Dave
Mosher helped students draw and write protest signs. Addressing racial segregation,
the students’ protest pictures were set in the school environment, creating an interest-
ing combination of past and present. Additionally, instructors discussed the importance
of lighting, pose, gesture, and background in giving voice to a message through
photography. Students learned how to communicate in combinations of words and
images.
On the last class, to capture the spirit of a protest march, students walked across
the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to City Hall, the site of many protests and marches,
while carrying disposable cameras to document their trek.

Figure 65
Figure 66

Voices for Freedom
1998-1999
Related Focus Links: Sample Curriculum Sequence

See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 Introduction to photography

Present slides by a range of documentary photographers
such as Roy deCarava, Aaron Siskind, Corrine Simpson, and
Robert Frank
Discuss composition, content, and context
Hands-on exercise: Compose portraits of each other using
Polaroid cameras

Homework: Using the empty slide frame, view your home and
neighborhood settings to practice framing

Demonstrate lighting techniques
Create portraits in class using artificial and natural light

Practice camera handling in the Central Park Conservatory
Garden
Assignments:
– Go beyond eye level and shoot from other points of view
– Create at least one close-up portrait of someone you know
– Approach and photograph someone you don’t know

Present slides by Charles Moore and others from the
struggle for civil rights in America during the 1950s and
1960s
Discuss the power of photography to bear witness and help
change society
Review photographs from first shoot
Homework: Cut out images from magazines that address
civil rights

Conduct storytelling activity with Elders Share the Arts
Introduce the project of making protest signs
Discuss what has changed in society and what still needs
to change in terms of civil rights

Practice camera handling and conceptual skills in the
neighborhood
Assignment: Photograph things that need to be changed
and things that show progress
Discuss the historical set needed for the next class
Homework: Work on protest signs during the week

Matthew Septimus
Transform the classroom into theater, moving aside desks
and chairs, hanging a backdrop, setting up studio lights
Demonstrate use of lights and large-format camera
technician, stylist, and prop manager
Re-enact famous images from the Civil Rights Movement
Session 9 Assembling the final project

Review contact sheets and final prints
Assignment: Write about the question, What are civil rights?
Prepare for final class trip
Focus Link 10 Session 10 Final class “march”

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to City Hall
in Manhattan and create images with disposable cameras
Evaluate class

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ The day of the Second

World War studio photo
shoot, the students
put up their wonderful hand-painted
backdrop of the cockpit of a Second
World War fighter plane. We convinced
a few of the girls to put on overalls and
bandanas and play the part of Rosie
the Riveter. While we were scroung-
ing around for other props to use, a
teacher passed by with an American
flag that had just been taken down
from a bulletin board in the hallway.
Two boys wrapped themselves up in
the flag, and a photograph was born.”
Nancy Wechter, Photographer/ICP

Instructor
“ Sharing personal stories had a tremendous impact in both projects.

Elders Share the Arts came to visit the class and share memories of
Second World War in oral stories, pictures, and albums. Roy Godes, a
veteran, brought his guitar and sang songs from the war. He also shared some of this
photographs from the war. Susan Perlstein showed a scrapbook made by her father
when he was serving as a soldier in Second World War. In it were drawings and letters
written to her (she was two years old at the time). I also shared photographs from
my father’s Second World War album from the Philippines and Korea. In the second
semester, Elders Share the Arts visited again. Actress Carrie Richards told spellbinding
tales of her firsthand experiences as a young woman in the segregated South.“
Nancy Wechter, Photographer/ICP Instructor

11
Photography and Social Studies
OVERVIEW
T his chapter presents

case studies on a
curriculum connection
between photography
and social studies
developed over two
years at a middle school.
Figure 67: Lewis Hine, Immigration in the 1900s
Picturing the World
Every day we use images to picture the world around us. Whether in an archive,
a family album, or a magazine, images present and preserve a sense of who we are,
as individuals and as a culture, in our daily life and in our most important moments.
On a broad scale, photography communicates our impressions of society and our
responses to the issues that concern us. By picturing the world, photography projects
can intersect with social studies—the study of how our society has been developed,
organized, and governed.
In this chapter’s case study, portraiture was the catalyst connecting photography
to the social studies topic of immigration. In the first year, the ICP project focused on
empathizing with others by creating portraits of people in the school and neighborhood.
In the second year, the project turned the investigation of immigration inward to self,
family, and identity. The hallmark was the creation of a photo/theater, in which students
took turns posing as characters from around the world. Students learned to picture the
world from the point of view of immigrants.
To develop the curriculum connection, the first question was: How does the
academic topic of immigration relate to our lives today? To these students? In this case,
many students could relate to being a newcomer, from being a new student in school
to moving into a new neighborhood; in fact some of the students were new American
citizens. Then, ICP educators considered how that investigation might translate into
a visual project. By discussing and writing about historical photographs, students
could visualize the past and better understand the history of immigration. By learning
the art of portraiture, students investigated their own heritage and played the roles of
immigrants from around the world. Creating picture stories and immigrant scrapbooks
of fictional characters provided an imaginative pathway to relate to social studies.
To clarify the curriculum connection, ICP educators broadened the project theme to
Immigration: Who Are We and Where Do We Come From? The curriculum connection
codified when students were reflecting on how images communicate about important
issues in immigration. This reflection occurred in three ways:
1 Creating and critiquing their images of invented characters
2 Creating journals with images and text
3 Writing from historical pictures

24 CHAPTER 11: Photography and Social Studies
CASE
STUDY
IMMIGRATION:
Who Are We and Where Do We Come From?
Figure 68
ICP Community Record Program at the Adolph S. Ochs School

1999-2000 and 2000-2001
The Adolph S. Ochs School (PS111), located in midtown Manhattan, serves children in grades K– 8.
Audience: 90 eighth-grade students, three separate classes
Collaborating staff: in 1999-2000, ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Nancy
Wechter; ICP Teaching Assistants Lou Dembrow and Karen Lindsay; OCHS Faculty George Morgan and Caroline
Garrett; and in 2000-2001, ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter;
ICP Teaching Associate Karen Lindsay; Teaching Assistant Jeannette Rodriguez; OCHS Faculty George Morgan
and Kelly Agnew.
Foundation.
studies.
CHAPTER 11: Photography and Social Studies 25

Year 1
This 20-session photography project used the photographic experience to help
eighth-grade students picture the social effects of immigration. The theme was
Immigration: Who Are We and Where Do We Come From?
Following camera handling instruction, students were ready for a field trip to Ellis
Island, a historic site where immigrants first came to America. The assignment was to
pretend they had the “fresh eyes” of immigrants in 1900 and record their impressions
of arrival to America. Another field trip to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
showed how immigrants lived in the early 1900s. Students toured displays of tenement
dwellings and participated in role-playing activities.
In class, they used these experiences and historical photographs as inspiration

for writing exercises. They imagined that they were characters struggling to make a
life for themselves “back in the day.” The photograph gave them an immediate sense
of “being there,” rich with details, character, story, and feeling. Then, students created
immigrants’ scrapbooks, in which they told the stories of their characters’ lives, using
diary entries, documents, photographs, and drawings.
To broaden their sense of aesthetics, the class viewed documentary photography

exhibitions at ICP, El Museo del Barrio, and The Museum of the City of New York.
Guest photographers Bruce Davidson, Ellen Binder, and Corky Lee each visited the
class and showed their contemporary approaches to photographing people from
various cultures. During photographic excursions in the neighborhood, students
photographed and interviewed the great variety of people in the neighborhood, from
school staff and students to those working nearby in popular ethnic restaurants.
The finale was the transformation of the classroom into a photo/theater, in which
students played roles of immigrants from countries they had studied. To introduce the
idea of acting, Instructor Nancy Wechter and Teaching Assistant Lou Dembrow donned
plaid shawls, bonnets, and faded dresses. They entered the classroom lugging an old
suitcase and a Yiddish newspaper and asked, “Where we do we go from here, now
that we are in America?” Then the class planned what they would wear and do in the
photo/theater next session.
The classroom was transformed into a studio when guest artist Matthew Septimus
set up a simple cloth backdrop and studio lights to create the photo/theater. Wearing
costumes and using props, students posed as immigrants from various places around
the world. By both performing roles and creating pictures, students actively drew
together their knowledge of photography and immigration, as well as their empathy for
the struggle of any stranger coming to a new place.
In a final slide presentation at graduation, the entire school audience viewed the
class’s images showing people in the neighborhood, school staff, other students, and
classmates dressed up as people from around the world. All of this created a visual
answer to the question: Who are we and where do we come from?

Figure 69
Figure 70

Figure 71
Figure 72

Year 2
Pleased with the success of the immigration/photography curriculum, the partners
continued the project the following year with new students. Instructors followed the
same curriculum with a few exceptions. Instead of creating single images and portraits,
the class focused on pictures stories to extend their interpretations of history and to
build visual thinking and writing skills.
Rather than photographing people at school and in the neighborhood, the class
investigated self-portraits, family portraits, and personal heritage. This more personal
focus on family heritage was inspired in part by the desire to link to current ICP
exhibitions on the family album. At ICP, guest artist Lorie Novak spoke to students
about Collected Visions, her large-scale digital installation of a family album. Students
were even able to work with her on scanning their family pictures for possible inclusion
in her traveling exhibition.
Other guest artists and museum visits broadened students’ knowledge of

aesthetics and the project theme. Inspired by guest artist Corky Lee’s documentation
of immigrants in Chinatown, students practiced their photography skills in the
neighborhood. They learned to photograph their families and each other in natural
lighting situations. In a hands-on shoot with guest artist Harvey Stein, students were
introduced to elements of studio lighting that they would use in their final project. In
Figure 73

Figure 74
preparation for the finale, the class viewed an exhibition of photographs on New York
childhood at the Museum of the City of New York.
Creating visual narratives is a complex project that instructors broke down into
several steps. (See Picture Stories in Chapter 14: Photography & Writing.) The goal was
to tell the story of a day in the life of an immigrant character. The class studied comics
to simplify the combination of photography and writing. This also made the narrative
sequences easier for students to understand and accomplish. Using Polaroid materials,
students created images that focused on action sequences (befores and afters).
They added text to describe cues such as setting and dialogue as in a comic. Then,
in additional lessons developed by school faculty George Morgan and Kelly Agnew,
they created immigration scrapbooks and did research projects that amplified their
photographic explorations.
For the final project, students created portraits and picture stories in the dance
studio. Guest artist Phyllis Galembo showed her portraits of people from around
the world and helped lead the final portrait workshop with students posing in
costumes. ICP educators Nancy Wechter and Karen Lindsay conducted the final
series of photography shoots for the picture stories. Students designed a set, posed
in costumes, and enacted scenes. When students received the final prints, they
sequenced the images and added text to tell the stories of their invented character.

Figure 75 Figure 76
Figure 77 Figure 78
In both years, the photography project created an imaginative pathway to learn

about social studies. Focusing on portraiture helped students see relationships
between academics and their lives, past and present, themselves and others. In this
way, the project expanded the students’ ability to see and learn from other people.

1999-2000

See Part IV.
Focus Link 1 Session 1 INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY

Discuss the theme of immigration (See Educational
Material in this chapter.)
Conduct Polaroid exercise on point of view and portraiture
Focus Link 2 Session 2 CAMERA AS A TOOL

Instruct camera handling using 35mm manual cameras
Discuss taking photographs versus making photographs
Focus Link 3 Session 3 PRACTICING TECHNIQUE

Prepare for first shoot
Assignment: Practice point of view in school playground

Focus Link 43 Discuss editing and technique: What makes a “good”
picture?

Document city street life in Times Square
Assignments:
– Imagine you are a newly arrived immigrant and take
pictures of New York to send home
– Create portraits of a variety of people
Process contact sheets of black-and-white film at lab

Edit contact sheets
Focus Link 43 Discuss content and graphics
Prepare interview questions for next session (See
Educational Material in this chapter.)

Create portraits of third-grade students at PS111
Conduct interviews of students
Process: 5” x 7” black-and-white prints at lab

Write up interviews
Discuss 5” x 7” portraits
Review technique

Present slides on Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis immigration
work
Focus Link 16 Assignment: Writing exercise using Xeroxes of historical
photograph
– Write from the point of view of someone in the picture
– Write from the point of view of the photographer

Tour at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum with role-
playing activities
Document trip
Session 11 Creating immigration scrapbooks

Select images and adding to scrapbook
Draw and write about invented characters

Discuss presentation by guest artist Ellen Binder of her
documentary photographs from around the world
Prepare for street shoot next class (See Educational

Assignment: Photograph people working in the range of
ethnic restaurants on 50th Street
Process color slide film at lab

View slide and music presentation of Chinese immigrants in
New York by guest artist Corky Lee
Discuss what an immigrant is

View and discuss color slides
Assignment: Write diary entries based on pictures

Demonstrate studio lighting using still life objects (See
Figure 74.)
Prepare for photo/theater and role playing

Matthew Septimus
Set up classroom as photo/theater, moving desks and
chairs, hanging a backdrop
technician, stylist, and set/prop manager
Demonstrate large-format camera use
Work in revolving groups to create images, coaching
students in techniques and in portraying their characters

Matthew Septimus
Conduct second session to build stories

Tour exhibition of photographs by Bruce Davidson
Interview Bruce Davidson about his work
Focus Link 10 Session 20 Editing the final project

Edit to create slide show

2000–2001

See Part IV.
Discuss the theme of immigration (See Educational Material
in this chapter.)
Conduct Polaroid exercise on point of view and portraiture

Discuss taking photographs versus making photographs
Focus Link 3 Session 3 Practicing technique

Prepare for first shoot
Assignment: Practice point of view in school playground

Focus Link 43 Discuss editing and technique: What makes a good
picture?
Hand out journals for writing about pictures

Document street life in Times Square
Assignments:
– Imagine you are a newly arrived immigrant and take
pictures of New York to send home
– Create portraits of a variety of people
Process contact sheets of black-and-white film at lab

Discuss handout on lighting
Demonstrate lighting using hot lights to create still lifes
Create still life of what someone would take with them if
they left home using objects that students and instructors
brought to class

View ICP exhibition on historical photo albums, portraits
from the ICP Collections, and the installation Collected
Visions, a large-scale, digital family album by Lorie Novak
Participate in gallery talk with guest artist Lorie Novak and in
activity scanning family pictures

View presentation by photographer Harvey Stein on his
portraiture work
Conduct a portraiture shoot with strobes in the dance
studio
Process: Polaroid PN film, providing a positive and negative
(for use in upcoming activity)

Provide feedback on portraits and stories
Prepare questions for family interviews (See Educational
Assignment:
– Take family pictures with disposable cameras
– Write family stories over the holiday break

Present slides on Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis immigration
work
Focus Link 16 Assignment: Writing exercise using Xeroxes of historical
photographs
– Write from the point of view of someone in the picture
– Write from the point of view of the photographer and his
project goals

Session 11 Practicing technique
Focus Link 29
Conduct sun print activity using large-scale negatives from
previous guest artist’s visit to give students a sense of the
photographic process

View slide and music presentation of Chinese immigrants in
New York by guest artist Corky Lee
Discuss what an immigrant is

Tour the Lower East Side Tenement Museum with role-
playing activities
Session 14 Picture stories

Introduce how pictures tell stories (See Pictures Stories in
Chapter 14: Photography & Writing and Figures 75-78.)
View a slide by Lewis Hine and discuss the story the picture
tells through character, situation, gesture, and expression
Edit family snapshots to find examples of pictures showing
context, action, and close-up expression
Conduct Polaroid activity: Working in small teams,
photograph context, actions, and expression
Create a picture story using the Polaroids
Assignment: Interview family members about heritage
Prepare for field trip (See Educational Material in this
chapter.)

Assignment: Focus on setting. Create photographs of
interesting places where the characters might travel. Show
evidence of historical New York.
Homework: Tape favorite comic into journal
Ongoing project: Continue creating immigration characters
by making a scrapbook of items the character might have
(tickets, diary entries)

Session 16 Picture stories
Discuss visual narratives/comics
Arrange sequences in journal using cut outs from contact
sheets and Polaroids
Add text: Dialogue, setting, and time cues, as in comics
Create new Polaroids as needed to fill in the story
Work in small groups to create storyboards of the narrative
sequences for the next photo shoot
Ongoing project: Continue creating immigration scrapbook

Phyllis Galembo
Set up classroom as photo/theater, moving desks and
chairs, hanging a backdrop
technician, stylist, and set/prop manager
Demonstrate large-format camera use
Work in revolving groups to create images, coaching
students in techniques and in portraying their characters
Create portraits, posing with costumes and props
Homework: Using one portrait, write about what the
character is thinking
Session 18 Photo/theater
Build an action sequence and narrative
Homework: Based on pictures, write about a day in the life
of the character

Visit ICP exhibition American Odyssey by Mary Ellen Mark
and Museum of the City of New York exhibition Dressing for
a New York Childhood
Document the field trip and photograph in Central Park
Homework: Write about the character’s journey to America
Focus Link 10 Session 20 Assembling the final project

Mount visual narratives and stories on poster board

STUDY
QUESTIONS
IMMIGRATION
by Nancy Wechter
What is an immigrant?
An immigrant is someone who came from another country.
Exercise for introduction to class theme
Look in newspaper articles, family photographs, magazine articles, and on the Internet
for pictures that deal with immigrants and immigration.
Study Questions: Immigration

What are some reasons for people immigrating?
What would it be like to come from another country? To leave your old country?
What do you think the voyage here would be like? Imagine you are on a voyage and
describe it. Did you take a ship? An airplane?

Exercise in preparation for field trip
Write a story as if you were an immigrant coming to this neighborhood in New York City
for the first time.
Where did you come from?
What do you see?
What is it like for you?
Exercise in preparation for street shoot
Write a letter to your family in the Old Country describing New York City now.
How would you describe what it is like here?
How would you take pictures to show what them what it is like?
Exercise in preparation for lighting demo/still life shoot

What would you bring with you from your old country to your new one?
List all the items you might pack. How would you take pictures of these items in a
still life to show what your life was like and what is important to you?
Exercise in preparation for portraits and interviews
Interview someone you know who came here from another place
Create a set of questions to ask them:
– What was it like where you came from?
– Why did you leave?
– What is like for you here?

INTERVIEWING
PROJECT
HERITAGE
by Nancy Wechter
Sample interviewing questions
Are you from New York City? Were you born here? If not, where were you born?
Do you live in this neighborhood? If not, where do you live?
How long have you lived in your current neighborhood?
What different heritages and cultures are represented in your neighborhood?
What is your heritage? Where is your family from? Your parents? Your
grandparents?
What does your family do? If some of them live or lived in another country, what did
they do there?
Why did your family come here? What was it like for them when they first arrived?
What is it like now? How do they feel about it?
Steps
Create a set of specific questions you have about your heritage.

Interview your family members. Either record what they say or take notes.
Look for visual material that describes your heritage—such as family photographs,
newspaper clippings, images from magazines, papers, and symbolic colors or
objects.
Collect or create these images and use them in your journal.

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ How do we help students to see photographically? It’s not just about looking
but seeing. It’s not just about hearing but listening. Through the doing of
it—making photographs—comes the feeling for it, the empathy.
This empathy came across in the street portrait photography project at the
Adolph S. Ochs School. The assignment was to interview and photograph people in
the streets of the school neighborhood, known as Hell’s Kitchen. Stopping strangers
can be intimidating, but the students were enthusiastic, and people responded
warmly. Students introduced themselves and asked, “Where are you from?” Some
people were only too happy to talk about themselves while others shyly answered the
question. Students recorded each person’s verbal response on a tape recorder. Then,
students took their portrait, paying attention to the background, light, and distance
from their subject.
As a result, students learned about the many cultural heritages in their

neighborhood and heard memories of places left behind. Photography gave the
students and people in the neighborhood the opportunity to communicate with one
another in a respectful way.”
Lou Dembrow, Photographer/ICP Teaching Assistant

“ In this project on immigration, a lot of my teaching ideas coalesced. This
project benefited from a good team, great support from ICP staff and
the school, terrific classroom teachers, a juicy theme, and that intangible
chemistry of a lively group of students.
As students chose characters to portray, they blithely crossed decades, oceans,

and barriers of race and gender. It was of no concern that the Irish worker was
represented by an African American. Latino boys posed reading The Jewish Daily
Forward in Yiddish, girls dressed as boys, and boys dressed as women. Three boys
dressed in long, mysterious Middle Eastern robes and posed holding baby dolls. A
group of girls created a dramatic scenario about an Italian mother and her daughters
with weepy, sentimental poses that had everyone laughing and cheering (despite the
90-degree heat of the day). The atmosphere of the sessions was joyous.
A big issue for students in junior high school is identity and ownership of
photographs. Pictures of themselves and their friends are very important to
adolescents. In editing sessions, teenagers often pick pictures that are OF them rather
than BY them to claim with pride. We resolved the conflict between ‘identity’ pictures
and those that responded to assignment topics by having specifically focused editing
sessions. Students were taught the difference between pictures that emphasized
content and those that were about design elements. By introducing examples by
well-known photographers through slide shows, books, and magazines, we taught
students to recognize what is involved in making formally strong images. Students
learned that the best photographs combined elements of form and content in different
proportions. We asked students to look at their own black-and-white contact sheets
with the criteria of design (light, line, and form) and content in mind. They circled
photographs that showed either content or design or both. They were also allowed
to pick two photographs that they wanted to have (the identity shots), along with the
strongest photographs (the design shots), which we used later in the final presentation.
This satisfied all parties on several levels.“

JOURNAL
ENTRIES
Dear Diary,
Today I awake to a lot of cheering from outside. I come to the deck and see the
Statue of Liberty. I am speechless and so excited. I am the last passenger to get off. I
hesitate, it is a big step, this last one. I stall and look around me. I see the rest of Ellis
Island, and beyond I see the famous New York City! I start to develop a tear in my eye,
but I hold it back. But then I can’t, so I start to cry and shout, “I’ve made it to America!”
I am so loud that the others stare at me as if I am crazy. Then I take the last step and
whisper to myself, “I have finally made it to America.”
Character of Ezequiel created by student Miguel Perez Velez
Dear Diary,
I got an apartment in New York City on the Lower East Side of Manhattan island.
My room is right above a Chinese restaurant. This town is very rowdy at night so I
can’t sleep too good. I miss how quiet it is back home at night. I don’t like how people
beg for money on every corner. I’m not sure if they need money or are trying to take
advantage of me. I will not be a master carpenter here because my English is poor. I
hope I will find work as a carpenter soon. Ciao.
Character of Jianni created by student Steven Frias

12
Photography and Multicultural

Education
OVERVIEW
T his chapter explores how photography can connect to multicultural studies and
presents a case study at a middle school.
Figure 79
Portraying Community
Comparing one’s personal heritage with a variety of cultural histories broadens
one’s view of the world and oneself. This is the essence of multicultural education,
which can be defined as the examination of the multiple cultures and social and political
forces that shape a society. The field endeavors to counteract the occlusion of some
cultures and genders from serious artistic and academic examination. (For example,
it promotes the study of African American artwork as opposed to studying only
Eurocentric artwork.)
Multicultural education engages in a valuable exercise of social criticism and

political thought but also poses a challenge: how to examine the many cultural
traditions that shape our lives without being reductive or divisive. Using art as a means
to navigate the complicated terrain of multiculturalism helps to articulate who we are as
a culture and how we need to grow.
Photograph by photograph, students can begin to formulate a portrait of a

community in a way that reflects its cultural complexity. This examination is rendered
most beautifully by documenting the neighborhood’s daily activities, people at work or
at play, and also can include photographing special events that commemorate tradition.
With a camera in hand, students feel that they have permission to explore and reflect
upon their neighborhood. Emboldened with photography skills, students can take a
field trip to explore another neighborhood that they might consider new or strange.
Creating self-portraits and portraits of people encountered in the neighborhood is

a way to examine personal and cultural identity. Interviewing the subjects of portraits
can yield oral stories that offer an unmediated view of what shapes the community.
Furthermore, such primary sources can initiate cross-cultural communication, for
example, by sending photographs and writings to pen pals in different parts of the
world. By comparing pictures that show the similarities and differences between
students’ heritage and another culture, students develop critical thinking and
communication skills, while also addressing important issues about race, class, history,
and society.
Combining photography with a multicultural curriculum gives students a creative

avenue to deal with the issues that affect their lives. The idea is to link the photographic
exploration with history and social studies, thereby helping students understand the
composition and organization of their community, past and present. More than just
picturing diversity, such a photography project helps students address the issues that
they face every day, such as race, class, power—minority and majority. It places their
personal experiences within a larger context. Broadening their perspective strengthens
their ability to deal with these issues.

46 CHAPTER 12: Photography and Multicultural Education
In this chapter’s case study, ICP educators used photography to explore the multi-
ethnic heritage of a middle school’s neighborhood. The theme focused on how art can
communicate about culture, preserve tradition, examine ethnicity, and articulate a view
of our lives.
The pathway for the curriculum connection was the repetition of the photographic
assignment in different contexts: to focus and frame pictures that show evidence of
ethnic diversity. Beforehand, instructors prepared students to ask for permission to
take pictures of strangers, thereby building communication skills. Teachers in history
and social studies referred to the work in the photography project, to reinforce the
curriculum connection. Students drew on what they were studying in other classes as
they created images of the rich cultural history of their neighborhood.
The project also examined the long history of artistic traditions and achievements
by artists from East Harlem to bolster a sense of community pride and awareness
about artistic legacy, of which the students are a part. In their photographic work,
students examined the multiple cultural traditions of their community and revealed their
own family’s personal traditions.
Figure 80
CHAPTER 12: Photography and Multicultural Education 47

Figure 81
Figure 82

Figure 83
Figure 84

Figure 85
Figure 86

CASE STUDY
MULTI-ETHNIC
HERITAGE OF EAST HARLEM
Considering ACES’s emphasis on community service, the ICP project emphasized
photography as a means for communicating a set of ideas about the community. To
link to multicultural education, ICP educators focused on the theme of the multi-ethnic
heritage of East Harlem. In turn, school faculty related the photography course to topics
in history and social studies.
Through creating and responding to photographs of people and street scenes in

East Harlem, these eighth graders examined the ethnicity of this lively community. They
discovered the many cultures that have called East Harlem home from Native American
to Italian to Jewish to German to Hispanic and to African.
Using manual 35mm cameras, the young photographers documented the daily life
of the neighborhood and the ways that traditions have been sustained through religion,
festivals, parades, clothing, and food. As students ventured into the neighborhood,
they made contact with people of various cultures, participated in festivals, and tasted
cultural specialties. The assignment was to look for evidence of ethnicity during field
trips to La Marqueta, the East Harlem streets and markets, where storefront windows
contained cultural objects; a Mexican bakery on All Soul’s Day, where they tasted
bread; El Museo del Barrio, where they documented the Three Kings’ Day Parade;
and neighborhood casitas, the Caribbean-style homes with gardens just coming into
bloom. Their resulting pictures revealed their ability to use photography skills such as
ICP Community Record Program at the Academy for Community Education and Service (ACES)
1997-1998
Academy for Community Education and Service (ACES), located in East Harlem, New York, was a middle school
with an emphasis on communication arts and social service.
Collaborating Staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter;
ACES Faculty Monique Lee; ACES Director Linda Hill; ICP Teaching Assistants Helen Giovanello, Sasha Musa,
and Kareem Warley; Intern Sherry Drapkin.
This program was made possible with the support of the Surdna Foundation.
studies.

framing and focus to show evidence of various cultures within East Harlem. They also
practiced these “seeing” skills by venturing into other neighborhoods. During a field
trip to Ellis Island, they responded to a photography exhibition of New York City’s first
immigrants and documented the site that had drawn together so many people from
different places.
Class sessions included workshops with guest artists to address how ethnicity
is represented in images. Joe Rodriguez shared his photography book on Spanish
Harlem and helped students to photograph the people they encountered on the street.
Chester Higgins, Jr. shared his work and talked about the African celebration Kwanzaa.
Phyllis Galembo showed her photographs of people from different cultures around
the world. Then she transformed the classroom into a studio, leading a hands-on
portraiture session that introduced students to medium-format photography as they
created formal portraits of each other.
Students explored their own heritage by creating family pictures with point-and-
shoot cameras that they were able to take home. They wrote observations about the
photographs, the community, and family traditions. Some even shared home-style
recipes, passed on from generation to generation. Through their photographs and
writings, they succeeded in conveying their perspectives of the fabric of life in East
Harlem. Throughout the year, faculty posted pictures in the ACES art gallery for the rest
of the school to see.
A final publication documented the students’ discoveries: photographs of people,

events, scenes, close-ups, and cityscapes that revealed the culture of the city, past
and present. Interwoven with the student work were biographies of artists who either
lived or worked in East Harlem, some of whom had either visited or been discussed in
class. The journal’s design provided space for students to write observations, create
poetry, and draw pictures. ICP staff distributed extra copies of the journal to the school
for use in other classes the following year.

CASE STUDY CURRICULUM
Multi-Ethnic Heritage of East Harlem
1997-1998
Related Focus Links: Sample Curriculum Sequence

See Part IV.

Present slides on East Harlem neighborhood (Helen Levitt,
Walter Rosenblum, Bruce Davidson, Arnold Eagle)
Discuss theme: What is ethnic?
Introduce photography basics
Conduct hands-on exercise: Exploring portraiture and point
of view with Polaroid cameras and film


Tour ICP exhibitions and darkroom to see how photographs
are made

Practice camera-handling skills at a neighborhood site
chosen by students
Homework: Look in a newspaper to find examples of
pictures showing cultural heritage

Provide feedback on photographic techniques
Edit contact sheets
Discuss the newspaper images and how media
communicates about culture

Document evidence of ethnic heritage at the bakery and on
the street on Mexican All Soul’s Day
Assignment: Focus on evidence of ethnic heritage

Deliver feedback on prints
Present slides on neighborhood history
Discuss handout, A Brief History of East Harlem (See
Educational Material in this chapter.)
Homework: Each week, photograph family traditions with
point-and-shoot cameras

Introduce photographer Joe Rodriguez, who presents
his work in Spanish Harlem and discusses how to ask
permission to take photographs of strangers
Review student work
Session 9 Field trip

Focus Link 3 Visit Ellis Island to view photography exhibition on
immigrants and photograph this site

Edit contact sheets
Assignment: Using selected pictures, write in response to
the question, What is ethnic?
Homework: Research and write about family traditions

Introduce Phyllis Galembo who presents her photographs of
people from around the world
Hands-on activity: Create formal student portraits using a
medium-format camera with the guest artist
Process 5” x 7” black-and-white prints at lab

Tour the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Document the Lower East Side neighborhood

Photograph Three Kings’ Day parade and East Harlem
neighborhood
Assignment: Focus on evidence of heritage

Edit contact sheets relating to the theme
Process final 8” x 10” black-and-white prints at lab

Edit, sequence, and write captions for pictures relating to
the theme

EDUCATIONAL
MATERIAL
A Brief History of East Harlem
by Nancy Wechter
East Harlem stretches from 96th Street to 142nd Street. Bounded by Fifth Avenue
and the East River, East Harlem includes Randall’s and Ward’s Islands, which can be
reached by a pedestrian bridge.
Originally dotted with Native American settlements, the area remained mostly
farmland until well into the nineteenth century when the train lines were extended
northward and the area began to lose its bucolic character. Because the trains made
the area accessible, more and more developers built housing. The availability of work
and the desire to escape the overcrowding of the Lower East Side drew large numbers
of immigrants to East Harlem. For the past 100 years, this unique community has been
home to one of the most diverse working class populations in the country.
First, Germans and Irish moved into East Harlem. The next wave resulted in the
largest Little Italy in the United States in the area east of Third Avenue with its heart
at 116th Street. Jewish Harlem, west of Third Avenue, was settled by immigrants from
Eastern Europe and became the second largest Jewish neighborhood in the city. By
the 1950s the Puerto Rican community grew in East Harlem, creating El Barrio, which
has become synonymous with the neighborhood ever since. There emerged smaller
communities of Greeks, Scandinavians, and English.
Today, although many traces of older settlers remain, the population of East Harlem
is almost equally African American and Latino. Still, newer immigrant groups are joining
the community and changing the mix. Large numbers of people from Africa, Mexico,
Central and South America, and the Caribbean are contributing to the varied life of this
vital community, making it one of the most exciting parts of New York City.

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ I have a special love for East Harlem and a deep knowledge of its history
from having taught in that community for 10 years and being a member
of the East Harlem Historical Association. I’m fascinated by the layered
traces left by immigrant group following immigrant group. The students got a sense of
this through slides of East Harlem ‘back in the day’ by photographers such as Helen
Levitt, Walter Rosenblum, Bruce Davidson, and Arnold Eagle, plus images from the
collection of the Museum of the City of New York. It was fun to see the eighth graders
look at their neighborhood, hence themselves, in a new way. They were proud. What
they first regarded as junky old East Harlem now had a fascinating history. They began
to look more closely. Imagine seeing goats and chickens in a shack on Madison Avenue
and 116 Street from 1900!
Throughout the class we discussed traditions in food. Students wrote about their
family traditions surrounding holidays. What was tradition? For that matter, what was
ethnic? Each week two students took home point-and-shoot cameras to document
their homes, families, and family activities. Students shared their family’s precious
recipes. The final activity of the year was a party to which students and their parents
brought in a staggering array of ethnic food from roast pork to macaroni and cheese to
rice and beans. The project was so rich. East Harlem is so vivid and alive, just like the
eighth graders. A perfect match for a photography project.”

STUDENTS’
QUOTES
“ The things that I saw in photography class made me aware of the ethnic
diversity of East Harlem. I saw the way people have stayed in the community
and how East Harlem has such a fun background and past. The thing I liked about
photography was that we could look at ethnic things, and also it brought our class
together.”
Jamel Augustus, ACES Student
“ Reading about what it was like ‘back in the day’ and taking pictures of how
things are today were very interesting. I liked going out to take pictures and
seeing how things have changed. There are different buildings and renovations. Back in
the old times there were push carts where La Marketa is now.”
Adela Guity, ACES Student
“ What I liked about photography is that we got to take pictures of people,

things, and places. I liked going outside and learning things I didn’t know about
or didn’t see before. I saw different cultures, food, clothes, structures, and statues.”
Tanya Jones, ACES Student
“ Seeing the casitas down by 119th Street between First and Second Avenues
made me aware of the ethnic diversity of East Harlem. The casitas show the
East Harlem cultural mix because they are the type of thing you’d see in the Puerto
Rican countryside.
Nancy Ramirez, ACES Student

“ My family celebrates with everyone coming over and having a lot of Spanish
food like chicken and rice, macaroni and cheese, and a lot of sweets. We listen
to Spanish music. A tradition that was passed down to me from older family members
is how we make our rice.”
Laura Calderon, ACES Student
“ The family traditions that were passed down to me were love, care, and
happiness in life.”
Precious Tindall, ACES Student
“ Some famous people who are or were residents of East Harlem are African
Americans like Pearl Primus who was one of the first to bring African dance
to public attention, and Earl Manigault the basketball player who first touched the
backboard, and Puerto Ricans like Tito Puente ‘The King of Latin Music,’ and Marc
Anthony, a rising star in Salsa.”
Alexis Laster, ACES Student
“ In photography class, I learned that there were and are many different kinds of
cultures here in the Barrio.”
Ilsa Ordonez, ACES Student
“ What I liked about photography class was learning about where I live.
Christine Oliveras, ACES Student

“ ICP taught us how to work the camera—how to put the film in and how to look
through the camera. I enjoyed learning about cameras.”
Tanya Hendricks, ACES Student
“ Photography brings out an inner person. You can take pictures of anything and
anyone. It makes you feel good.”
Omar Mims, ACES Student

13
Photography and Literature
OVERVIEW
T his chapter explores ways to connect photography and literature and presents
a case study at a middle school.
Figure 87
Bringing Literature to Life
There is a long history of interdisciplinary connections between literature and
photography, word and image. Photographers have made connections to literary
genres from poetry and plays to fiction and nonfiction. Image-and-text artworks and
photographs that use literary elements can serve as wonderful resources for teaching
concepts in literature. By comparing the two media, students can better understand
aspects of the literature studied in class.
In designing projects, educators can find inspiration from an endless variety of

artists and approaches. For example, photographers and writers have collaborated to
create projects in which both media resonate (e.g., The Sweet Flypaper of Life by Roy
DeCarava and Langston Hughes). Photographers have created images in response
to poems and allegories (e.g., Henry Peach Robinson’s composite images from the
1850s). Photographers have constructed fictions in single images (e.g., from Julia
Margaret Cameron’s idealized 1870 photographs of mythic characters to contemporary
artist Cindy Sherman’s iconic film stills). Some photographers tell family stories by
incorporating image and text in handmade books (e.g., Reframing the Past by Clarissa
Sligh). Some artists pair images and writing to create narratives addressing issues of
race and culture (e.g., Carrie Mae Weems’s photographs and writings relating to African
American heritage). And, some artists add text directly onto the image (e.g., Shirin
Neshat’s portraits of Iranian women, with poetry inscribed onto the photograph over
the women’s faces and bodies).
What these artists are playing with is the gap between the two media: what
photographs and words can and cannot say. How does a visual image tell a story?
How do we read a visual image? How does language create vivid images in the
reader’s mind? How can words add depth in a way that a picture can’t? What is the
effect of a picture being more accessible than words? When you use one media to
retell a story told in another media, does the meaning of the story change? The very
questions, the very differences, create a lively connection. And one of the possible
answers, as shown by many artists, is that photography can make literature come alive
and become comprehensible in a new way. Furthermore, because understanding both
image and text involves the act of reading, combining them in educational projects
fosters both verbal and visual literacy.
When designing photography projects, educators can draw upon the existing
history of interdisciplinary connections or combine the work of photographers and
writers in new ways. The goal is to use the project to clarify the meaning of the literary
work.

62 CHAPTER 13: Photography and Literature
Three ways to create a curriculum connection are:
1 Design a spin-off project (i.e., studying the artwork and then using similar
techniques to create a young person’s version)
2 Make broader thematic connections between photography the literature studied
(e.g., the theme of love in poetry and photography)
3 Create distinct photography projects to reinforce understanding of literary
elements (e.g., re-enacting and photographing scenes to understand character,
situation, and theme)
Project ideas are endless. Create book covers and focus on how theme, character,
and mood translate from story to image. Have students pose as characters or re-
enact key scenes before the camera. Create photographs in response to a play and
write personal monologues to put a contemporary spin on the play’s themes. Use
photographs as backdrops in theatrical productions, as inspiration for monologues, or
in series to narrate portions of the story. Sequence image and text to create comics.
Use digital imaging to combine image and text and produce posters. Write poems,
descriptive essays, or fiction stories based on photographs. (See Part III, Chapter 14:
Photography & Writing for specific writing exercises.)
When designing the curriculum connection, consider the following questions:

What are the main ideas to get across about the literature studied?
What type of photography project will enhance that understanding?
Portraiture? Documentary? Still life? Staged? Sequence? Combined with
writing exercises?
How are literary elements, such as theme, setting, character, situation, and
mood, revealed in each media? What are the similarities and differences?
Which artist’s work will enhance the students’ understanding of the literature
studied?
In the following case study, ICP educators conducted a project in which students
re-enacted key scenes in the literature studied and then created photographs that
expanded upon the literary theme. The curriculum connection processed the meaning
of the literary text through visual literacy skills and experiential projects.
CHAPTER 13: Photography and Literature 63

CASE
STUDY
HERITAGE IN ART
This ICP In-School Partnership investigated aspects of African American heritage
in photography and literature. The goal was to use photography to make a connection
between literature, heritage, and the students’ lives.
Drawing upon the class reading of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury, each
photographic project posed the question, What are your dreams?, in order to connect
the play’s meaning to the students’ lives. Because the class was racially mixed, the
thematic focus on African American heritage was personal for some students and an
academic topic for others. By broadening the literary theme to having personal dreams,
all students could connect to it, and the infusion of photography created interest in
learning about heritage.
To build photography skills and expose students to a range of technical and

aesthetic possibilities, ICP educators chose to cover several genres: documentary,
portraiture, still life, and staged studio work. In technical sessions, students learned
to create portraits and documentary pictures with 35mm manual cameras. Taking
portraits of each other and strangers on the street built empathy and an understanding
of identity. Documenting the African market and other traces of heritage in everyday
street scenes reinforced how heritage is part of daily life and can be recorded in art.
These exercises led up to the course finale in the studio: creating still lifes,
portraying characters, and re-enacting scenes from A Raisin in the Sun. The students
staged the set, used props, and posed as characters, reflecting their understanding
of the story. Instructors addressed the way that the play describes and contributes to
preserving African heritage.
ICP Community Record Program at the Academy for Community Education and Service
(ACES), 1998–1999
The Academy of Community Education and Service (ACES), located in East Harlem, New York, was a middle
school with an emphasis on communication arts and community service.
Collaborating staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter; ICP
Teaching Assistant Jeannette Rodriguez; Director of ACES Linda Hill; ACES Language Arts Teacher Elise Merrow.
Funding for this program was provided by the Rudin Family Foundation Inc. and the Surdna Foundation.
The resulting curriculum met national and state standards in visual art, as well as state standards in English
language arts.

Students learned that African American heritage (and, therefore, any heritage)
can be revealed, explored, and sustained through a variety of art forms, such as
photography and literature. ICP staff felt that this theme promoted the relevancy of art
to education and our cultural life.
Figure 88
Figure 89

Case Study Curriculum
Heritage in Art
1998-1999

See Part IV.

Present slides by African American photographers Corinne
Simpson, Marilyn Nance, Chester Higgins, Roy DeCarava
Discuss the uses of photography, formal concerns,
composition, content
Conduct hands-on exercise: Compose portraits of each
other using Polaroid cameras

Discuss how to exercise the “muscles of eye and brain”
and neighborhood setting to practice framing

Discuss the difference between a snapshot and a portrait
Practice camera handling by taking pictures of East Harlem
Assignments:
– Look for evidence of heritage
– Take a photograph of a stranger
– Practice approaching people

Focus Link 8 Session 4 Portraiture
Discuss: What is a portrait?
Demonstrate lighting and portraiture using student models
Review color photographs and discuss technique
Homework: Bring to class an object that expresses your
heritage
Focus Link 8 Session 5 Still life photography

Demonstrate lighting and tabletop photography using
objects that represent heritage
Discuss upcoming studio photo shoot
Assignment: Write a description of your favorite character in
the play, A Raisin the Sun. Write in response to the question,
What are your dreams?

Matthew Septimus
Create a photo/theater with guest artist Matthew Septimus
Set up a studio as a stage
Dress up as favorite characters from play
Assign roles of photographer, assistant, lighting technician,
stylist, and prop manager

Photograph the Malcolm Shabazz Market (African Market)
on 166th Street
Assignment: Photograph evidence of heritage, especially
African heritage at the market and also Afro-Caribbean
heritage at the many botanicas and shops

Introduce photographer Corinne Simpson, who shares her
portraits and jewelry, all of which derive visual elements
from African heritage

Visit the African Museum to discuss the exhibition Women
of the African Diaspora by Chester Higgins, Jr.
Photograph on the way to the museum in SOHO
Assignments:
– Find evidence of heritage in Chinatown and the Village
– Photograph each other’s faces as if they were masks

View, edit, and discuss final prints from all shoots
Assignment: Write comparisons on the heritage they saw in
the pictures, the various neighborhood and the play

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ Three most important pieces of advice:
1) Build students’ ability to see

Show students lots of images in the form of slides, books, magazines, and
exhibitions. It is helpful to ask them to bring in images that they like from
newspapers, magazines, and other available sources. For all levels of student
ability, structure a very hands-on project. Vary shooting sessions with lessons
discussing their images. (Neighborhood walks and trips to accessible, visually
interesting environments such as parks and gardens are important.)
2) Regular feedback
Work out a way to give students regular feedback on what they shoot. Showing
contact sheets, 4” x 6” prints, or slides of their work are all good methods.
3) Consider adolescent concerns about self-image and peer group
It works well to make these concerns the center of a photography project.
For example, portraits and self-portraits are a way for students to look at
themselves in their environments, and from there expand to the larger world.
Teenagers will test you, but photography fascinates 90 percent of them.
Holding a camera makes them feel power, control, and mastery of something
mysterious, adult, challenging, and culturally ubiquitous. It is magical.”

14
Photography and Writing
OVERVIEW
T his chapter illustrates ways to combine photography and writing in a case study at a
middle school and presents a wide range of writing exercises.
Figure 90
From Visual to Verbal
Photography often has been described as a universal language. People can look
at and understand pictures even when they speak or write in different languages.
Because of its accessibility, photography is an ideal medium to promote language skills.
Using photography in writing exercises can help build skills in any language.
In this chapter, the case study describes a 10-session ICP program centered on
combining image and text and building visual and verbal literacy skills. The next section
of the chapter presents three types of writing exercises. The first series focuses on how
to build language skills. The second series describes how to write creatively based on
photographs, from poetry and fiction to pictures stories and even comics. Lastly, the
third series addresses how to write analytically about photography, which provides
another way to assess students’ knowledge and skills.
Figure 91

72 CHAPTER 14: Photography and Writing
CASE
STUDY
COMBINING IMAGE
AND TEXT
Taught by photographer Lina Bertucci, this ICP In-School Partnership with the
Adolph S. Ochs School challenged eighth graders to communicate who they are in
pictures and words. For adolescents, identity—both as an individual and in a peer
group—is a crucial issue. In this project, students created portraits that showed how
they present themselves to the world. Then, they wrote directly on the pictures to
reveal their inner dreams. These activities enabled students to encounter and deal with
their emerging sense of self. The combination of portraiture and creative writing also
developed students’ verbal and visual literacy skills.
For inspiration, the class viewed and discussed a series of portraits, with writing
directly on the image, by artist Shirin Neshat. Part art director, part artist, Neshat
often creates elaborate stages involving actors, whom either she or an assistant
photographs. The concepts behind the picture are what interest Neshat, and her work
often deals with her cultural identity as a Middle Eastern woman. In this series, Neshat
created portraits of Iranian women, then transcribed poetry by hand on the pictures’
surface, writing on the women’s arms, faces, veils, or around the body, to highlight how
Iranian women often feel silenced in their culture.
In middle school, both girls and boys connected to the idea of having a lot to say
but not being listened to. The first part of this project was to create portraits that used
gesture and expression to dramatize identity. In the spirit of Neshat’s artwork, student
teams organized shoots and created studio portraits of their faces, hands, and bodies.
The writing assignment was to reflect on their portraits and write stories responding
to the questions, How did they feel about themselves? What were their dreams? The
ICP Community Record Program at the Adolph S. Ochs School

1998–1999
The Adolph S. Ochs School (PS111), located in midtown Manhattan, serves children in grades K–8.
Audience: Eighth-grade students
Collaborating staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Lina Bertucci; ICP
Teaching Assistants Lou Dembrow and Karen Lindsay; OCHS school Faculty George Morgan and Ellen Procida.
Foundation.
The resulting curriculum met national and state standards in the visual arts, as well as state standards in English
Language arts.
CHAPTER 14: Photography and Writing 73

questions were designed to uncover what could not be said in the images. Educators
allowed all forms of creative writing from poetry to autobiographical narrative. During
these writing sessions, the work was collaborative: The ICP instructors talked about
how images communicate, and the school faculty reinforced lessons in writing poetry
and autobiography.
To complete this project, students needed to “read” their picture, and then write
about it. As one student wrote, “This picture says to me that you can sort of tell
what kind of attitude people have by the way they did their hair that morning. Like for
instance, the one on the left with the twist is usually done in a rush, and the one on the
right is all neat and straight.”
Once students had revised their writings, they inscribed their words with a silver
marker on the 8” x 10” black-and-white portraits. They were encouraged to pay
attention to the formal patterns of letters as part of the final artwork. In one image, a
teenage girl placed her fingers shyly in front of her face and incorporated text above her
left and right shoulders: ”This is who,” it reads, “I am!” (Figure 92)
It was interesting to see whether realistic images would inspire autobiographical

writing with a certain objective distance, and whether more abstract, open-ended
Figure 92 images would inspire poetry. The results were
not that predictable, however. In one piece,
a student recalled what he had studied in
literature class and created a scenario using
a photograph, tightly framed around his
expressive face, in connection with a class-
assigned reading of poetry by Langston Hughes
(Figure 90). This piece shows that the student
understood how poetry can create a vivid picture
and the photographic portrait can reveal a strong
emotion. His use of image and text explored the
subtleties of each medium.
Overall, ICP educators noticed that students

used their images as a point of departure to write
about identity, the main theme of the image-
and-text project. For most students, working
with images made writing easier. Integral to the
success of the project was the development
of literacy—both verbal and visual. Students
understood the dynamic between what an image
could say about what was presented outside
and what text could say about feelings known
on the inside. In the process, students became
more confident about their voice, perspective,
and new communication skills.

WRITING
EXERCISES
This section describes how to use different types of writing exercises, drawn from
ICP programs. These exercises are organized into three series: building language skills,
creative writing, and analytical writing. Activities and worksheets for many of these
exercises are provided in Part IV and indicated as Focus Links.
SERIES 1
Building language skills
By finding information within the photograph and learning the words to describe
what is seen, students can develop their vocabulary and skills in any language.
The following exercises progress in difficulty and are for students of any age who
are developing skills in the language being studied. Similarly, the exercises require
progressively more advanced skills in interpreting photographs. (For more information
on gearing discussion and language use to students’ visual literacy skills, see Part I,
Chapter 3: Visual Literacy.)

EXERCISE
VISUAL ALPHABET
Introduction
Using the alphabet of the language studied, students create pictures that show
subjects beginning with a letter of the alphabet and write the letters or names of the
subjects on the images. Students build visual and verbal skills at the same time. Part
of the fun of this exercise is searching either a familiar or new place for subjects to
photograph. This exercise can also be applied for learning terms in a curricular topic:
for example, the Latin names for flowers in natural sciences.
Goal
To use photographs to teach basic parts of speech and build vocabulary
Preparation
Obtain Polaroid cameras and film
Select props or a setting where students can find many different subjects to
photograph
Activities
Have students create a Polaroid picture of something that begins with the first letter of
the alphabet (e.g., for English, they could photograph an apple)
Have students write the letter (e.g., a) or the word naming the subject (e.g., apple) on
the Polaroid’s white margin
Work your way through the alphabet creating and labeling pictures (e.g., banana, can,
dog…)

EXERCISE
PARTS OF SPEECH
Introduction
Use action photographs to teach verbs, still lifes to teach nouns, details to teach
adjectives, etc. Gradually, work up to writing descriptive sentences of what is pictured
in any photograph.
Goal
To use photographs to teach basic parts of speech and build vocabulary
Preparation
Gather a variety of photographs that students can either hold in their hands or see
projected on a screen
Activities
Ask students to:

Describe what you see in the photograph with verbs/nouns/adjectives
Describe what you see in the photograph in complete sentences

EXERCISE
SIMILE, METAPHOR, AND SYMBOL
Introduction
A nature photograph is a good starting place for helping students use descriptive
words to create a poem. Nature as a writing topic also lends itself to making
comparisons and creating associations with feelings and ideas. Advanced students
can incorporate simile, metaphor, and symbol into their poems.
Goal
To build an understanding of language use by writing a descriptive poem based on a

photograph
Preparation
Present color nature photographs in the form of postcards, exhibitions, books, or

magazines
Introduce simile, metaphor, and symbol
Activities
Have students write in response to the following questions:

What colors do you see in the photograph?
Use specific words, like the label on a crayon, to describe the colors exactly
How do these colors make you feel? Use descriptive words.
Describe the landscape or seascape
What does it make you dream of?
What does it make you feel?
Use specific details from the photograph to describe what nature looks like
Use simile and metaphor to create comparisons to what nature looks like
What does nature symbolize in this photograph?
Have students write a poem about the nature depicted in the photograph
Include the specific words, colors, simile, metaphor, and symbols from above in
your poem
For more approaches to writing poetry, see Focus Link 18.

SERIES 2
Creative writing
Using historical, contemporary, or student photographs as inspiration, students
can write poetry, fiction, and even comics. Starting from a photograph often helps
students who have difficulty writing or who are intimidated by genres such as poetry.
Entering into the world of the photograph provides details, mood, themes, even
character and situation that students can build upon in their own creative projects. In
addition to developing their writing skills, students improve their observation and visual
literacy skills. There are many interesting similarities between photography and literature
that can help students understand elements of each media (see Part III, Chapter 13:
Photography & Literature). As students gain more experience with each media, they
can even sequence images to tell stories, then add text to create original comics.

EXERCISE
WRITING FICTION STORIES
Introduction
The photograph provides a great deal of information about character, situation, setting,
theme, and mood, and it offers a sense of “being there.” It’s like a visual outline for
a story. Using a photograph as a starting point for a fiction story can jumpstart the
imagination. This strategy can help students who have difficulty writing.
Whereas a photograph captures a single moment in time, a fiction story can take us to
a key moment or epiphany, when a character learns something. Unlike a photograph, a
story has a beginning, middle, and end. Considering the “before and after” of a single
photograph—what may have happened before the photograph was taken, what is
happening in the photograph, and what may happen next—provides good material for
a story. Discussing elements of photographs and of fiction can help students create
and revise their stories.
Elements of fiction
Many elements of fiction writing have parallels in photography. Using a photograph for a
fiction-writing exercise builds an understanding of important concepts such as point of
view, character, situation, setting, tone, and theme.
Point of view: The way the photographer sees things is similar to the way the
writer tells or narrates the story.
Character: People are revealed through telling gestures, expressions, actions, and
details, such as their clothing or personal objects, in both photography and fiction.
In contrast to photography, fiction can use dialogue and the narration of thoughts
to supplement character development. This difference is interesting to keep in
mind when adding text to images, as only words can provide dialogue and inner
monologue.
Situation: The action or context in a photograph is analogous to action or a plot
point in fiction.
Setting: The background of a photograph or the time and the place of a story often
reflect or add information for understanding the subject.
Tone: The tone or mood is often revealed through artistic elements such as color,
shape, and lighting in photography and through language, sentence structure, and
rhythm in fiction.
Theme: The main idea or point of a story is comparable to the message or
meaning of a photograph.

Goal
To write a fiction story based on a photograph by focusing on the ”before and after”
Preparation
Select postcards or prints that students can see and work with easily, one picture per
student
Activities
Before they start writing, have students connect to the world in the photograph
by looking for details. Ask them to respond orally or in writing to your questions.
– What do you see in the photograph?
Have students consider questions about any characters in the image to help
them imagine the character’s motivation, which can help drive a story forward.
– What are the people in the photograph doing? Can you guess why?
Pose these three questions to help students generate a story from a picture:
– What is going on in the picture?
– What might have happened before the picture was taken?
– What might happen next?
This is the “before and after.” Now imagine a beginning, middle, and end. That
is the story!
A story-writing worksheet for this exercise is provided in Focus Link 17.

EXERCISE
WRITING POETRY
Introduction
Although it is a common belief that poetry is vague, poetry is based on close

observation and best created with specific language. Using a photograph as a starting
point provides concrete details. The goal is to teach students to be deliberate in their
use of language.
Goal
To write a poem based on exchanging student portraits and thereby create a sense of
community and greater understanding among classmates
Preparation
Have students create portraits of each other using Focus activities
(Note: You can use the worksheet in Focus Link 18 for the first part of this exercise,
building upon it to relate to student portraiture. Or you can use Focus Link 18 to write
about a historical or contemporary photograph first, then have students write about
each other’s images.)
Activities
Take students through the following steps:

List 10 details that you see in the picture (See Focus Link 18.)
Do a free-writing exercise: Very quickly, imagine and describe the character of
the person in the photograph. What is the person like? What does the person
want? What is the person feeling? What is the person be thinking about or
dreaming of?
Review the image and your description: What do you want to say about this
person?
Write a poem that evokes who the person is, what they want, what they feel.
Be specific.

Figure 93
“MY LEVEL”
by Carlos Canales
It takes courage
to walk away,
It takes courage
to ignore what they say.
I don’t talk
because I don’t like to be talked about
No matter what people say
my face is about.
I’m not so innocent

I’m not so brave,
But it does take courage to keep your cool
and walk away.
Figure 94
“ME”
by Chance Williams
This is me
the man that stands before
you on his feet.
It’s me
The black man you

see.
I stand angry as you

look upon me
as you think I’m only
a freak.
I stand to show you

I’m just being me
a black man on his feet.

EXERCISE
PICTURE STORIES
Introduction
A picture story is a sequence of pictures that tells a story. Picture stories come
in all kinds of forms but are easiest to teach by focusing on four different kinds of
photographs.
1 Context: a picture that establishes the context—setting, place, time,
environment of the story
2 Action: a picture that shows people doing something, an action in process (A
photograph can use stop motion or blur to describe action.)
3 Sequence/before and after: two or more pictures that describe a situation (or
character in action) before and after something happened
4 Close-up expression: a picture that conveys emotion by focusing on a
person’s face
Picture stories can also include portraits, detail shots, and symbolic shots.
Goal
To learn how pictures tell stories
Preparation
Obtain Polaroid cameras and film
Activities
Begin with an introduction to how pictures tell stories using a slide presentation (See
Focus Links 11-15.)
Show examples of picture stories and discuss how the sequence tell a story
Create Polaroids (See Focus Link 23.)
Explore how the series of pictures work together to tell a story. What information do
they provide? What is not shown in the image? How does sequencing change the
story? Try taking pictures out and putting them in different orders.

EXERCISE
MAKING COMICS
Introduction
Making comics is an engaging way to teach students about narratives and to build
language skills.
Comics use a simple image to reveal character, through gesture, expression, and
situation. In comics, text adds dialogue, interior monologue, setting, and cues for time
passing. Text can also add irony and humor by contrasting with what the pictures say.
Goal
To build an understanding of how image and text tell stories by adding text to picture
sequences
Preparation
Picture story exercise above
Activities
Discuss how pictures and text work in a comic strip, using an example
Have students bring in their favorite comic book
Working in pairs with Polaroid cameras and film, create pictures stories with (1) context
shot, (2) action shot, (3) before and after sequence, and (4) close-up expression
Arrange the pictures in different sequences to find the one that best tells the story
Add text to describe setting, time, dialogue, interior monologue, and humor
Create more Polaroid pictures to fill in any gaps in the sequence

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ This lively group of eighth graders in a ‘tough’ school found the Polaroid
comics workshop an ideal introduction to photography. Starting with a
slide show and introducing the writing exercise focused the group. We
discussed what photography can tell us and how. After discussing and writing about
the formal and narrative aspects of photographs, we let students explore these aspects
of photographs working in small groups to create pictures stories. The students
constructed narratives after only one session and then followed it up with another
writing exercise. Then their teacher gave each student a photograph that someone else
took, and they had to guess what they thought the story was.”

SERIES 3
Writing about photography
Writing about photographs can help both students and educators see what
students are learning about photography, writing, or the curriculum topic. Through
the writing process, students often clarify for themselves what they think about
the photograph. Their writing indicates to teachers what they are learning about
photography as well as what their questions are. Regarding their own work, students
can also write about their intention, working methods, and what their work means to
them. Many of the activities in Part IV use writing to explore students’ understanding
of the elements of photography and how photographs communicate. The following
exercises illustrate how you can adapt these activities.

EXERCISE
WRITING ABOUT A HISTORICAL IMAGE
Introduction
The questions in this exercise help connect topics studied in class with the information
in the picture. Students first are asked to look at the setting of the picture and then to
compare what they see with what they know about that time and place in history. Then,
students focus on how the situation and conditions affected people’s lives, by looking
at the picture and writing and assimilating what they know about the topic.
Goal
To build students’ descriptive and analytical writing skills while assessing what students
learned about photography and the history or social studies curriculum
Preparation
For this exercise, project slides in the classroom, or use a good quality photocopy from
a photography book
Activities
Have students address the following questions first in discussion and then in writing:
1 Where was the picture taken? Describe the setting.
2 When was the picture taken? What was happening in history at this time?
3 List some of the effects of the (topic) on people’s lives
4 Describe what the people in the picture look like. Describe their expression and
gesture.
5 What are the people in the picture trying to do? Why?
6 Describe what one day in the life of the people in the photograph would be like
(For writing stories based on the photograph, see Focus Link 17; for writing a vivid
description of a photograph, Focus Link 19.)

EXERCISE
WRITING CAPTIONS
1) Theme Exercise
Introduction
Captions capture essential information about a picture in concise language. This is

trickier than you may expect. This exercise can be used for any age group because you
can build both basic and sophisticated language skills by writing captions.
Goal
To discover the theme of a photograph by writing a new caption for the picture
Preparation
Provide photographic source material (e.g., prints, postcards, printouts from online
collections) that students can study close up
Activities
Have students write a new caption for the picture

Start by writing what you see in the image
Expand to what you think the photograph is saying—the theme
Now revise your writing, trying to create a different emphasis in the caption
Revise again, trying to write a concise caption that tells the theme of the picture
with clear and specific language
A worksheet for this exercise is provided in Focus Link 20.

2) Research an Exhibition Caption
Introduction
Using primary resources—such as visiting museums or galleries where students can

view actual artwork or researching photography books in a library—is a great way to
build students’ research skills. At the same time, it helps students appreciate art more
and learn about careers as artists, collectors, or museum curators.
Goal
To build research skills and to assess what students learned about photography
Preparation
View an exhibition as a class and make arrangements for students to ask questions of
museum or gallery staff to learn more
Activities
Have students select and research a photograph and the photographer by searching
the Internet, visiting a library, inquiring in the museum or gallery, or reading a
photography book
Review the following parts of a caption with the class, and then have students create
an exhibition caption including:
the title
date of creation
photographer’s name
photographer’s biographical information
techniques used
photographer’s intention, if known
the cultural significance of the photograph
Make sure the information on the caption answers the question: Why is this
picture on exhibition?
A worksheet for this exercise is provided in Focus Link 20. (Also, see Focus Link
21 for writing a review of an exhibition or Focus Link 38 for a worksheet and other
research projects.)

EXERCISE
REFLECTIONS ON STUDENT IMAGES
Introduction
Writing reflections on images that students have created is a way to see how they feel
and think about their image and how much photographic vocabulary they have learned.
This is an effective exercise for all levels of photography students, from elementary
school through high school.
Goal
To pose questions that help students analyze the qualities of their own images
Preparation
Create pictures using Focus activities
Activities
Have students answer the questions:

What does this picture show?
Why do you like this picture?
How did you create this picture?
A worksheet for this exercise is provided in Focus Link 34.

EXERCISE
WRITING AN ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Introduction
Artist’s statements are a powerful way to process the impact of art using the
introspective medium of writing. Often what emerges is surprising and beautiful, as in
this artist statement by Damian Castro, who learned photography at ICP at The Point.
Prompted by the exercise and a tutor, he wrote this personal reflection on art, which
puts into a natural voice and rap-artist rhythms much of what photographic education
is all about.
A worksheet for writing an artist’s statement is provided in Focus Link 22.
Sample
My name is Damian Castro. I’m a 17-year-old photographer and resident of The

South Bronx where I was born and raised.
How I got started in photography: One day I was walking down the block when I
ran into legendary graffiti artists Tats Cru doing a mural on the corner of Manida and
Garrison. Their work was so eye catching that I asked one of the artists (B.G.) if he
minded me taking flicks of their artwork while they were adding the finishing touches.
Well, to make a long story short, he said yes and introduced me to ICP at The Point,
where he said I could learn more about the art of photography. From that day on, I’ve
been hooked on photography since the age of 13. It is thanks to Tats Cru and ICP and
The Point C.D.C. that I am the artist that I am today.
I don’t just like photography, I love it. You can do so much with photography, you
could document what you want as an artist, you have total creative control of what you
want to work on. From fine art, fashion, still life, or landscape photography, it’s up to
you to capture the beauty in what you are shooting without having anyone tell you how
to shoot. As you shoot, you become a better photographer and are able to find your
own way of shooting. What I like about photography is that when the camera is in your
hand, it’s up to the artist to do what he wants with the camera.
Photography is the same as painting with a brush because whatever the artist
captures he wants you to see and interpret in your own words. The only difference is
that with photography you are painting with your eye, instead of with a brush.

Well, my creative process comes naturally. It comes from me observing what I see,
and I get inspired and motivated to create something new. I make art with the help of
my camera and by being different and not copying someone else’s work. I only plan my
projects. After I do that, whatever direction it goes in I flow with it until a masterpiece is
created.
My ideas come from the world around me, It’s not that hard, I’m still young and
filled with ideas, until I’m old, I guess. I say books, music, and people have a lot to do
with it. The different people you encounter in life influence you to create something new
that you never thought you would ever end up doing or turning into a project or idea.
Art to me is important because it lets me be free and allows me to become creative

and not care about what people say or think. Art is important in society because it lets
people tap into a whole new culture or life they never knew about. Art keeps people up
with history and the world around them.
My subject matter is to get a point across to people to change the misinformation

of what they may think about an art form like graffiti or hip-hop or anything that goes on
that could be positive and hopefully change someone’s way of viewing it.
Anything that is part of life should be interesting because it could be the last time
you see that subject. So what I try to do is capture these things so when I have kids
I could show that what’s not in Hunts Point anymore or the trains that once passed
underground that now tell you your stop. That’s why I find photography so interesting,
you can save history with a camera.
My joy as a photographer is being able to see people stop and look at my pictures.
Whether they like it or not, I’ve got their attention. But it touches me more when I’m
not having a great day and someone gives me a compliment that makes me feel good
about what I do as an artist. I don’t have difficulties as a photographer, if I did I wouldn’t
be writing this artist statement.
My advice to whomever may be reading this is to stay true to yourself and feel free
to explore in this world of photography because you could come up with a whole new
style of shooting or printing. Remember, an artist is always creative, and that’s what art
is about. Stick with it no matter if you’re going through your ups and downs, that’s part
of life.
Damian Castro, 17, ICP at The Point student

15
Photography and Other Art Media
OVERVIEW
T his chapter traces four years of a collaboration that explored photography in

combination with other artistic media at the middle and high school levels.
Figure 95
Exploring the Boundaries of Photography
It is fascinating how the meaning of a photograph is transformed when combined
with other media. What is uniquely photographic and how do we interpret it? How does
the addition of text direct a photograph’s meaning? How does the use of painting or
drawing on the photograph affect what we see and how see it?
There are many ways to integrate photography into the arts programming of a
school or community center. Students can use photography in combination with
another art media, such as drama, music, or painting, to explore their views of a
certain topic. Photographs can be enlarged, altered, duplicated, used in collages,
and even projected in installations. Student photographers can document theatrical
performances, dances, and music recitals. By comparing media, students develop an
understanding of how each communicates.
This chapter’s case study traces four years of The Re-Visions of El Barrio program.
Designed in partnership with El Museo del Barrio, the program combined photography
with other art media to investigate the cultural identity of teenagers in the two
museums’ mutual neighborhood. (ICP was located on the Upper East Side, bordering
East Harlem, or El Barrio, where El Museo was located.) By joining forces, and by
working with different groups of East Harlem teenagers each year, ICP and El Museo
introduced a broad cross-section of local students and their families to nearby cultural
resources. Each year, collaborating educators taught photography in combination
with a different art form such as drawing, writing, and collage, and then designed an
exhibition to present the final work. The concept was to encourage El Barrio youth to
actively look at and think of the possibilities of enhancing their environment, using art to
re-envision their lives and neighborhood, ultimately creating a “Re-Vision” of El Barrio.
With the common goal of enhancing respect for oneself and one’s community, this
ongoing partnership has fostered greater connection among the International Center
of Photography, El Museo del Barrio, and members of the East Harlem community.
Re-Visions of El Barrio has been a testament to the powerful vision and voices of these
exceptional young people and the vitality of the East Harlem community.

96 CHAPTER 15: Photography and Other Art Media
CASE
STUDY
FOUR YEARS OF
PARTNERSHIP
Re-Visions of El Barrio
First Year: 1996-1997

In 1996, El Museo Museum Educator Maria Dominguez and ICP Coordinator of
Community Programs Cynthia Way designed the first Re-Visions of El Barrio program,
a 10-week photography and drawing course. Co-taught by ICP Instructor David J.
Spear and El Museo Instructor Manuel Acevado, classes met on afternoons and
weekends at El Museo, with printing sessions held in ICP’s darkroom facilities. Nine
middle-school-age participants were selected through an interviewing process from
ICP’s Internship Program and ICP Outreach Programs at four East Harlem schools.
Throughout the course, the instructors created associations between photography

and drawing, exploring the boundaries and potentials of each media. Stephanie
Estrada, an eighth grader, commented, “I never did photography and drawing at the
same time, but I like photography, and I like to draw. They came together nice; the
sketches were nice that people did. We photographed parks, open spaces, trees.”
The course began by viewing and discussing El Museo’s exhibition, The

Catherwood Project by Leandro Katz. Artist Leandro Katz reconsidered Catherwood’s
historical photographs of Mayan ruins in the Yucatan peninsula and re-photographed
them using large-format techniques. He initiated his image-making from the
perspectives with which Catherwood once described these sites through the camera
lucida. By studying this work, students were introduced to the camera lucida, large-
format techniques, and the more considered approach to image-making that these
techniques entailed.
Students then revisited important sites in their neighborhood that had the possibility
of reconstruction and revisualization through their lens. “When I photographed,” said
14-year-old Mario Hyman, “I was looking at places that were isolated, so I would have
enough room to draw, to create what I liked.”
Students addressed the question of what a photograph could reveal and what
it could not, what a drawing could explore and what it could not. After selecting a
photograph as a basis for “what is real,” students created drawings of their vision
of “what could be” in their neighborhood, to be superimposed and overlaid on the
photographs.
CHAPTER 15: Photography and Other Art Media 97

Erica Cinturon described the process of taking the photograph and adding to it
through drawing:
I was looking through the fence to take the picture. Seeing the people walking
the dog, I got excited. I added faces in the background. I was thinking of a
few people I know who died. The picture looked kind of sad, so I put in a sun,
cloud, faces, and rainbow for happiness. I’m working on the buildings in the
back, changing them, making them into what I think they should be.
Final work consisted of composite images exhibited at El Museo del Barrio’s

galleries in the summer. “This program was a great experience,” said Mario Hyman. “I
wish it was longer, because I really enjoyed this. I think the opening and exhibition is
going to be great; other people are going to see our work.”
“The program was good,” said Stephanie Estrada, “because we got to use our
mind and see what we wanted to see in the future.” When asked what he wanted to be
doing in 10 years, 14-year-old Nelson Rosario said, “I want to be a good artist, a great
artist, you know, be recognized.”
Figure 96

Figure 97
El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio, located in East Harlem, is a museum dedicated to Caribbean and Latin American art.
Audience: Nine eighth-grade students
Collaborating Staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; El Museo del Barrio Museum
Educator Maria Dominguez; ICP Instructor David J. Spear; El Museo Instructor Manuel Acevedo; El Museo del
Barrio Education Coordinator Tobias Ostrander; ICP Intern/Teaching Assistant Courtney White; and ICP Peer
Intern Supervisor Arismendi Paulino.
Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1996-1997, was made possible through financial support from The New York State Council
on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment of the Arts, a public agency, The
Hearst Foundation, and a generous contribution by Janet Drozda Ianello in memory of Joe Ianello.

Second Year: 1997–1998
Excited by the results of the first year, the partners decided to continue exploring
the relationship between art media in the context of cultural identity. This year, the
program combined photography and poetry. To work within a more structured school
setting, ICP and El Museo collaborated with the Young Women’s Leadership Academy
and the English teacher. The result was Charlas: Young Women in Dialogue. Nine
eighth-grade students from The Young Women’s Leadership School in East Harlem
participated in the 20-session course.
ICP Instructor Susan Kleckner and El Museo Instructor Sandra Maria Esteves
taught students to create photographs and poems, while addressing the themes of
gender, adolescence, and self-expression. Instructors co-taught only three classes: the
introduction; the mid-point, when students were beginning to write from photographs;
and the final project. Otherwise, each instructor focused on deepening students’
understanding of each media, developing writing techniques or creating and discussing
qualities of abstract photographs. As in the last project, a final exhibition was on view
in June at El Museo del Barrio’s Education Gallery. In the final photographs and poetry,
nine teenagers revealed their thoughts and emotions about becoming women and
going to school in East Harlem.
Poetry: Ice Cream Truck

by Carla O’Neil
The little girl runs
Full of joy
Faster and faster
At no avail,
Her destination
Pulls away
Leaving her holding
Her empty hopes.
Young Women’s Leadership Academy
The Young Women’s Leadership Academy is an all-girls school in East Harlem serving grades 7–12.
Audience: Nine eighth-grade students
Collaborating Staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; El Museo del Barrio Museum
Educator Maria Dominguez; ICP Instructor Susan Kleckner; El Museo Writing Instructor Sandra Maria Esteves; El
Museo Education Coordinator Alyshia Galvez; The Young Women’s Leadership School Faculty Sarah O’Connor,
Madeline Geswaldo; ICP Teaching Assistant Lou Dembrow.
Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1997-1998, was made possible through financial support from an anonymous donor.
language arts.

Figure 98
Figure 99

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“
Figure 100
I am haunted by an image:
a brick wall, photographed
by a young woman who
neither spoke nor wrote very much, but
indicated her home situation was less
than wonderful. What was important to
me when we looked at the contact sheet
wasn’t the wall or the photograph; there
were no distinguishing characteristics.
It was simply a wall, right in your face.
I was lucky to catch it and help her talk
about the image. The camera, and her
safety in the workshop, allowed her
to communicate how frustrating her
existence was at that time. Both the
photograph and the talking were breakthroughs. As a result, our relationship changed,
she spoke more, photographed more, developed more pride. What had initially been a
strained and difficult relationship was transformed; the wall in the image broke the wall
between us.
Facing the end of childhood, most young women in our program seemed
unprepared for the hormonal tides and challenges that confronted them. The camera
offered them a tool for play, for posing and representing themselves, thinking and
growing, getting serious and eventually mastering a skill. Photography gave them a
piece of the techno-pie around them, connected them to a wider culture, and helped
usher in some of the maturity they needed to move through their next steps.
In my experience with programs for young people, I find that the more comfortable
students become with making and discussing images, the more fluent they become in
their writing and reading. As they learn that their visual literacy counts, that it has value
to them and is recognized by an ‘authority’, their confidence grows and they take more
risks. I have seen this every time.
The exhibition we mounted at Museo del Barrio was spectacular, and we all were
very proud of the work. The picture of the brick wall was there. As always, I wish the
program were longer. It takes a while to create bridges, and by the time we actually
start crossing them, it’s time to say goodbye.”
Susan Kleckner, Artist/ICP Instructor

Third Year: 1998-1999
By the third year, the program had succeeded in many areas:
encouraging young people to use art to re-envision their lives and community,
enhancing their communication skills
providing a forum for a wide audience to see the resulting art work and
appreciate a young person’s viewpoint
connecting East Harlem community members to the cultural institutions in their
neighborhood.
However, the partners felt that the number of students (nine in each class) was too
small and the program hadn’t fully addressed the ideas of cultural identity. So in the
next year, the museums collaborated with a larger local school to increase the number
of students reached, and the program focused more intensely on Latino and African
American artistic traditions.
With a strong focus on after-school programs and integrating the arts, as well as
a liaison with Teachers College, the Heritage School proved to be a committed and
motivated partner. Director for Extended Day and Community Programs Cathleen
Kiebert-Gruen and Curriculum Coordinator Dina Petrillo integrated photography into
the school curriculum and actively promoted the program. The principal Sue Bartolone
offered students one credit for completing the photography class and facilitated a
longer class session. The class was offered during the last art class and extended into
the after-school program for 1½ hours once a week. Offering the course for credit at
that time resulted in 17 highly committed students. Additionally, the school art teacher,
Stephanie Basch, helped focus the students during the class. The result was a high
level of interest in photography; in a final student survey many students selected being
a photographer as a career goal.
The Heritage School
The Heritage School is a high school in East Harlem.
Audience: 17 high school students
Collaborating Staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; El Museo del Barrio Director of
Education Myriam de Uriarte; ICP Teaching Assistant Eva Jimenez; El Museo Instructor Jaime Permuth; Heritage
School Director for Extended Day and Community Programs Cathleen Kiebert-Gruen; Heritage School Curricu-
lum Coordinator Dina Petrillo; Heritage School Art Teacher Stephanie Basch.
Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1998-1999, was made possible through financial support from an anonymous donor.
language arts.

Instructor Jaime Permuth taught a 15-session photography course, while
collaborating school staff integrated photography with other art media, such as
painting, drawing, and collage, in the school’s art classes. The course began with an
exploration of both documentary and object art as a way to reveal important things,
rituals, and places in the students’ lives and community. To learn how art preserves
heritage, the class visited several exhibitions: El Museo’s collections of sculptures and
objects of heritage, a documentary photography exhibition by Jack Delano, and ICP’s
exhibition Artists in an Archive. In the winter time, students learned to use large-format
cameras and lighting equipment to create still lifes inside the classroom-as-studio.
Then in the spring, with hands-on instruction in operating 35mm cameras, students
began documenting the life they saw in the streets of East Harlem.
Each week, the instructor presented slides of students’ images from past shoots
to discuss various elements of image-making from technique to style. With slide
presentations and books donated by Aperture, he showed images by photographers
such as Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide, Andre Keretsz, and Harry Callahan.
Guest artists included Geral Cyrus, an African American portraitist, and Myriam
Romais, a Brazilian
documentary photographer,
who both helped students
understand how a
professional photographer
approaches a project.
Exercises and
discussions focused
on advancing students’
photographic skills to the
point where they could
present increasingly
sophisticated and fresh
images portraying their
community, both in school
and on the street, as a
reflection of this time in their
life. Students learned to edit
their contact sheets and
critique their prints, finally
arranging the pictures into
groupings that expressed
their ideas. The final selection
Figure 101
of prints was installed for

exhibition in El Museo’s
Education Gallery.

Figure 102
Figure 103

Fourth Year: 1999-2000
Figure 104
This year, ICP and El Museo resumed the collaboration with The Heritage School.
The program focused on the theme of family heritage, using a combination of
photography, writing, drawing, and painting.
The 15-session course was team-taught by ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter and
El Museo Instructor Jota E. Wainer, reinforced by additional weekly sessions with the
school Art Teacher Stephanie Bausch. Director for Extended Day and Community
The Heritage School
The Heritage School is a high school in East Harlem.
Audience: 16 high school students
Collaborating Staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; El Museo Head of Community
Outreach Maria Dominguez; ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter; ICP Teaching Assistant Karen Lindsay; El Museo
Instructor Jota E. Wainer; Heritage School Director for Extended Day and Community Programs Cathleen
Kiebert-Gruen; Heritage School Art Teacher Stephanie Basch.
Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1999-2000, was made possible through financial support from the May and Samuel Rudin
Family Foundation.

Programs Cathleen Kiebert-Gruen and additional Heritage School staff integrated the
course themes and the artwork produced into other areas of the school curriculum
throughout the year.
An important aspect of this program was the interaction between the two artists
working together in each session to help students learn about and combine the media
of photography, writing, drawing, and painting to communicate their thoughts. Class
sessions covered the basics of photography and advanced students’ artistic and
expressive skills in various media. During the course, students kept a journal in which
they assembled their photographs, writings, drawings, and thoughts about the course.
The journal also served as a record of their progress. Another important event was
Family Portraiture Night for students and their families, which attracted over 50 people
for an evening of portraiture activities and a dinner catered by a local Puerto Rican
restaurant.
Figure 105
The final installation, hosted at El Museo in the spring, celebrated student’s

accomplishments in integrating photography, writing, and painting to convey their
thoughts about family heritage. Students created six giant puzzle pieces cut out of
freestanding boards, which they painted black and red. Then they mounted their
collages onto the boards, cutting them to fit and flow together. Some photographs
were mounted on foam core to pop out in the installation. The students also drew
bricks in white chalk on the puzzle boards to unify the overall design. The creation of
the final installation synthesized the course’s discussions and activities in using different
media creatively.

Figure 106
Figure 107
As the following case study curriculum indicates, the Re-Visions class met once
a week with ICP Instructor Nancy Wechter and El Museo Instructor Jota Wainer, and
was reinforced by the school art teacher, Stephanie Basch, each week with related field
trips and activities.

Heritage: Self, Family, Community
1999-2000

See Part IV.
Session 1 Introduction and gallery visit

Introduce students to Re-Visions of El Barrio program
Learn about ICP and El Museo during gallery visits
Focus Link 1 Session 2 Introduction to art media

Introduce both artists, class goals, and use of journals
Conduct Polaroid activity to introduce basics of
photography
Conduct exercise using visual journals
Discuss evaluation criteria
Session 2B Gallery visit (with school faculty)

Visit ICP to view the Argentinean photography exhibition

Assignment: Create self-portraits, without using your face
more than twice
Process black-and-white 4” x 6” prints and contact
sheets at lab (Note: Throughout the course, the teaching
assistant compiled the negatives and contact sheets into a
notebook.)

Session 3B Sun print activity
(conducted by school faculty)
Focus Link 29 Conduct sun print activity to introduce photographic
processes, using acetate and sharpies for writing and
collage

Edit student pictures with 4” x 6” prints and contact sheets,
addressing technical issues and composition
Present slides of relevant artists’ work in preparation for
next shoot
Session 4B Writing activity

Write reflections on images using 4” x 6” prints and address
the theme of heritage

Take pictures that focus on heritage in the neighborhood
– Assignment: Look for evidence of your own and others’
heritage
Process contact sheets and color prints into uncut strips at
lab

Edit using contact sheets, loupes, and grease pencils
Sequence images by cutting up strips and reordering the
images
Select some images to be reprinted for use in a collage
activity
Process 5” x 7” reprints at lab
Session 6B Gallery visit

Tour Juan Sanchez exhibition and Pepon Osorio installation
at El Museo

Session 7 Collage activity
Create collages about the self using color Xeroxes of
contact sheets, 5” x 7” prints, as well as magazine images,
paper, glue, markers, and paint
Session 7B Printing (conducted by school faculty)

Print at Columbia Teachers College darkroom

Introduce guest artist Rita Rivera who shows her portraiture
work
Discuss her approach to portraiture and lighting
Conduct hands-on activity: Dividing into three groups, work
with different studio set-ups, led by each instructor, using
two ICP Polaroid-back large-format cameras as well as
35mm cameras
Review lighting and play roles of photographer, model,
stylist, and lighting technician
Process Polaroid PN film and black-and-white contact
sheets at lab
Session 9 Family Portraiture Night

In student-run photo stations, create portraits of families
with guidance from instructors, using lights, Polaroid large-
format cameras, as well as 35mm cameras (Families receive
the 3” x 5” Polaroid.)
Process Polaroid PN film and black-and-white contact
sheets at lab
Session 9B Art-making and reflection activities

Work on various art projects to reflect on ideas of self,
heritage, and family, and artists who incorporate family into
their work

Reflect on family portraits, ideas of self, heritage, family and
preparing to investigate community
Present slides on photographers who deal with community
issues

Conduct hands-on activity: Making a collage using
students’ community pictures
Session 10B Printing

Focus Link 3 Session 11 Photographic field trip

Create images of the neighborhood
Process 4” x 6” black-and-white prints and contact sheets
at lab


Review visual journals
Edit images for final project
Plan installation

Session 13 Assembling final project

Create installation, assemble puzzle pieces, select images
Session 14 Assembling final project

Create installation with all instructors and ICP and El Museo
staff
Session 15 Evaluations
Assemble portfolio and write evaluations of work

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ These high school students were mature but still centered on themselves,
their friends, and families. The project sought to draw on their explorations
into the community and clarify what images of themselves, their families,
and the neighborhood they would share with those outside their worlds.
The final project was ambitious and jumped off into uncharted territory. Students
used their photographs to create individual collages, which then were combined into
a group collage installation. The idea was to use individual units to create a new whole
and to speak about the individual in society. This was scary and metaphoric. How do
you go beyond what you know, how do you go past your boundaries, how do you go
into the unknown, how do you let the artistic process flow and take over, and how do
you present to the public? This phase was particularly gratifying and anxiety-provoking.
The students’ individual collages exhibited their adolescent identity concerns.

They combined their photographs with paint, torn tissue paper, Xeroxed imagery from
Harlem history, glitter, and other materials. Many of them discovered new techniques
and abilities. I introduced the idea of cutting out parts of an image and mounting them
on foam core. When they were reattached to the collage, they popped out and added
dimension.
Jota, the El Museo instructor, and two of the students met on weekends to
construct the large, wooden puzzle pieces that formed the structure of the final
installation. Students then began to tack up their individual collages. For a long
time, the piece just looked like separate pieces of paper affixed to huge boards. We
instructors continually questioned them on how they were to connect the units into a
whole. Students began to tack up additional elements in empty spaces, overlapping
the units, cutting into the rectangular shape of the collages, using paint more freely to

connect the parts. The defining element of the collage came when one of the students
started to draw bricks on the black spaces of the background. Then another student
wrote graffiti tags on some of the bricks, and the final piece was born.”
“ The Family Portraiture Night was wonderful for all concerned and a real
highlight of this collaboration. So many people participated in making
photographs—aunts, sisters, babies, and grandparents. One family had
12 members show up for a group portrait. And, we had a delicious dinner. The night
was a wonderful way to connect with the students and the important people in their
lives.”

16
Photography and Digital Imaging
OVERVIEW
T his chapter addresses

the similarities and
differences between
traditional photography
and digital imaging and
provides sample curriculum
for digital imaging.
Figure 108
A New World for Educators
Photography’s cousin digital imaging opens up a whole new world for educators.
Still relying on the essential ingredient of light, digital imaging invites an exploration into
computer technology. Teaching digital imaging builds valuable computer skills as well
as artistic techniques. Because digital imaging is connected to the history, techniques,
aesthetics, and practice of photography, the educational principles discussed in this
book apply to digital images as well. Elements of composition, framing, point of view,
lighting techniques, and photographic attributes are likewise important aspects of
digital camera use.
The differences between photography and digital imaging, ranging from technique
to the final look of the image, provide artistic opportunities to explore. Imaging software
and production methods are technical elements, which in turn impart aesthetic
attributes that affect the way we interpret the image. While many digital imaging
software programs use analogies to the photographic darkroom in their instructions,
such as “filters” to lighten or darken images, the techniques are dissimilar. Different
image characteristics result from using a negative as a source versus a computer file
and from using the darkroom for output versus a computer and printer. For instance,
consider the techniques and aesthetics involved in manipulating images—compositing,
color enhancement, and filter effects—and in outputting images—as digital prints or
in Web site design layouts. Digital artists have many choices. Do they want viewers to
recognize that images were combined in a collage, or do they want the picture to look
seamlessly unified? A fantastic look or a realistic one? A glossy print or one printed on
watercolor paper that has a handcrafted feel? Finally, how does this affect the way the
viewer interprets the image? Can the viewer tell when an image has been manipulated?
Is the color unnaturally bright? The warped filter effect too obvious a distortion? Or,
are the effects subtle and indistinguishable from a photographic print? What do these
contrasts and displacements tell the viewer about the subject?
It is important to note the historical precursors to image compositing and

alteration. As early as the 1850s, artist Henry Peach Robinson created allegories with
various combinations of images. Using his warehouse of glass negatives, he worked
painstakingly in the darkroom to create the intended image out of many negatives; for
example, he would expose an image of a window, and then by covering part of that
image, expose it again to place in the window frame another image of sheep grazing.
If the exposures were too faint or too dark, showing borders, he would have to try it
all over again. Today, with digital technology, a similar combination of images can be
accomplished easily and seamlessly, in a few hours, on the same intangible computer
file, the pixels always alterable.
At the same time that digital imaging follows within the tradition and history of the
medium of photography, it forges exciting new territory. It empowers anyone with a
computer and printer to craft their own images. It makes images even more accessible
through the Internet. And, being so changeable, digital imaging poses questions about
what an image is and how it works to communicate its message.

116 CHAPTER 16: Photography and Digital Imaging
From an educational standpoint, digital imaging offers an appealing sense of
immediacy, versatility, and gratification. In contrast to photographic processing,
students can create a digital image and then view it almost instantly, either on the
camera viewer itself or by downloading it to the computer. In one session, the class
can create and view images. In three sessions, educators can cover image creation,
alteration, production, interpretation, and use. These sessions can focus on a genre
such as portraiture or a theme such as neighborhood history to make a curriculum
connection. In a workshop, students can produce high-quality images that are easily
applied to many uses in print, CD, or Web projects (whereas traditional photographic
images would have to be scanned for these secondary purposes). (See Figure 108.)
Furthermore, digital imaging will ultimately prove to be more accessible and

cost effective than darkroom photography in an educational setting. In a school or
community center that does not have the space or financial resources to create a
traditional darkroom, but already has a computer lab, educators can integrate digital
imaging into educational projects at less additional expense. Purchasing digital
cameras (again cameras with the option for manual controls are recommended),
imaging software, and Web design software creates a digital darkroom and virtual
exhibition space. With digital cameras, students can create images, and then in
the computer lab, they can download the images, manipulate them using imaging
software, print them out, or project them on the monitor as a virtual exhibition. While
this technology is always advancing and changing, the key to equipment and software
purchase is to know the school’s needs and buy what meets them, not necessarily the
newest version of a product. Rather than feeling intimidated by a complex software
program, educators can streamline the teaching to the tools and applications that
students need to know to accomplish the project. Staff managing the computer lab
should be on hand to help with any technical glitches.
In addition, digital imaging projects offer the important social benefit of narrowing
what has been called the “digital divide,” a difference in knowledge of information
technology between socio-economic groups. Due to fewer opportunities for computer
access or ownership, many low-income communities are denied a major avenue
of information, communication, education, and career opportunities. And, as more
organizations secure their presence on the Internet, visual imagery and digital media
play an increasingly important role in global communication. The accessibility and value
of digital imaging projects can motivate people to become trained in using equipment,
software, and new technologies. This expands their possibilities for future creative and
professional advancement.
ICP has developed a model for a portable Digital Darkroom Program, which
brings digital imaging into any school with portable laptop computers, digital cameras,
imaging software, and printers. Workshops cover the history, techniques, aesthetics,
and practice of digital imaging. Through discussing and creating digital images,
students learn the basic tools, processes, creative possibilities, and potential uses of
digital technologies. Following are sample workshops for students and teachers.
CHAPTER 16: Photography and Digital Imaging 117

SAMPLE THREE-SESSION WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS
Goal
To make a connection between history and current social issues using digital imagery
Audience
10 high school students studying the Great Depression in U.S. History
Materials
(for 10 participants)
11 computer stations with access to the Internet
1 flat bed scanner
photographic quality printers
5 digital cameras, shared in pairs
Writing assignments (10 sets)
Software and related materials
Web design for project page

See Part IV.
Session 1 Introduction to digital imaging
View and discuss selected Depression-era photographs
View historical images of the students’ neighborhood, if
possible
Discuss how pictures communicate about a time and a
place
Demonstrate use of the digital camera and scanning to
provide an overview of the techniques and uses of the
medium
Session 2 Creating digital images

Create images with digital cameras of their neighborhood,
focusing on documenting the time and place
Download images to the computers and save them
Session 3 Producing final images

Experiment with manipulating images and integrating text
into images
Combine parts of a historical image with a contemporary
one
Create posters relating to the community photographed
Print final images
Display final images as a virtual museum (on computer
screens) or as an arrangement of prints
Compare and contrast the images from the past and the
present
Curriculum connection
Focus Link 42
Adapting Focus Reflection Activities, the class can create
a virtual exhibition on the school’s Web site. The final images
are integrated into a simple Web design layout. This fosters
a connection between history, social studies, and computer
technology.

SAMPLE FOUR-SESSION WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS
Goal
Explore portraiture using family pictures and newly created digital images Introduce
various techniques: scanning, creating digital images, printing, preparing images for the
Web, and Web design
Audience
10 participants (appropriate for middle and high school)
Materials
1 flat bed scanner
Preparation
Make a Web template for the final project of a collective family album

See Part IV.
Session 1 Introduction to how images communicate
Introduce students, faculty, course goals
Introduce photography, digital imaging, and the Web,
viewing online collections to discuss historical and
contemporary portraits
Homework: Bring in family portraits for scanning
Session 2 Digital camera handling

Demonstrate digital image making: Create a class portrait
with a digital camera, downloading, manipulating, and
printing the image
(Note: Work on individual computers to follow step-by-step
instructions and learn the process)
Scan family portraits, fine-tune the image, and print
Homework: Write about portrait and family portrait
Session 3 Portraiture
Create portraits of each other
Download images
Manipulate images
Homework: Write about the portraits
Session 4 Final project: Collective family album

Learn to fine-tune, manipulate, add text to the image, and
print
Prepare images for the Web and post on a Web site
template, as a collective family album
Evaluation
Curriculum connection
Focus Link 35
Students can use the portraits for Focus Reflection Activities on oral
Focus Link 41
storytelling and interviewing. This fosters a connection between art
and English language arts.

SAMPLE THREE-SESSION WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS
Goal
Learn about the possibilities of digital imaging and explore ideas on how to integrate
digital imaging into the curriculum
Audience
10 educators, (teachers and administrators)
Materials
1 flat bed scanner
Preparation
Hold a planning session beforehand to address the overall goals of the course, check
the equipment status and compatibility, and define what is needed to continue the
project in the future

Curriculum
Session 1 Introduction to digital imaging and

potential curricular applications
Introduce faculty, subject area, and photographic education
Introduce photography, digital imaging, and the Internet,
viewing images relating to curricular areas
Demonstrate digital image making: Create a class portrait
with a digital camera, downloading, manipulating, and
printing the image
Demonstrate scanning, fine-tuning images, and printing
Homework: Develop an assignment pertaining to a
curriculum area, which they might assign to their students
or use in the class

Practice camera handling during a shooting assignment
Download images
Scan images
Manipulate images
Session 3 Producing images and discussing

curricular projects
Learn to fine-tune, manipulate, and print the image
Prepare images for the Web and post on a Web site
template
Discuss curriculum applications
Evaluate the workshop
Plan next steps

17
Photography and Professional

Applications
OVERVIEW
T his chapter describes the benefits of educational experiences that involve

professional artists and presents a variety of projects that explore the practical
applications of photography.
Figure 109
The Professional Artist in the Classroom
Bringing a professional artist into the classroom creates a personalized educational
experience that inspires students to visualize new possibilities for themselves. Standing
before them is a person who started from the beginning, faced challenges, and created
success. Whether the artist demystifies the digital techniques they use, tells anecdotes
about photographing a celebrity, or works directly with the students on a studio shoot,
whether they visit a class once or teach an entire course, the professional artist in
the classroom answers the question, How did they do that? They provide expertise
and experience that make art real and personal. They present options to students,
from becoming a practicing photographer to working as a photo editor, from creating
commercial work to exploring important social concerns in fine art, giving back to the
community, and much more. They open doors that students might not have known
existed.
For students of any age, contact with professional artists is valuable. Generally
speaking, elementary school students are inspired by the stories of a “real’’
photographer, middle school students identify with the artist as a role model, and high
school students seek answers to pressing questions about the next step to college or
work. Most important, in the classroom is another caring adult offering guidance that
helps students to discover who they are and who they can become.
Part mentor, part instructor, the professional teaching artist should possess
the ability to connect the “real” world to the classroom experience in language that
relates to young people. Drawing upon their own professional assignments or fine
art exhibitions, they can create class assignments and final projects that have a
professional quality. This caliber of project—such as assembling a final exhibition
to museum-quality standards—acknowledges the quality of the students’ artistic
achievements and the value of their first steps. Exploring the practical applications of
photography—from fashion photographs to editorial assignments, from advertisements
to photographs that illustrate written articles—demonstrates how images are used in
society and empowers students to think of and use images in a new way.
Illustrations
In the following illustrations from ICP school and community partnerships, teaching
artists integrated many professional projects into the curriculum, ranging from a single-
session activity to a year-long course.
Single-session example
In the ICP Internship Program, interns met with a photo editor who brought in
professional photographers’ portfolios. The class reviewed and evaluated the portfolios

126 CHAPTER 17: Photography and Professional Applications
and decided whom they might hire. This informed the decisions they made about their
own developing portfolios.
Three-session project
At a middle school in Manhattan, ICP Instructor Allen Frame introduced the
professional applications of photography by using student photographs for book
and CD covers. Integrated into a course on portraiture, this professional assignment
developed the photographic techniques needed to make group portraits. In a studio
session, students considered how to use body gestures and facial expressions to
resemble characters from The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, which they had read in class.
When editing the contact sheets, students chose the photographs best suited to be a
book cover. Then a professional designer added title text and printed out the image.
The same series of sessions was repeated with students pretending that they were
their favorite or invented music groups. When the students saw their final images
presented as professional book covers and CD covers in jewel cases, they understood
how images are generated and used for these professional purposes. (Of course, they
were thrilled with the CDs). (See Part II, Chapter
Figure 110 5: Strategies for Developing Projects for a full
description.)
Ten-session course
At the High School for Fashion Industries,
students learned to create fashion photographs
in the classroom studio. As they photographed
classmates in their hand-made fashions, students
practiced studio lighting, styling, and set design.
This photography project helped students refine
their photography skills in time for the year-end
fashion show. ICP Instructor Curtis Willocks,
who is also faculty at the Fashion Institute of
Technology, brought his professional experience
in fashion and editorial work to each class.
He helped students learn about the history
and aesthetics of fashion photography, while
empowering them to apply their new skills with
their own style. In addition, he co-taught each
class with school Art Teacher Lisa Takusian,
enabling both instructors to exchange professional
experiences and teaching ideas. (See Part II,
Chapter 5 for a full description.)
CHAPTER 17: Photography and Professional Applications 127

Community-based professional assignment
In ICP at The Point, the J.M. Kaplan Fund (which supports The Point) hired teenage
students to create photographs for the Fund’s annual report. With the professional
guidance of ICP Instructor Frank Franca, a team of six students completed the
ambitious project of illustrating the Kaplan Fund’s many programs. With a camera in
hand, these teenagers from the South Bronx suddenly had behind-the-scenes access
to many areas of the city that they had never before explored, from the Joyce Theater
to the Coalition for the Homeless. In this project they learned how to create editorial
photographs, edit for publication, and print on deadline, at the same time as they
became aware of what foundations do for the community. (See Part II, Chapter 5 for a
full description.)
Yearlong program
The ICP Internship Program is a 30-session after-school mentoring program
specifically designed to take students to the next level in their artistic goals and prepare
them for further education and a career in photography. Fifteen motivated teenagers
have the opportunity to advance their skills and develop an awareness of the creative
and professional possibilities in the field by studying and working at ICP.
This after-school program provides interns with guidance from some of New
York’s best teaching artists; field trips to museums, galleries, and studios; mentorship
opportunities in the field; and full access to ICP’s resources, black-and-white and color
darkrooms, and digital media facilities. While exploring new techniques, discussing
various styles and genres of photographic work, and meeting active photographers,
Figure 111 each intern becomes engaged
in intensive photographic
education that expands
their vision of both their
artwork and future careers.
In addition to working on
assignments, interns create
a portfolio, a résumé, an
artist’s statement, and finally,
exhibitions of their work. As
a result, interns develop the
personal, photographic, and
professional credentials and
experiences necessary to
pursue further education and
job opportunities in the field.

CASE
STUDY
PROFESSIONAL
APPLICATIONS
ICP Internship Program, 2000-2001
Taught by professional photographer Deborah Klesenski, the 2000-2001 Internship

Program covered three professional assignments in addition to building individual
portfolios. Each 10-week semester focused on the professional applications of a
different theme and technique:
a documentary assignment in black-and-white;
teen fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine assignment in color; and
community service advertising in digital imaging.
Students were expected to complete the professional assignment as well as to

expand upon their personal portfolio, a total of 10 new images each semester. At the
end of the year, ICP staff selected three of their best images for a final exhibition in a
downtown gallery.
Interns were treated as emerging photographers working in an educational

setting; they received a stipend when they completed the professional assignment.
In addition, interested students could sign up for community service jobs, working in
ICP’s Community Programs office and other areas of ICP, in the office of a professional
photographer, or printing in a lab, for which they were paid.
This is a multi-level program, supporting interns for up to three years, and allowing
students to progress at their own pace. Ultimately, each intern develops a portfolio that
reflects a range of skills and sophisticated aesthetic awareness. Therefore, class sessions
required two teaching assistants to help students work independently and in different
groups, as newer students gained skills and advanced students learned more techniques.
ICP Internship Program

2000-2001
The ICP Internship Program takes place at ICP and serves teenagers in New York City.
Audience: 15 teenagers, selected by application from New York City public schools
Collaborating staff: ICP Coordinator of Community Programs Cynthia Way; ICP Instructor Deborah Klesenski;
ICP Community Programs Assistant Erin Fallon; ICP Teaching Assistants Hilary Duffy and Ed Smith.
The Internship Program has been made possible through support from The New York Community Trust from the
Van Lier Fund, The Lucy Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation.

Professional Assignments
2000-2001
This curriculum outlines assignments and activities to illustrate the case study. Because interns
created their images independently outside of class time, sessions were devoted to hands-on
instruction in technique and to feedback on developing work from the instructor and guest artists.
Figure 112

See Part IV.
Fall Theme: Documenting New York, from a photojournalistic point of
view, as if these images were to be published in a magazine. Medium:
Black-and-white photography
Session 1 Introduction and Gallery visit

Introduce interns to each other by presenting their favorite
images from their current portfolio
Take a field trip to the Museum of the City of New York to view
New York Now, an exhibition of contemporary documentary
photographers’ views of the city and their artist’s statements
(as a preview of the interns’ own year-end exhibition)
Homework assignment: Document your home environment in
black-and-white
Session 2 Introduction to the darkroom

Review film development and darkroom procedures
Review any technical information or advanced techniques, as
needed
Practice film processing in small groups
Visit the ICP exhibition Eugene Atget: Pioneer
Select community service jobs
Remind interns of the requirements for the semester: to
complete five pictures for the assignment and five work prints
for their portfolio
Discuss their thinking about their documentary photography
assignment
Homework: Select a topic for the documentary assignment
and shoot the first roll
Session 3 Enlargement printing

Demonstrate printing techniques using Liquid Light and
regular photographic paper for comparison
Coat paper with Liquid Light and let it dry for the next session
Print existing negatives using photographic paper
Sign up students for technical printing seminar on Saturday
afternoons
Assignment: Photograph the city at night using 3200 ASA film

Session 4 Master printing/fiber paper
Demonstrate Liquid Light (continued): printing on coated
paper
Address technical concerns with printing in these two
methods
Review work individually and give individual assignments
Show samples from magazines

Visit with an art director who discusses magazine
assignment structure
Review student images made up to this point
Session 6 Master printing and toning

Demonstrate toning and printing techniques
Print images
Provide individual feedback on editing documentary work
for the assignment

Visit with photojournalist Maria Politarhos
Critique student images
Session 8 Gallery visit

Visit ICP Midtown for a behind-the scenes tour of ICP
collections to see original work by photographers Gordon
Parks, Donna Ferrato, and Bruce Davidson
Visit three ICP exhibitions: Reflections in a Glass Eye,
Daguerreotypomania, and Collected Visions, a digital
installation by Lori Novak
Session 9 Preparing for final project

Print images
Discuss magazine layouts

Session 10 Final review/critique
Critique the final assignment with the art director
Figure 113

See Part IV.
Winter Theme: TEEN Fashion, lifestyle, and beauty photography,
from an advertising point of view. Medium: Color photography
Session 1 Introduction to color photography

Discuss color theory
Discuss class assignment with samples from magazines
Session 2 Printing color

Demonstrate color printing
Session 3 Studio lighting

Demonstrate continuous lighting for beauty and fashion
Practice techniques by photographing each other
Session 4 First studio photo shoot on beauty

Create beauty photographs of each other in the classroom
as studio
Session 5 Color printing

Analyze of results of first shoot
Plan second shoot
Session 6 Second photo shoot, fashion

Create fashion photographs of teen models in the
classroom as studio

Analyze results
Suggest approaches for editing and printing for final project

Tour of the exhibition at Gallery E3 with photographer
Harvey Stein who judged and curated the show (a preview
of the site where interns will have their exhibition)
Discuss submission deadlines and process

Make final prints

Visit with photographer Frank Franca who discusses his
fashion work and the influences of film and fashion on his
photography
Review student photographs
Figure 114

Spring Theme: Community service advertisement /Final portfolio
review and exhibition preparation. Medium: Digital imaging

Tour the Whitney Museum exhibition, Bitstreams
Session 2 Introduction to Photoshop

View images relating to assignment
Use digital camera or scanner to generate images for
community service ad
Session 3 Manipulating images

Alter images with Photoshop tools
Combine image and text
Session 4 Final production of ad

Create and print digital images
Due date for submission of images for exhibition
Session 5 Field trip to professional studio

Visit a professional studio
Critique final work
Jury review of exhibition submissions—ICP staff in education and

exhibitions departments select work for exhibition.
Session 7 Black-and-white fine printing

Print final selections for exhibition and critique
Session 8 Final color printing

Session 9 Final digital printing

Focus Link 22 Session 10 Artist’s statements

Create artist’s statements
Critique final work as a group
Final exhibition at E3 Gallery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan

EDUCATORS’
QUOTES
“ During the first few class sessions, I do a lot of listening and watching.
Young people tend to hide their need for explanation or clarification due to
the fear of embarrassment. Drawing them out takes effort. When teaching
teenagers, I make more eye contact and smile much more. I structure my criticism in
proportion to their level of sensitivity. I try to let them express their alternative ideas and
stress only that they adhere to the technical aspects of photography. In other words, I
try to encourage them to be as creative as possible within a certain framework.
In order to stimulate their ability to think visually, I ask them to bring in examples
of the type of imagery that they would like to know something about. We then discuss
the photographic aspects of how the image was created. I try to be clear about the
goals I want them to achieve, and I always show the students examples of exactly what
I am asking them to produce. When presenting new assignments, I try to spread the
information they need to know over several class sessions. In this way, they become
less overwhelmed. I try to present technical information in both a ‘fun’ way and in a way
that makes students feel that this is important information, which they will want to know
for life.”
Deborah Klesenski, Photographer/ICP Instructor
“ The most important aspect of teaching is to develop trust and a good

rapport with the students. It is a delicate situation. On the one hand,
one must be seen as an authority figure, but on the other, one must be
perceived as a trusted friend. The first thing to establish is mutual respect. I emphasize

that our studio is a safe place for artists and that we operate under strictly professional
standards. It is a place for creating not for destructing. Students must understand that
there are certain rules of conduct by which all artists should operate. This not only
establishes a code of ethics, but it also is a great source of pride as a new student
discovers the identity of the ‘artist.’ I feel it is my responsibility to treat my students with
the same respect with which I would like to be treated professionally.
It always amazes me how young people learn by imitating, not necessarily by

being told how to do something. I am very conscious to never order anyone around,
but rather to ask politely that something be done. I never talk down to students. I use
the same language with my students as I use with any of my peers. After all, we are
teaching communication skills. This is a great way to introduce new words into their
vocabulary. At first, new students might giggle or make a quizzical face. Eventually, they
learn to use these same words themselves.
It is very important that students respect each other’s work. Again, they learn by
example. When reviewing a portfolio or any body of work, I evenly balance the criticism
with constructive feedback. Regardless of a student’s abilities or experience, there is
always something good that can be said. I don’t tolerate mocking remarks or negative
put-downs. All criticism should be phrased using positive terminology. Very quickly,
students learn to use these same methods with each other.
Another great tool is to teach by experience. One example is our work on the last
two annual reports for the J.M. Kaplan Fund. In this hands-on work-study experience,
we take students through every aspect of a professional experience. This includes
conceptualizing the editorial content of the publication, deciding what situations
present the most vivid and visual opportunities, getting model releases, conducting
the shoots, processing and editing the work, presenting several options to the client
for consideration, working with the designers, and finally billing and getting paid. In this
way, we are giving them hands-on tools that they can then apply to work opportunities
that they encounter on their own: shooting headshots, weddings, publicity shots,
model’s portfolios, and so forth. Because my experience comes from the professional
world, I like to provide students with as many real-world work opportunities as
possible.”

STUDENTS’
QUOTES
June 18, 1998
As I reflect upon the many pleasurable memories that have brought me joy and
success, the International Center of Photography is there in the process. I want to say
thank you for assisting me in my growth and development.
The student internship program has broadened my outlook on life and has helped
me to grow in wisdom and knowledge. I’ve learned many invaluable skills both in the
photo lab and in developing sound work ethics.
I’ll get an early head start in college life. On June 19, 1998, I’ll be moving on to
Bennett College, Greensboro NC for Freshwomens’ Academic Enrichment Program.
You have helped make this moment a reality in my life. I promise to work hard in college
and one day return and share abilities with the youth who will take my place.
Thank you for having faith in my potentials.
Sincerely,
Samentha Hardy
ICP Intern

A
Afterword:
Visualizing Education
Figure 115
What we’re really talking about when we discuss photographic education is
visualization. With photography, we can literally visualize our lives. We can use
photography to chronicle our past, document our present, and project our future.
This visual exploration stimulates the imagination, the image-making capacity of our
minds. Essentially, the process of engaging in this reflective medium results in our
revealing ourselves. Who are we? How do we see ourselves? How do we see others?
How do we see the world? Creating and discussing photographs may pose more
questions than provide answers, but it inspires a fascinating and thoughtful journey
that capitalizes on the power to see. Vision, sight, and imagination are some of our
most basic and powerful human tools. How can we not develop these qualities in the
education of our children? Art and art education are not superfluous, not merely an
“enrichment,” nor are they for the elite; rather, they are essential to helping us all see
and reflect upon who we are. Art and art education help us to understand our past,
witness our present, and visualize our future possibilities—and not only as individuals,
for art helps us to see how we are connected to each other and the world.
Afterword
Visualizing Education
Part IV
Resources
F
Focus Lesson Plans

and Actvities
INDEX TO FOCUS LINKS
Focus Links Lesson Plans

Focus Link 1 LESSON 1: Introductory Polaroid Exercises
Focus Link 2 LESSON 2: Camera as a Tool
Focus Link 3 LESSON 3: Photographic Field Trip
Focus Link 4 LESSON 4: Discussing Images/Developing a Project Theme
Focus Link 5 LESSON 5: Creating Images/Point-of-View Activity
Focus Link 6 LESSON 6: Editing Images/Reflection Activity
Focus Link 7 LESSON 7: Integrating the Gallery Visit
Focus Link 8 LESSON 8: Lighting Techniques
Focus Link 9 LESSON 9: Integrating the Guest Artist Visit
Focus Link 10 LESSON 10: Assembling the Final Project
Focus Links Focus Discussion Questions and Worksheets

Focus Link 11 Building Visual Literacy: Discussion Questions
Focus Link 12 Looking at Photographs/What Do You See in the Picture Frame?
Focus Link 13 Looking at Photographs/Learning Photographic Terms
Focus Link 14 The Choices That Photographers Make
Focus Link 15 What Is the Photograph Saying?
Focus Links Focus Writing Activities
Focus Link 16 Point-of-View Writing Exercise
Focus Link 17 Story-Writing Worksheet
Focus Link 18 Poetry-Writing Worksheet
Focus Link 19 Word Picture
Focus Link 20 Writing Captions
Focus Link 21 Writing a Review of an Exhibition
Focus Link 22 Writing an Artist’s Statement
Focus Links Focus Hands-on Activities

Focus Link 23 Polaroid Activities
Focus Link 24 Photographic Assignment List
Focus Link 25 Birds and Worms Treasure Hunt
Focus Link 26 Polapan Slide Presentation
Focus Link 27 Polaroid Transfers
Focus Link 28 Hand Coloring Prints
Focus Link 29 Sun Prints
Focus Link 30 Photograms
Focus Link 31 Writing With Light on Film or Paper
Focus Link 32 Liquid Light and Other Alternative Processes
Focus Link 33 Pinhole Photography
Focus Links Focus Reflection Activities

Focus Link 34 Critique Your Image
Focus Link 35 Storytelling
Focus Link 36 Speechwriting
Focus Link 37 Art Projects
Focus Link 38 Research Projects
Focus Link 39 Image Box
Focus Link 40 Visual Diary
Focus Link 41 Pictures and Interviews
Focus Link 42 Create Your Own Exhibition
Focus Link 43 What Makes a “Good” Photograph?
Focus Link 44 Seeing Activity
Part IV: Resources

Focus Lesson Plans
FOCUS LESSON PLANS
The following lesson plans are the building blocks of the Focus sample curricula
and the case studies. In this section, the lessons follow a sequence for a 10-session
curriculum. Consider other possible sequences and adaptations of these lessons for
your curriculum.
Focus Link 1
Lesson Plan: Introductory Polaroid Exercises
Goal
To introduce students to photography and to the class project using slides of

photographic work and hands-on Polaroid materials
Materials
Polaroid cameras (shared in pairs)
Polaroid film (use 10 packs, 5 shots per student)
Sharpies
Slide projector and slides
Preparation
Select slides of historical and contemporary artwork that connects to the project theme
and audience interest
Duration
2 hours
Activities
Discussing pictures [30 min.]

Begin with introductory questions: What is photography? Where do you see
photographs? What are some of the uses of photography?
Present slides and ask questions about the artwork to build visual literacy skills
(See Part 1 and Focus Link 11.)
Discuss the topic by projecting related slides and asking: What do you see?
Focus Lesson Plans

Discuss the photography project and its theme
Repeat with several slides
Make sure to cover examples of techniques such as lighting, point of view,
composition, and framing
Creating images [60 min.]

Demonstrate how to use a Polaroid camera (Note: You can pre-load the film.)
3 Let the picture develop
Give them the assignment:
Working in pairs, each student takes five portraits of the other person from
different points of view:
1 A bird’s-eye view
2 A worm’s-eye view
3 Mystery view: Pretend you’re a different animal and take a picture from that
point of view
4 Your eye view
5 Surprise me
Wrap-up [30 min.]

Put all the pictures on tables for discussion
Discuss composition, technique, surprising accidents, successes, and
bloopers
Follow-up/Homework
Journal-writing exercise:
– Have students write answers to these questions in their journal: How do
you see yourself in the pictures? Describe the experience of creating the
pictures. What did you feel? What was enjoyable or uncomfortable?
Part IV: Resources

Focus Lesson Plans
Focus Link 2
Lesson Plan: Camera as a Tool
Goal
To introduce students to the tools and techniques of a 35mm camera
Materials
35mm cameras, traditional or digital (can be shared in pairs)
Sample exposed roll of film
Sample contact sheet
Sample black-and-white prints
Preparation
Create and make copies of a camera-handling handout from the camera
instruction book or a photography manual
Test equipment and use your test film, contact sheet, and prints as samples
Duration
2 hours
Activities [2 hrs.]
Demonstrate how to use the 35mm camera (Note: Be sure to hold the camera
so everyone can see it.)
Explain what a camera is and how it works
Illustrate on the board or with a handout how light travels through the lens
Show the sample film, contact sheet, and prints as you describe the process of
making the final print
Pass out the cameras and a handout explaining basic camera parts
Show how to hold the camera, use the strap, and be careful not to knock the
lens
Go through the handout to show the parts of the camera and how they work
together
Focus Lesson Plans

Review the steps to create an image, letting students take “blank” pictures
1 Choose your point of view
2 Check the exposure: depth of field and shutter speed
3 Focus
4 Frame the image
6 Advance the film
Discuss complicated technical elements such as shutter speed and aperture
Let students play with the controls
Show sample images that demonstrate the use of fast and slow shutter speed
and shallow and deep depth of field
Review the controls again
Wrap-up
Address any questions
Try to demystify the camera and make students comfortable with using it as a
tool
Alternatives
If possible, bring in and demonstrate other types of cameras – from large
format to digital to pinhole
Show that the camera is simply a box (See Focus Link 33 for pinhole
photography.)
Turn the classroom into a camera by covering windows with dark paper and
allowing a small hole in one paper to project light onto an opposite wall
Show an early drawing made from a camera obscura (See Appendix 2: A Brief
History of Photography.)
Show slides of images made from a range of cameras to illustrate the
differences
(Note: Technical photography handbooks usually describe examples of different types

of cameras. See the bibliography.)
Follow-up/Homework
Pass out empty slide mounts
Ask students to practice looking through the slide mount to develop a sense of
framing
Part IV: Resources

Focus Lesson Plans
Focus Link 3
Lesson Plan: Photographic Field Trip
Goal
To practice camera handling and photographic techniques, preferably in an outdoor

setting
Materials
35mm film (1 roll per camera)
Preparation
Select a site that connects to the project theme and is accessible in the time
allotted
Obtain any necessary permissions
Duration
2 hours
Activities [2 hrs.]
Review ground rules of field trip
Discuss assignment:
1 Focus on (topic should connect to class theme)
2 Practice techniques, such as shutter speed, stop motion, and blur
Review how to use the camera and get the right exposure
Hand out cameras
Load film (Note: If short on time, pre-load the cameras.)
Proceed to site
Repeat assignment guidelines
Let students create images—allow them to explore freely while assisting with
questions and helping them focus on their assignment
Focus Lesson Plans

Wrap-up
Return to school
Rewind film
Collect film and label for processing
Follow-up/Homework
Bring in images from newspapers and magazines that catch your attention and
connect to the project theme
Part IV: Resources

Focus Lesson Plans
Focus Link 4
Lesson Plan: Discussing Images/Developing a Project
Theme
Goal
To develop an understanding of how pictures communicate and clarify the project

theme
Materials
Journals
Tape
Pens
Preparation
Assign prior homework asking students to bring in images from newspapers or
magazine that connect to the project theme
Select slides of historical and contemporary artwork that connects to the
project theme and audience interest
Process film from the last shoot and make 4” x 6” prints
Select student work as examples and paste 4” x 6” prints onto poster board
(or another surface that is easy for students to see) to show successes and
bloopers
Duration
2 hours
Activities
Critiquing images: [45 min.]

Discuss the selection of successes and bloopers
Review examples of different techniques and what makes a success or a
blooper or a happy accident
Pass out the rest of their prints
Have students select their two best successes, paste them in their journal, and
write reflections (Focus Link 34)
Focus Lesson Plans

Assignment:
What does this image show?
What qualities do you like the best? Consider framing, lighting, composition,
and content.
What did you have trouble with? What would you do differently next time?
Describe the experience of creating this image. What did you feel? What was
enjoyable or challenging?
Brainstorming the class project: [30 min.]

Review the images that students selected from magazines
Have students create collages in their journal and write about how the images
connect to the class project
Discuss the collages and images
Put key words from the discussion on the board to clarify the project theme
Developing aesthetics: [30 min.]
Present slides showing relevant historical and contemporary work, techniques to work
on, and options for the class project
Wrap-up [15 min.]
Prepare for the next shoot
Follow-up/Homework
Suggest reading related to class project (could be journalism, Internet research, poetry,
fiction, historical report)
Part IV: Resources

10 Focus Lesson Plans
Focus Link 5
Lesson Plan: Creating Images/Point-of-View Activity
Goal
To teach the concept of point of view, encouraging students to move around the
subject matter and create images that express their perspective
Materials
35mm film (1 roll per camera)
Preparation
Select a site that connects to the project theme and is accessible in the time
allotted
Get any necessary permissions
Duration
2 hours
Activities: [2 hrs.]
Review ground rules of field trip
Discuss assignment:
1 Focus on (topic should connect to class theme)
2 Practice framing and point of view
3 Take five images of each chosen subject from different points of view:
– From above, a bird’s-eye view
– From below, a worm’s-eye view
– From one side
– From the other side
– Repeat your favorite at a slightly different angle
Review how to use the camera and get the right exposure
Hand out cameras
Load film (Note: If short on time, preload the cameras.)
Focus Lesson Plans 11

Proceed to site
Repeat directions for the assignment
Let students create images—assist with questions and remind them of their
assignment
Wrap-up
Return to school
Rewind film
Label for processing
Follow-up/Homework
Find a photograph that you like
Write in your journal from the point of view of the photographer (Focus Link 16)
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 6
Lesson Plan: Editing Images/Reflection Activity
Goal
To use discussion and writing to expand students’ knowledge of photography and to

focus on the project theme
Materials
Loupes
Grease pencils or sharpies
Journals
Handouts for the writing activity
Preparation
Select slides of historical and contemporary artwork that connects to the
project theme and audience interest
Process film and make contact sheets
Duration
2 hours
Activities
Editing: [1 hr.]
Show slides and discuss images in terms of editing criteria: design (formal and
technical qualities) and content (subject and meaning) (See Focus Link 43)
Ask questions about the subject, the techniques, and the formal qualities
Pass out contact sheets and loupes
Write editing criteria on the board: design and content
Have each student review a contact sheet and select at least three images that
show good design and content. Outline these selections with the grease pencil.

Writing exercise: [1 hr.]
Project a slide
Pass out the story-writing activity (Focus Link 16)
Have students write a creative story from the perspective of someone in the
picture
Wrap-up
Prepare for the next class
Follow-up/Homework
Create a diary for the character in the creative writing exercise (Note: Use other
illustrative materials like clippings, tickets, drawings, etc.)
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 7
Lesson Plan: Integrating the Gallery Visit
Goal
To broaden students’ awareness of the aesthetics of photography by showing original

artwork in a gallery or museum
Materials
Handouts to use in the gallery
Cameras and film to document the trip
Preparation
Select exhibitions in a museum or galleries that connect to the project theme
and audience interest
Make a reservation with the museum or gallery, notifying it of the number of
students, class project, and goals for your visit
Arrange for a guide if possible
Arrange for transportation and permissions
Review confirmation materials (Note: If there are any program changes, be sure
to let the museum know ahead of time.)
Integrating the gallery visit in lessons before the trip:

Prepare students beforehand by previewing the material provided by the
museum and by doing pre-visit activities (For example, show slides by the artist
on view or other artists’ work relating to the context of the exhibition.)
Practice discussing photographs to build visual literacy skills
Read material relating to the context of the show
Ask students what they expect to see
Assign research topics relating to the artwork on view
Duration
2 hours

Activities [2 hrs.]
Tour the galleries [1 1/2hrs.]

Work with the tour guides to create an educational experience that connects to
the class project and audience interest. Speak with the guides beforehand. Ask
questions during the tour, if necessary, to shape the experience.
At the end of the tour, reinforce the ideas you’d like students to come away with
If going on a self-guided visit, preview the exhibition yourself and select images
to discuss. Frame your visit with a theme or question. When guiding students
through the galleries, use Focus Discussion Questions or give them an
assignment of three things to look for and have them write in their journal.
Document the trip [30 min.]

Ask students to photograph what they see in the new setting/neighborhood
that connects to the project theme
Document the experience of taking a field trip as if the pictures were to appear
in a school newspaper
Include pictures showing the experiences of traveling and viewing the
exhibition, classmates’ expressions, or teachers in a new context
Follow-up/Homework
Write a review of the exhibition (Focus Link 21)
Integrating the gallery visit in sessions after the trip:

Do a hands-on activity relating to a technique used by the artist—such as
lighting, Polaroid, or printing techniques
Discuss the exhibition reviews
Have students pose a question that they have about the exhibition or an issue it
raised
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 8
Lesson Plan: Lighting Techniques
Goal
To further students’ understanding of and ability to use lighting techniques—the

essential element in photography
Materials:
Hot lights (not strobes)
Light stands
Reflector
Extension cord
Film
Cameras
Teaching camera with Polaroid back and film, if possible
Sample images
Preparation
Test equipment
Prepare sample images to illustrate lighting effects (Note: Have an extra light
bulb on hand.)
Duration
2 hours
Activities
Pin up samples of different lighting techniques that the class will cover
Have students discuss which direction the light is coming from and describe
the different effects and moods created by lighting
Set up hot lights in a spacious area in the classroom. Move chairs and desks, if
necessary.
Ask for a student volunteer to model. Move the lights to different locations and
heights to demonstrate lighting effects. Add on slowly. Have another student
volunteer to practice lighting the subject. Create a Polaroid of that scene.
Show the result. Repeat until you’ve covered different techniques with different
volunteers.

Review and use volunteers to demonstrate different roles: photographer,
model, stylist, props, lighting technician, and photo assistant (who can hold the
reflector and handle other tasks)
Have students calculate the exposure with their cameras
Divide the class into teams of six so that students can work together
Have them create different lighting scenarios for individual and group portraits
Assign roles: photographer, model, stylist, props, lighting technician, and photo
assistant
Those not in the picture or photography team can document the shoot or
review handouts. Or, if you have a teaching assistant and equipment, you can
run two lighting set-ups.
Wrap-up
Address questions and review techniques
Prepare for next shoot
Alternatives
Bring in a guest artist to assist you with techniques that are not in your training
Follow-up/Homework
Review magazines for samples of different types of lighting effects studied in class
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 9
Lesson Plan: Integrating the Guest Artist Visit
Goal
To build an understanding of aesthetics and to expose students to the work of other

professional artists who serve as good role models
Materials
Slide projector (Note: Bring an extra light bulb)
Preparation
Select an artist whose work connects to the project theme
Call and plan ahead of time with the guest artist. Describe the class project, the
students’ interests and skills, and the goal for the artist’s visit. Ask the artist what he or
she would like to do. Offer suggestions and guidance.
If appropriate, prepare student work for the artist to review or prepare materials needed
for a hands-on activity
Confirm the meeting place and time. Provide an accessible phone number for any last
minute changes.
Integrating the guest artist visit before the class:

Review the guest artist’s work and career
Ask students to prepare questions for the guest artist
Show work by the artist or other artists working in a similar manner to set the
context
Duration
2 hours
Activities [2 hrs.]
Introduce the guest artist who will present his or her work and career
Encourage students to ask questions or conduct an interview
If possible, arrange for the artist to review a selection of the students’ work

Make sure that the artist responds with both positive and constructive critique
Be vigilant about the vocabulary used and define any unfamiliar terms
Conduct any activity planned with the artist
(Note: Arranging two or more sessions with an artist facilitates in-depth, activity-based
interaction.)
Wrap-up
Sum up what you’d like students to come away with from the visit
Allow time for students to approach the artist individually
Integrating the guest artist visit after the class
Conduct an activity that connects to the artist’s techniques or approach
Follow-up/Homework
Research the work of a photographer
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 10
Lesson Plan: Assembling the Final Project
Goals
To draw together the ideas, techniques, and aesthetics covered in the course
To assemble a final project that celebrates and shares the students’ accomplishments
with the public
Materials
Pins to post images in the room or broad tables to organize and view images
Food and refreshments for the class party during the group critique
Preparation
Make sure students have collected their images into a journal or portfolio
Duration
2 hours
Activities [2 hrs.]
Describe the final project. Show a sample—a publication or invitation or even
slides of an installation. Refer to what the class has covered and the purpose.
Acknowledge that students have done well and this is a chance to share their
images with others.
Review the criteria for editing the final product: design and content—relating to
the project theme
Have students review their journals and portfolios and pick out the best
work (Note: This review process can also take place outside of class time in
individual meetings.)
Have students arrange their best selections on a table or pin them up on the
wall
The students then critique each other’s images and assembles a group edit
of what should be in the final project. Remind them of the criteria for the
final project—some work is better for exhibition, some for publication, and
sometimes a group show is strengthened by making certain selections. Try to
ensure that each individual receives acknowledgement of his or her work.
Review each student’s selections and acknowledge his or her progress. Talk
about which images work best and why.

Wrap-up
Announce when the installation or production of the project will take place
If possible within your deadline, encourage students to sign up for jobs producing the
final project
Part IV: Resources

FOCUS ACTIVITIES
Focus Discussion Questions and Worksheets

The following discussion questions and worksheets are designed to advance visual
literacy skills. Discussions can take place during a classroom slide presentation or
gallery visit. Worksheets and activities can reinforce elements discussed.

Focus Link 11
Building Visual Literacy: Discussion Questions
To start a discussion on a photograph, begin with the basic, introductory questions

from Level 1A. Then choose questions from other levels depending on how your
students respond. In addition, you may find some questions better suited to the content
or salient features of a particular image.
Remember that any dialogue flows in unpredictable ways, and students may have
a variety of responses on many levels. You may end up repeating each series of
questions until the audience is ready to move on. These questions offer guidance to
elicit a discussion and build interpretative skills; they are only a sampling of the many
ways that educators can discuss visual art.
(See Part I, Chapter 3 for ways to work with various levels of visual literacy and Part I,
Chapter 2 for a description of the elements of photography.)
Goal: Advance visual literacy skills based on the students’ responses and level
(Note: Always begin your discussion with the sequence in Level 1A, then add on as
appropriate.)
Level 1A: Building observation skills

Can you describe it more?
What information in the picture makes you say that?
Level 1B: Building vocabulary

Can you guess where the photographer was standing when he or she took the
picture? Above the subject, looking down? Or below the subject, looking up?
This is called point of view.
What is included in the picture frame? What is not included? This is called
framing.
Describe the composition. What shapes do you see? What other patterns do
you notice?
Part IV: Resources

Level 2A: Building technical knowledge
What is the point of view?
How is the picture framed?
Describe the quality of the lighting. What direction is it coming from? Does it
create a pattern of light and shadow?
Level 2B: Building an understanding of the choices photographers make

Why did the photographer choose to use that technique?
Why did the photographer choose to compose the picture this way?
Why did the photographer choose to frame the picture this way?
What does the composition emphasize?
What does the lighting draw your attention to?
Level 3A: Understanding the context and intended use of the picture
What was the photographer’s purpose or the intended use for this image (e.g.,
magazine assignment, photo essay, fine art exhibition)?
Can you tell what genre of photography this is?
What do you know about the time period in which this photograph was made?
What does the photograph communicate about this time period?
Can you make comparisons to other photographers or artists working in this
time period?
Level 3B: Relating context to subject and meaning

What choices did the photographer make? Can you guess why?
What is the photographer drawing your attention to? How is this accomplished?
What do you notice about the subject? Or the people in the picture?
Do you have any questions about the subject? Or the style of the picture?
What is the photograph saying? Does anyone have a different interpretation?

Level 4A: Finding meaning
Does this element contribute to the photograph’s meaning, or is it distracting?
What was the photographer’s purpose in creating this image? What was the
intended use of the image? How well does it work in this context?
Level 4B: Relating meaning to creative choices and larger issues

What is the impact of this image?
What are some issues it raises?
How might you approach this topic matter?
Level 5: Discussing what the image communicates

Which technical or formal elements work well in this photograph?
What do these elements draw your attention to?
What is the impact of this photograph?
How does the picture make you feel?
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 12
Looking at Photographs: What Do You See in the Picture
Frame?
Goal
To use drawing to introduce the basic elements of framing and composition
Worksheet
Study the photograph. Look at the lines and shapes in the image.
First, draw a box, or frame.
Second, in the box, draw the outlines of forms that you see in the photograph.
Third, outside the box, draw what you imagine is outside of the frame.

Focus Link 13
Looking at Photographs: Learning Photographic Terms
Goal
To develop an understanding of the photographic terms while looking at and analyzing

a picture
Worksheet
Subject (Who/What is in the picture?)
Setting (Where was the picture taken?)
Background (What is behind the subject?)
Foreground (What is in front of the subject?)
Focus (Is any part of the picture clear or blurry?)
Vantage Point/point of View (Where was the photographer when he or she took the
picture? Below the subject? Above the subject? Very close? Far away?)
Composition (Describe the lines, shapes, patterns, and colors in the image.)
Lighting (Quality: Is the lighting soft and diffused or hard and contrasty? Direction:
Where is the light coming from in the picture?)
Mood (How does the picture make you feel?)
Meaning (What does this picture say to you?)
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 14
The Choices That Photographers Make
Goal
To learn that photographers make choices to create their image and communicate a
message
Worksheet
Composition: Describe the shapes, lines, and patterns in the picture.
Focus: What information is clear in the picture? What is blurry?
Framing: What is included in the frame and what isn’t? Is anything cropped?
Background: What information is in back of the subject?
Foreground: What information is in front of the subject?
Subject: What do you know about the subject based on the information that you see in
the picture?
People: Clothing: What are they wearing? What does their clothing tell about their
interests, identity, or social group?
Pose: Are they standing or sitting? What kind of body language and attitude do they
have?
Expression: Describe their expression. What might they be feeling or thinking?
Action: What are they doing? Can you guess why?

Lighting: Is the lighting bright or dark? Are there any shadows? Is the lighting coming
from above, below, or the side? What does the lighting draw your attention to?
Techniques: What photographic techniques were used? What effects do they have?
(Color or black-and-white film? A 35mm or large-format camera?)
Point-of-view: From where did the photographer take the shot? (From above, below,
the side, or an angle?) This is also called the vantage point. How does the vantage
point affect the way you read the picture?
Meaning: Why did the photographer make these choices? What was the photographer
trying to say?
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 15
What Is the Photograph Saying?
Goal
To examine the photograph for information and then interpret its meaning
Worksheet
What is the subject of this picture?
What information do you see in the picture that makes you say that?
What do you see behind the subject? (This is called the background.)
What do you see in front of the subject? (This is called the foreground.)
What information is clear in the picture? What is blurry? (This is called focus.)
Why do think some information is in focus and some isn’t? What does the focus draw
your attention to?
Where was this picture taken? (This is called the setting.)
Describe some of the details that you see in the setting. What does the setting tell you
about the subject?
How is the subject lit? Is it natural or artificial lighting? How would you describe the
quality of light: sharp, dark, bright, or soft?
Describe the mood created by the lighting.

Which direction is the light coming from?
Does the lighting draw your attention to anything in the picture?
What is included in the picture frame? What is excluded?
Where was the photographer standing when he or she took this picture? (This is called
the point of view or the vantage point.)
Circle one:
Above the person Below the person
To the right side To the left side
How does the vantage point affect the way you look at the picture?
If there are people in the photograph, answer these questions:
How would you describe their expressions?
What are they wearing?
What are they doing?
What might they be feeling or thinking? What in the photograph suggests that?
Everything in the picture—the details, composition, technical choices like focus, subject
and setting, lighting, point of view, and the way the photographer sees the subject—all
work together to communicate a message to the viewer.
What is this photograph saying to you?
Part IV: Resources

FOCUS WRITING ACTIVITIES
Focus Link 16
Point-of-View Writing Exercise
Goal
Foster the understanding that artists (including students) can communicate
their viewpoint through photography
Develop empathy, an ability to understand others by putting yourself in their
position
Develop writing skills
Worksheet
1 Write a story from the point of view of someone in the picture.

To get started, list and describe some of the details you see in the picture.
Think about where the person is and how he or she might feel. (For example,
if she is outdoors, is the sun hot on her back? Look at her expression. What is
she feeling?)
What is the person doing?
What might happen next?
Now try to make your story as vivid as the photograph by using lots of specific
details.

2 Write a story from the point of view of the photographer.
Imagine what the photographer was thinking when he or she took the picture.
Why did he or she want to take this picture?
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 17
Story-Writing Worksheet
Goal
To use a picture as the basis for a story by first finding visual information, then
imagining the “before” and “after”
Preparation
Select a picture (in a gallery, from the Internet, a projected slide in a classroom)
Worksheet
List five things you see in the picture:
Describe the setting:
Action: What is happening in the picture?

What do you think happened before the picture was taken?
What do you think will happen next?
Character: Describe the people in the picture: their expression, clothing, and mood.
What are the people doing? Why?
Theme: This picture tells a story about
You have everything you need to write your story: setting, action, character, and theme.
Now, write a creative story based on this picture. Include lots of details.
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 18
Poetry-Writing Worksheet
Goal
To use the photograph as a source for concrete details to write vivid poems
Preparation
Provide photographic source material in the form of slides, books, magazines, Internet,
postcards, or gallery exhibition visits
Worksheet
List 10 details that you see in the photograph.
1
10
Circle one adjective and one noun that best describe the color of the
photograph.
Adjectives: gray blue red gold black-and-white
Nouns: smoke rain mud sunshine feathers

Create your own descriptive nouns and adjectives:

If you could touch something in the photograph, what would it feel like?
Describe the object and the texture.
Think of two adjectives to describe the mood created by the photograph.
Describe your impressions of this photograph. What does the photograph

make you think of? Dream of?
Write a poem based on what you see in this picture.
Use 10 words from any of your above answers somewhere in the poem.
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 19
Word Picture
Goal
To build descriptive writing skills
Preparation
Project slides in the classroom or use a good quality photocopy from a book
Worksheet
1 Where was the picture taken? Describe the details that you see in the setting.
2 When was the picture taken? Is there any information in the picture that
indicates time of day? If not, can you guess based on the lighting?
3 Describe what the people in the picture look like. Describe their expression.
4 What are the people in the picture doing?
5 What do you see in the center of the image? On the left? The right? In the
corners?
6 What is the most striking feature of this image? Describe it.
Now that you have taken notes on what you see in the image, write a paragraph
describing the image. Your writing should be specific and clear so that your words
create a picture in the reader’s mind.

Focus Link 20
Writing Captions
Goal
To build language skills and to discover the theme of a photograph by writing a new
caption for the picture
Preparation
Provide photographic source material that students can study close up
Worksheet
Pretend you are a curator and need to write a caption that tells the viewers the essential
information about the picture.
Write a new caption for the picture.
Start by writing what you see in the image.

I see…
Expand to what you think the photograph is saying (the theme).

This photography is saying that …
Revise your writing to create one sentence that tells the theme of the picture.
Now revise that sentence to make sure your caption is concise and uses clear
and specific language.
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 21
Writing a Review of an Exhibition
Goal
To evaluate a collection of photographs and to write a review of an exhibition
Worksheet
A good review offers readers a sense of the exhibition and what they will get out of
viewing the exhibition.
What did you see in the gallery?

Describe the artwork specifically. Include artists’ names, techniques used, and
intention, if documented.
Which were the strongest and weakest images? Why? What was the highlight
for you?
What was the experience of the exhibition like?

Evaluate the curatorial work. How did you like the installation—the sequence of
pictures, wall text, graphics, and the atmosphere? Did the installation contribute
to the overall effect or detract?
Was the exhibition good?

Evaluate what you saw. How well did the exhibition expand your understanding
of the subject?
Was the exhibition worth seeing?

Why should viewers come to the exhibition? What will they get out of it? How
does it connect to other exhibitions or issues in art?

Note: Read reviews of exhibitions. Notice how writers develop a lead—something to
catch the reader’s attention. Sometimes this is a description of an artwork on view,
a question or issue presented by the exhibition, or an analysis of how the exhibition
compares to a particular body of work or addresses an issue in art. Review your
answers to the above questions and discover a good lead. Make sure the review is
clearly written and based on accurate information. Try to answer the question: Why
should viewers visit the exhibition?
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 22
Writing an Artist’s Statement
Goal
To use writing to help students clarify what their projects are, why they are interested in
them, and how they accomplish them
Worksheet
An artist’s statement describes the artist’s intentions, working method, and ideas. It
helps readers and viewers understand what the artist thinks and feels about his or her
artwork and the reasons for creating it.
Name:
Describe your photography project. What kinds of images are they?
What are you trying to show and say in your images?
Why do you like photography?
What influenced you to create these images? Are there any other photographers,
artwork, or topics that you thought about when you were creating these images?

FOCUS HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES
Focus Link 23
Polaroid Activities
Goal
To use the immediacy of Polaroid materials to teach basic elements of image making:
point of view, framing, lighting, and composition
Materials
Polaroid 600 Plus or Spectra cameras (shared in pairs)
Polaroid, color, or black-and-white film (5 shots per student)
Sharpies
Procedure
Show examples of techniques such as lighting, point of view, composition, and
framing.
Demonstrate the steps to use a Polaroid camera (You can pre-load the film.)
3 Let the picture develop
Give them their assignment: Take five pictures
Possible projects:
Point of view—bird’s- and worm’s-eye, tilted frame, eye-level, surprise
Lighting—from the side, top, bottom, Rembrandt, silhouette
Make a treasure hunt
Photograph clues to a mystery
Things that begin with the letter
Pass it on—take a picture in response to the picture taken by person next to
you (the response can be visual, formal, technical, thematic; keep it immediate),
then pass the camera on
Part IV: Resources

Draw on the Polaroid—with chopsticks, toothpicks, or a pen cap. Manipulate
the surface and create designs as the image develops.
Story sequence and bookmaking
Portraits and writing: How do you see yourself/this person?
Documentary pictures and journalistic writing
Pictures and creative writing—poetry and short stories

Focus Link 24
Photographic Assignment List
Techniques
Stop motion
Blur
Panning
Focus
Shallow and deep depth of field
Point of view (bird’s-eye and worm’s-eye, etc.)
Light and shadow
Frames—to frame a picture and to find natural frames in windows, doors, angles
Shapes and tones
Details
Silhouettes
Topics
Home A peaceful place

Another neighborhood Risk/danger
People you know; people you don’t Dreams
know
The five senses
Fashion, trends
Natural elements: earth, wind, fire, water
Traces of history
Nature/animals
Something that needs to change
Other art forms
Something that is beautiful
Pleasure
An issue
Humor
A question
Fear
An idea
A secret
A wish
Love
A mystery
A surprise!
A moment in time
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 25
Birds and Worms Treasure Hunt
Goal
To build an understanding of point of view and to encourage students to look at a

familiar setting in new ways—with the eyes of photographers
Worksheet
Point of View: A bird’s-eye viewpoint is from above looking down, and a worm’s-eye
viewpoint is from below, looking up.
What other points of view can you find and photograph?
FIND: PHOTOGRAPH:
A Statue From a Worm’s-Eye View
A Reflection From a Bird’s-Eye View
A Circle, Triangle, Square From a Worm’s-Eye View

or Rectangle
A Tree Branch From a Worm’s-Eye View
A Shadow From a Bird’s-Eye View
A Flower From a Worm’s-Eye View
An Insect From a Bird’s-Eye View
A Person From Close up
An Animal From Far Away
Surprise Me! From Your Unique Point of View

Focus Link 26
Polapan Slide Presentation
Goal
To give students a sense of process using Polapan film and a processor that
creates black-and-white or color slides
Materials
Polapan processor (Note: It’s good to have two so the class can work in groups.)
Polapan 35mm film
Slide mounts
Scissors
Light table, if available (Note: You can purchase a small one that fits on a desk.)
Procedure
Create images using Polapan film
Process film using the Polapan processor (Note: Its directions are easy to follow
—put the film and processing pack in the processor, close the lid, turn the
switch to the number of exposures, and process. It takes just a few minutes.)
Remove the film and cut into individual images
If you can, view on a light table to edit the images
Mount the images by snapping them into the slide mount
Project your slide show
Tips
Polapan black-and-white film has a gorgeous tonal range—use this project to
study patterns of light and shadow
Select music appropriate to the class project for the slide show
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 27
Polaroid Transfers
Goal
To create images with a painterly effect using Polaroid transfers—applying wet

photographic emulsion to paper
Materials
Watercolor paper
Rollers
Polaroid large-format film—either exposed in a darkroom or use a Polaroid processor

to create a transfer from color slides onto Polaroid large-format film
Procedure
Dampen the sheet of paper
Create the Polaroid image, either using a large-format camera that has a
Polaroid back, or by using the Polaroid processor to generate the Polaroid
image from an existing slide
Peel apart the layers of the Polaroid film sheet
Immediately set the image emulsion-side down on the paper
Using the roller, apply the image to the paper
Let dry
Tips
Demonstrate first
Organize separate work areas for a large class
It’s good to have two Polaroid processors so the class can be divided into
groups
Let all images dry down. Sometimes accidents look even more painterly.
Resources
Crawford, William. Keepers of Light. New York: Morgan & Morgan, 1979.
Arnow, Jan. Handbook of Alternative Photographic Processes. New York: Van
Nostrand Reinholt Co., 1982.

Focus Link 28
Hand Coloring Prints
This activity harkens back to the days when hand coloring was the only way to colorize
an image.
Goal
To teach principles of color and the color palette by adding color to a black-and-white
print
Materials
Black-and-white prints
Marshall’s oils or non-toxic paints for experimentation
Hand coloring pencils
Procedure
Create a work area
Apply pencils, oils, or paints to the images, following the product’s instructions
Tips
Matte finish photographic paper works best for pencils
Use photocopies if prints are unavailable
Mount the resulting work on mat board and have students continue to draw on
that surface, pulling out more elements of the design and color

Resources
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 29
Sun Prints
By arranging objects on light-sensitive sun print paper and using the sun as your light
source, you can create an image with luminous white shapes, ribbons, and streaks
against a cobalt background. The forms result because the light does not expose those
areas of the paper where the objects have been placed. This outdoor activity recalls the
invention of photography with the sun print process, which Joseph Nicephore Niepce
invented in 1826, and the paper negative or calotype process, which Henry Fox Talbot
invented in the 1839. (See Appendix 2: A Brief History of Photography.)
Goal
To teach the basic principle of photography, the interaction between light and light-
sensitive paper
Materials
Sun print paper (also called print-out paper)
Two water trays
Objects (necklaces, toys, figurines, leaves, flowers)
Acetate
Large-format negatives if you have them
Procedure
Place objects to be printed on the photosensitive paper
Expose the paper with objects on it to direct sunlight or an ultraviolet sunlamp
Watch the paper change to a dark color in 3 to 6 minutes
Remove the objects and place the paper in the water bath for 5 minutes
Drain excess water from the prints and place on absorbent paper towels to dry
Now that you have a paper negative, you can show the positive process.
Place the print onto another piece of photo-sensitive paper and put a piece of
glass over it
Continue the process following the procedure above

Tips
Handle the paper carefully and only at the edges during the wet process. The
surface is fragile.
If the prints curl while drying, place heavy books on top to flatten them; or iron
them, after placing a damp cloth between the print (emulsion-side down) and
the iron.
Follow-up Activities
Hand color the prints using colored pencils, watercolor paints, and markers.
Add stickers.
Create collages with the sun prints. The sun prints can be cut up and glued
together to create new images. Recreate the positive and negative shapes in
colored paper and collage them together with the cut-up sun prints.
Make pencil rubbings of the objects used to make the sun prints. Look at the
difference between the texture of the rubbings and the forms of the sun prints.
Make decorative frames out of cardboard. Decorate them with some of the
objects used in the prints.
Make prints of varying sizes—even body prints—by purchasing rolls of paper
or oversized paper and cutting it to the desired sizes in a dark room
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 30
Photograms
Photograms are images created by placing objects on photographic paper and
exposing the paper to light. Opaque objects create white silhouettes against a black
background. The forms of translucent objects appear in shades of gray.
Goal
To create prints without negatives in the darkroom and to illustrate what happens to film
when it is exposed and processed into negatives
Materials
Enlarging paper (Polycontrast RC)
Light source (enlarger, if possible)
Darkroom with safelight
Chemicals: 1 tray developer, 1 tray stop, 1 tray fixer, 1 tray water
Objects for subject matter
Procedure
Explain to your students that they will be using the five ingredients necessary
for taking a photograph: (1) camera (in this case, the darkroom), (2) light (the
enlarger), (3) film/photographic paper, (4) subject (objects of choice), and (5)
photographer (the students themselves)
Preset the enlarger’s timer to 5 seconds and the lens aperture to 8 (Note: You
can also use any other kind of light source and timer.)
Demonstrate the procedure
Position paper under area of light source
Place objects on paper
Expose the paper to light
Process paper in the developer, stop, and fixer
Wash for 10 minutes
Dry, either hanging on a clothesline or face-up on a metal screen

Variations
Experiment with exposure times and different objects
Move the light source to different angles so that it casts shadows
Create multiple exposures by using several short exposure times on one piece
of paper, moving the objects around each time
Draw on acetate and use it as a negative over the paper
Color the dried Photogram with colored pencils or Marshall’s photo oils
Expose an entire sheet of paper to light; draw an image with a brush dipped in
developer; process through the fixer and wash
Tone Reversal: Put finished (dry) Photogram face down in contact with a piece
of photographic paper and expose for 30 seconds. Process.
Solarize the image by turning on the darkroom light briefly, reversing the tones
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 31
Writing With Light on Film or Paper
This activity calls upon the literal definition of photography, “writing with light.”
Goal
To illustrate the physics of light and to experiment with creating images without a
camera
Materials
Flashlight or pen light
Room that you can darken completely (darkroom, closet, bathroom)
Photographic paper (resin coated), 8” x 10” or 11” x 14”
Three trays
Paper developer (Dektol)
Stop bath
Fixer
Tongs
Clothesline and clothespins
Optional:
Camera
Film
Tripod
Instructions (without camera):

On the wall, mark off an area the size of the paper to be your “frame”
Turn out the lights, remove the photographic paper from the box, and put a
piece of tape on the back of the paper
Tape it securely to the “frame” on the wall
Draw with light on the paper. Experiment! You can create dots by turning the
light source on and off quickly. Or, create streams and streaks by swinging the
light source in the air.
Place exposed paper in a light-tight box

Set up trays with developer, stop, fix, and water
– Develop for 1 minute
– Stop for 30 seconds
– Fix for 3 minutes
– Wash for 10 minutes
Hang prints by their edges to dry
Instructions (for camera):

Load the film into the camera and set the camera on a tripod
Looking through the viewfinder, determine the area on the wall that will be the
”frame”
Set camera on “B”
Turn out the lights, then press the shutter release
Draw with the flashlight or penlight on the marked-off area, the “frame”
Process film
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 32
Liquid Light and Other Alternative Processes
Goal
To create images on any flat surface, experimenting just like the inventors of
photography
Materials
Liquid light or cyanotype mixture (store-bought light-sensitive mixture that can be

applied to any flat surface to create an image)
Watercolor or absorbent paper
Objects with flat surfaces (leaf, fabric, Plexiglas, metal can)
Procedure
In a dark room, apply liquid light to the object’s surface
Let dry
Use an enlarger to project the image onto the surface
Process in trays and let dry
Tips
Experiment with exposure times on the treated materials that make good tests, saving
your best materials for last
Resources
Coe, Brian and Haworth-Booth, Mark. A Guide to Early Photographic
Processes. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1983.

Focus Link 33
Pinhole Photography
This activity calls upon the literal definition of camera, “a dark box.”
Goal
To create your own camera and learn about the physics of light
Materials
Any box: empty oatmeal boxes, photographic paper boxes, shoe boxes, etc.
Aluminum foil
Sharp pin
Black gaffer tape
Black spray paint (to make the inside of the box black)
Room that you can darken completely (darkroom, closet, bathroom)
Photographic paper (resin coated), 5” x 7”, 8” x 10”
Four trays: paper developer (Dektol), stop bath, fixer, water
Tongs
Clothesline and clothespins, or a blotter book
Procedure for making the camera

1 First paint the inside of the box black (Black absorbs light rays.)
2 Cut a small, square hole into one side of the box, where you would like the
“lens” to be. Consider that your paper will be opposite this lens. Keep this piece
of cardboard to make your lens cover.
3 Securely tape the foil over the hole on the inside of the box
4 Prick the foil with a very small hole. Consider that the size of the hole affects
the amount of light coming in, and therefore your focus, image quality, and
exposure time.
5 Take the square piece of cardboard from step 2. Tape it over the foil on the
outside of the box with black tape. This creates a flap, approximating a shutter.
Part IV: Resources

Procedure for creating the images
Working in a dark room (or a changing box), place photographic paper in the
back of the pinhole camera (opposite the lens). Close the box.
Secure tape around the edges of the camera box and keep the flap down as
you take the camera into light
Go to your location and set up the camera
Expose the paper by lifting up the flap. Record your exposure time. (It takes a
lot of testing to determine the right exposure.)
Set up trays with developer, stop, fix, and water
– Develop the paper for 1 minute
– Stop for 30 seconds
– Fix for 3 minutes
– Wash for 10 minutes
Hang prints up by their edges to dry, or place them in the blotter book

FOCUS REFLECTION ACTIVITIES
These activities encourage reflection on the images that students have created or
found. This process helps students understand photographic skills, techniques, and
aesthetics and how images communicate.
Focus Link 34
Critique Your Image
Goal
To pose questions that help students analyze the qualities of their own images in
discussion or writing activities
Activity
What does this image show?
Why do you like this image?
How did you create this image?
What qualities do you like the best? Consider framing, lighting, composition,
content, and so forth.
What did you have trouble with? What would you do differently next time?
Describe the experiences of creating this image. What did you feel? What was
enjoyable or challenging?
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 35
Storytelling
Goal
To discover how visual images tell stories and write a story of their own
Sample Activities
Creative stories:
What story does the visual image tell? Looking at an image, discuss the
character, setting, action, point of view, and theme.
Write stories in response to an image. Use specific details from the image in
your story. (Focus Link 17)
Alternatives (See Chapter 14.)
Image-and-text artwork:
How is the story enhanced and directed by a title or words written on the
image?
How does the image enhance or direct your reading of the text?
Combine images and text in various arrangements, some where the image
leads and others where the text leads
Picture stories:
Sequence a series of images
How does the story change if you put two or more images together in a
sequence?
What happens in the space between images?
Oral stories:
What is oral storytelling? The oldest form of storytelling, oral stories tell about a person,
place, or event using clear and vivid language. These stories are told aloud over and
over again until their form takes shape. Often, oral stories sound poetic because
storytellers pay attention to rhythm and rhyme. As in fiction, storytellers use descriptive
words to create images to lead the listener along and highlight important ideas to
remember. Also, as in drama, the stories are meant to be performed and to take shape
as they are practiced.
Use family photographs as inspiration for an oral story and interview
Show a family photograph to a family member and ask: What does the
photograph remind you of?
Ask for specifics about the situation, people, and time period

Begin to map out the oral story by making an outline of key points in the order
you would like to present them
Identify key images that you can describe to highlight your main points
Think about a first sentence that introduces your story (consider using the
image as a starting point)
With a tape recorder on, begin telling your story
Try to use simple, clear sentences
When you listen to your tape, try to identify any patterns of speech, rhythm, or
rhyme that naturally emerged. Bring out these elements when you practice it
again.
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 36
Speechwriting
Goal
To develop speechwriting skills and to speak about pictures to other students
Activity
Choose a picture that you like from a family photo album, magazine, history
book or your own photographic work
Write a speech about what the photograph means to you
Some hints on speechwriting:
Introduction: Try to grab the audience’s attention with a good opening—

an image, an interesting anecdote, the main idea
Body: Include lots of information about the photograph and the story behind it
Conclusion: Repeat your main point
Note: This could also be a class project. Divide the class into pairs and let them
interview each other about the meaning of the photograph. Each student could write a
speech about the other person’s photograph.

Focus Link 37
Art Projects
Goal
To respond to a photograph with art projects and to build an understanding of different

media
Sample projects
Take a photograph in response to the geometry, color, and subject matter of
another photograph (One student can create an image, and then pass the
camera on.)
Create an image and text journal with photographs and personal stories
Draw, paint, and write around or on a photograph or on acetate placed on top

of the photograph
Create a collage by cutting up different images (copies of originals). Tape or

glue them to a poster board. Add paint, text, and drawing.
Combine photography and writing—poetry, fiction, and journalism
Combine sound and video with image projections
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 38
Research Projects
Goal
To use photographs to learn about topics in the curriculum
Sample projects
Research topics and people who are featured in the exhibition
Research certain time periods and events, collect illustrative images, and create
a visual history or an illustrated timeline
Investigate the photographic history of topics studied in school. For example, if
you are studying science, you could research how photographers like Edward
Muybridge, Harold Edgarton, and Bernice Abbot applied photography to
study science. Or, if you are focusing on the achievements of women, you
could study women photographers who have influenced the medium since its
inception in 1839.
Create an exhibition caption, using the worksheet. (See Chapter 14 for more
information.)
Exhibition Caption Worksheet

Research a photograph and the artist by searching the Internet, visiting a
library, inquiring in the museum or gallery, or reading a photography book.
Create an exhibition caption including:
– the title
– date of creation
– photographer’s name
– photographer’s biographical information
– techniques used
– photographer’s intention, if known
– the cultural significance of the photograph
Make sure the information on the caption answers the question: Why is this
photograph on exhibition?

Focus Link 39
IMAGE BOX
Goal
To create a receptacle for images and ideas about how pictures communicate our
history, culture, self-perceptions, and perceptions of others
Materials
Cardboard boxes
Collection of images from various sources including magazines, newspapers, family

albums, and personal artwork
Activity
Create categories corresponding to themes or aspects of the curriculum
Decorate the outside of the cardboard boxes
Label boxes according to relevant categories
Contribute images to the boxes on an ongoing basis
Each box will serve as a valuable visual resource for many curricular topics ranging
from historical events to current issues. Students can use the image box to bring up
issues and questions they may have on various topics.
Sample Projects
Create illustrated timelines
Highlight topics covered in class
Use the images as a basis for building vocabulary, language development, and
writing skills
Use the image box as a starting point for art projects. Students reach in the
box and then create art in response to what they see in the photograph.
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 40
Visual Diary
Goal
To help to define the impact of visual images on students’ lives
Materials
Notebook, either purchased or handmade
Activity
Introduce the theme
– Every day, we see many images—through advertisements, television
shows, snapshots, and art. What do these images mean to us? Where do
we see them? What do we see in them?
Create a Visual Diary
– Make a list of where you see images in one day, from the time you get up to
when you go to bed
– Paste some of the images in the diary, or draw them
– In the diary, describe the images you saw and their effect on you
– Discuss the image and the impact using these questions as guidelines
The picture:
What do you see?
When and where was the picture taken?
What is going on in the picture?
What story does the picture tell?
The impact:
What does the picture make you think of?
How does it make you feel?
What does it make you want to have or do?
Does it remind you of anything?
Does it frighten you? Does it inspire you?
What other responses do you have?

Focus Link 41
Pictures and Interviews
Goal
To create images and text that together tell the story of the person who was interviewed
To develop interviewing, writing, and photography skills
Worksheet
PART I: As a reporter, you will need a pad, a pencil, and a tape recorder, if
possible.
Identify people in your family, neighborhood, school, or workplace who will
collaborate with you.
Ask them to choose a picture that changed their life, inspired, amused, or
frightened them.
Interview them. Using a tape recorder, ask them, “What does this picture mean
to you?” Keep asking them more specific questions. Listen carefully to the story
they tell.
PART II: As a curator of your exhibition, you will need a copy of their picture, a
frame for it, and a matching frame for the transcript of their interview.
Put the picture in a frame. (To copy it, consider re-photographing it, making a
photocopy, or scanning and printing it digitally.)
Transcribe the interview. Select the most telling part. Edit it to fit on one page.
Create your exhibition.
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 42
Create Your Own Exhibition
Goal
To create opportunities to present student work to the public
Activity
There are many options for the final presentation of work for exhibition. If you
can’t cut your own mats, buy pre-cut mats, or choose a frame that doesn’t
require a mat. (Tips: Use Nielsen frames, glass clip frames, or box frames.)
If you don’t have frames, you can also mount items on cardboard. If you use
cardboard, consider using the same color, but keep the color and the margins
above and below the picture consistent. Consider using thick foam core and
mounting the picture to the edge of the surface so there is no border. Cover
these images with plexiglass.
Create captions: Include the picture title, the student’s name, and if possible
their age. Print captions on heavy card stock or foam core. Using double-sided
tape or fun tack, mount them on the wall next to the framed picture.
Mount the pictures on a wall of your school, library, or community center.

Consider the average height of your audience; keep the middle of the picture at
the average eye level of the students in your class.
Tips: When you curate the show, look carefully at how one picture looks next
to another. Keep in mind how these relationships create meaning and how
the arrangement creates movement through the space; you are creating an
experience for the viewer! Try to group the pictures to address a particular
topic. Arrange the pictures such that the shapes and angles draw the viewer’s
attention into the space, not out of it.
Create wall text that explains the purpose of the project, lists the artists’ names,
and thank the people who helped to make the project happen. Arrange for
food and refreshments for the opening.

Focus Link 43
What Makes a “Good‘’ Photograph?
Photographers make choices from among the elements of photography in order

to get their message across. When creating and editing photographs, focus on
technique and effect. A “good” photograph is one that “works” well, communi-
cating a clear, interesting message.
Things to Think About When Making a Photograph
Subject
What are you trying to say about the subject in this photograph?
Technique
What techniques can you use to direct attention to the subject?
How do you want to compose the photograph?
Lighting: What direction is the light coming from?
Point of view: Where can you position yourself when taking the photograph?
Framing: How can you hold the camera? (Vertical, horizontal, parallel to horizon, or
tilted?)
Timing: When should you take the photograph?
Motion: Should anything be moving in the photograph? Should it look blurry or frozen
in space?
Focus: What should be seen clearly in the photograph?
Materials: What camera, film, and equipment do you need for this photograph?
Tips: Create more than one photograph. Approach the subject from different points
of view and vary how you hold the camera and frame photographs. Capture different
moments in time, especially when photographing people or motion.
Part IV: Resources

Things to Think About When Editing Photographs
Design
Technique: Describe the effects that the techniques have on the resulting photograph.
Composition: Where is your eye drawn? Study how the composition keeps your
eye busy with its angles, forms, shapes, and lines. Think about how the composition
creates balance and structure. Does the composition “work,” effectively contributing to
the meaning?
Framing: What is included in the frame and what is excluded? Is anything cropped
in the photograph? Does the cropping help draw attention to what the photograph is
saying? Or is it distracting?
Lighting: What effect does the lighting have? Does the lighting highlight important
information? Does it create a pattern of light and shadow that adds to what the
photograph is saying?
Focus: How does focus direct your attention? If there is blur, is it effective?
Content
Subject: What is the subject of the photograph?
Concrete Subject: What is the photograph of? This is what you see in the photograph.
Abstract Subject: What is the photograph about? This is how you interpret what you
see in the photograph.
Background: What shapes, tones, and details do you see in the background? How
does the background connect to the subject?
Foreground: Describe what you see in front of the subject. What effect does the
foreground have on how you see the subject?
People: From their expression, pose, and clothing, what information do you have about
who they are and what they are doing?
Mood/Feeling: How does this photograph make you feel? What elements (lighting,
colors, shapes, textures, the subject) make you feel that way?

Symbol/Metaphor: Can you see any symbols in this photograph? Would they be
familiar to other cultures? Is there anything in the photograph that could be read as a
metaphor?
Style & Genre: What is the intended purpose for the photograph (e.g., magazine, fine
art exhibition)? Can you place the photograph in a genre: portraiture, still life, fashion,
documentary, photojournalism, conceptual, narrative, etc.?
Meaning: What is the photograph saying?

Describe how the elements of photography—composition, photographic
attributes, technique, style & genre—communicate this meaning.
What questions or ideas does the photograph make you wonder about?
Part IV: Resources

Focus Link 44
Seeing Activity
Select a photograph. Look at it closely and thoughtfully for 30 seconds. (Time yourself;
it will feel much longer than you may expect.) Then use the following questions to guide
your “seeing,” and write your responses quickly and freely. Skip questions that are too
hard and come back to them later. This activity should take about 20 minutes.
First impressions
List ten details that you see in the photograph.
Composition
Where is your eye drawn?
Describe the pattern, shapes, and colors.
Look away and then look at the photograph again. What caught your eye first?
Why does that stand out?
Photographic attributes
Find the pattern of light and shadow. What does the lighting draw your attention to?
Describe what is in focus.
What other photographic techniques do you notice?
What is the photographer’s point of view?
Content
What is the subject of the photograph?
What questions do you have about the subject?

Style & Genre
Use an adjective to describe the style of the photograph.
Can you guess what genre this photograph represents? What makes you say that?
Meaning
How does the photograph make you feel? What does the photograph make you think
of?
Why do you think the photographer made these artistic choices?
What do you think the photograph is saying?
Last impressions
Look once more at the photograph and find something you haven’t described yet.
What is your reaction to this exercise? Did anything surprise you?
Self-assessment
What areas were difficult to answer? Photographic attributes and technique?
Composition? Content? Style or genre? Meaning?
Part IV: Resources

A
Appendix 1:
Basics of Photography
What Is Photography?
Ever since photography’s invention in 1839, people have been using
photography to describe the world around them. The word photography is derived
from the Greek words: “photo,” which means light, and “graph,” which means
writing. Photography is writing with light.
The camera is like a mirror with a memory. Every detail of what you see through
the camera frame is reflected and recorded onto the film. When a photographer
takes a picture, the shutter opens and closes like a door, letting light into the
camera. When the shutter is slow, anything that is moving will leave blurry traces on
the film. When the shutter is fast, motion is frozen in time and space.
Light traces the image onto the film. Silver salts in the film change when they
are exposed to different amounts of light. Where there is a lot of light, the silver salts
disappear and the image is white. Where there is less light, the silver salts hardly
change, and the image is dark and dense. With the right exposure, the silver salts
will transform in various degrees, creating an image rich with detail. In this way,
you can see everything from the shadows to the highlights, almost as the scene
appears before your eyes.
Photography seems like magic. But, photographs are possible because of

scientific processes. Light causes chemical reactions in the film and the paper used
to make prints. When the film is taken out of the camera, the image is latent—it’s
there but you can’t see it yet. Photographers roll the film into a light-tight canister
and pour in chemicals, which turn the invisible image into a visible image.
To make prints, photographers must work in a darkroom. The room is lit
only by reddish safe lights, which do not cause chemical reactions on the paper.
Photographers place the negative in an enlarger and shine light through it, projecting
the image onto photographic paper. Then, photographers put the paper into a tray of
chemicals to develop the print. This is when you can watch the image appear before
your eyes. Photographers put the paper into the stop bath, to stop the developing, and
into a fixer, to make the image last. Now, they are ready to look at the image outside of
the darkroom.
Digital Imaging
Digital imaging still relies on the essential ingredient of photography, light. With
computer technology, we can scan in images or create images with a digital camera,
translating information cast by light into digital signals. Pixels on a computer screen are
analogous to the grain on a photograph, or the silver salts. We can manipulate images
using photo-imaging software and print out or post the resulting images on the web.
The computer becomes your darkroom!
APPENDIX 1: Basics of Photography

A
Appendix 2:
A Brief History of Photography
Mid-Sixteenth Century—Camera Obscura

Hundreds of years ago, artists discovered the camera obscura. They noticed
that light coming through a keyhole into a dark room cast an inverted image on the
wall. They built a camera obscura by setting a lens into a two-foot square box and
placing a sheet of glass opposite the opening.
With the camera obscura in hand, the artist could set up the equipment in the
field. Through the camera frame, the artist saw the view that he or she wished to
draw. Then the artist traced the image reflected on the glass frame with a high
degree of detail. In this way, artists used an early form of a camera picture to give
their drawings realistic perspective and detail.
1826—Early Experimentation: Heliographs

Joseph Nicephore Niepce of France invented heliographs, or sun prints. This
was the first experiment that created a prototype of the photograph, removing
the artist’s hand from the creation of the image and letting light draw the picture.
Niepce placed an engraving onto a metal plate coated in bitumen, and then
exposed it to light. The shadowy areas of the engraving blocked light, but the
whiter areas permitted light to react with the chemicals on the plate. When
Niepce placed the metal plate in a solvent, gradually an image, until then invisible,
appeared.
1839—The Invention of Photography
On a trip to Paris, Niepce visited the painter and theatrical set designer, Louis
Jacques Mande Daguerre, and showed him the heliographs. Daguerre was intrigued
by the invention, and the two men became partners in photographic experimentation.
Unfortunately, after four years of creating images and testing chemical processes,
Niepce passed away.
In 1839, Daguerre invented a process that “fixed” the images onto a sheet of silver-
plated copper. He polished the silver and coated it in iodine, creating a surface that was
sensitive to light. Then, he put the plate in a camera and exposed it for a few minutes.
After the image was painted by light, Daguerre bathed the plate in a solution of silver
chloride. This process created a lasting image, one that would not change if exposed
to light. When set next to a black velvety surface, the metal plate reflected the shadowy
areas of the picture and the light areas seemed illuminated. The Daguerrotype rendered
details with such accuracy it was called “a mirror with a memory.”
At the same time, William Henry Fox Talbot, an English botanist and mathematician,
made a similar invention. He sensitized paper to light with a silver salt solution. Talbot
placed objects such as a leaf or lace onto the paper and then exposed it to sunlight.
The background became black, and the subject was rendered in gradations of gray.
This was a negative image, and from the negative, photographers could now duplicate
the image as many times as they wanted. Talbot made contact prints of this image,
reversing the light and shadows to create a detailed picture. In 1841, he perfected this
paper-negative process and called it a calotype, from the Greek, meaning “beautiful
picture.”
News of Daguerre’s and Talbot’s discoveries sparked the curiosity of the scientist
and astronomer, Sir John F.W. Herschel. In 1839 he perfected the process of fixing,
or making permanent, the negative image. Herschel bathed the negative in sodium
thiosulfite to dissolve the silver salts, so that they would not react with light any longer,
and the image became permanent. He also coined the name we use today for these
processes—photography, or “writing with light.”
Soon, photographers around the world used Daguerrotypes and calotypes to

record architecture and nature with finite detail, to document historic events, and to
create portraits of literary and social figures, friends, and family members.
1851—The Glass Negative

In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer, an English sculptor, invented the wet plate. Using a
viscous solution of collodion, he coated glass with light-sensitive silver salts. Because
it was glass and not paper, this wet plate created a more stable and detailed negative.
APPENDIX 2: A Brief History of Photography

However, the wet plate needed to be developed and fixed before it dried. In order to
process the pictures quickly, the photographer had to carry a portable darkroom—with
cumbersome black boxes, trays and tongs, bottles of chemistry and fragile glass
plates—everywhere he or she went.
1850s—Tintypes, Cartes de visites, and

Stereo Views
Throughout the 1850s, there were various technological improvements in paper,
lenses, and cameras. These advancements made it easier for the general public to
become involved in photography. Tintypes were pictures made on thin sheets of metal.
Cartes de visites were small albumen prints on paper cards. A popular pastime was
viewing pictures with a stereoscope that created a 3D effect. Because these pictures
were inexpensive to make, they became common ways to carry pictures of scenic
views, families, and individuals.
1860s—Realism and Fantasy

Newsworthy events were communicated with the aid of photography. In the 1860s,
many photographers, such as Matthew Brady, William Fenton, and Timothy O’Sullivan,
became interested in documenting war. These photographs were seen in exhibitions,
mounted in books, and used as sources for engravings for newspapers. They provided
the most realistic and compelling records of the cruelties of war available at the time.
Many photographers explored the natural landscape with cumbersome camera

equipment in tow. William Henry Jackson traveled for miles over backbreaking terrain to
document the crystal mountain peaks and black lakes of hitherto unknown reaches of
the American landscape. He was the first person to photograph the Old Faithful Geyser
in Yellowstone Park, and his work helped to preserve some of America’s wilderness.
Photography enabled artists to create a representation of the physical world that

was faithful to reality, but it was also seen as another medium for rendering allegories
and works of art that followed the traditions of painting. Julia Margaret Cameron
purposely blurred the image, using radiant lighting and soft focus to evoke the spiritual
quality of the subject. She employed this method whether photographing social figures
such as Lord Alfred Tennyson and Charles Darwin or portraying allegories with models
who were often family members. Lewis Carrol photographed Alice Grace Weld, his
friend and the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, dressed up as Little Red Riding
Hood. Henry Peach Robinson combined several negatives to re-enact dramatic scenes
in myths and stories.

1870s—Capturing Motion
In 1869, Edward Muybridge invented a way to freeze motion. He created a shutter
inside the camera: two boards slipping past each other at the touch of spring. The
film recorded the actions that took place during the split-second when the shutter
was open. Muybridge conducted a series of studies on motion, photographing men
vaulting over poles and horses galloping on a track. His work not only assisted artists in
studying anatomical form in motion, but it was also a precursor to motion pictures.
1880s—Technological Advancements:
The Dry Plate and the Hand-Held Camera
In 1879, experiments resulted in the dry plate, a glass negative plate with a dried
gelatin emulsion. Dry plates could be stored for a period of time. Photographers no
longer needed the cumbersome and time-consuming portable darkroom. In fact,
photographers began hiring technicians to develop their photographs, and the art of
photo finishing was born. In addition, dry processes absorbed light quickly—so rapidly
in fact that the tripod could be stored in the closet and the camera held in the hand.
With the speed of the film and the influx of hand-held cameras, action shots became
more feasible.
In 1888, George Eastman, a dry plate manufacturer in Rochester, NY, invented the
Kodak camera. For $22.00 an amateur could purchase a camera with enough film for
100 shots. After use, it was sent back to the company, which then processed it. The ad
slogan read, “You press the button, we do the rest.” A year later, the delicate paper film
was changed to a plastic base, so that photographers could do their own processing.
(Now we have a resurgence of this company-processed invention with the disposable
camera.)
The Turn of the Century—Pictorialism &

Straight Photography
Many photographers were interested solely in the aesthetic possibilities of the
medium. Pictorialists, such as Gertrude Kasebier and Alvin Langdon Coburn, took
photographs that imitated the style of paintings. Using symbols, shimmering light, and
soft focus to create impressionistic dots and streaks, pictorialists depicted a world that
was one step removed from reality.

Alfred Steiglitz, a New York-based photographer, was actively involved in writing,
editing, lecturing, photographing, and organizing gallery shows to establish the
reputation of photography as a fine art, from Pictorialism to avant-garde methods.
Finally in 1924, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston collected Steiglitz’s photographs; it
was the first time that photographs were collected in a museum in the United States.
At the same time, many photographers became interested in photography as

a tool to record customs and manners, the facets of their culture that they felt were
disappearing at the turn of the century. With Kodak hand-held cameras and rolls of
gelatin films, photojournalists burst onto the scene. They felt compelled to record life as
it unfolded before their eyes, to bear witness to the world and their place in it.
1920s and 1930s—Experimentation

In 1925, the invention of the Leica camera liberated photographers. Because the
Leica was small, light, and quick, they were now able to capture the activity of street life
with greater accuracy and imagination. In responding to the momentous changes in the
world around them, photographers experimented with different means of expression
and techniques, such as surrealism, color, montage and F/64 straight photography.
FSA Photographers Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Marion Post Wolcott, and others,
traveled through America during the Depression, creating a visual document powerful
enough to influence the government to change social welfare laws. Editorial and
advertising photography became important venues for photography. Margaret Bourke-
White, whose work ranged from industrial photography to portraits of such figures
as Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill, created the cover photo for the first issue of Life
Magazine in 1936.
1940s and 1950s—Photography & Publishing

Photography books of all kinds became popular. Henri Cartier-Bresson published
The Decisive Moment; Robert Frank published The Americans. News magazines
such as Life and Look helped to establish the importance of photography as a
communication tool. During World War II, Robert Capa’s historic photographs of
the amphibious landing on D-Day brought news of the event home in unforgettable
imagery. Roy deCarava’s 1955 collaboration with Langston Hughes resulted in the
publication, The Sweet Flypaper of Life.

1960s and 1970s—Photography Comes
of Age
Photography began to be shown in galleries and museums, collected in auction
houses, published in books and magazines, and taught in universities. In 1974,
Cornell Capa founded The International Center of Photography as a place where
socially concerned photographic work could be seen as a creative art form. ICP’s
current collections contain works from this exciting period by such notable artists as:
Diane Arbus, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Imogine Cunningham, Bruce Davidson, William
Eggleston, Elliot Erwitt, Lee Friedlander, Nan Goldin, Helen Levitt, Joel Meyerowitz,
Duane Michaels, Gordon Parks, and Andy Warhol.
1980s and 1990s—Contemporary

Photography
Photographers use various techniques, including large-format Polaroid
photography, advanced electronics, multi-media installations, and digital imaging, as
well as early photographic processes and straight photography, to create works that
question such topics as identity, society, issues of verity, combinations of image and
text, and fact versus fiction. Some notable contemporary artists who have exhibited
at ICP include: Chester Higgins, Jr., Annie Liebovitz, Mary Ellen Mark, David Levinthal,
James Nachtwey, Lorie Novak, Eugene Richards, Joseph Rodriguez, Sebastio
Salgado, Sandy Skoglund, Kiki Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems.

A
Appendix 3:
Building a Traditional and
a Digital Darkroom
Building a Traditional Darkroom

To build a traditional darkroom, you will need a room that can be completely
darkened, working plumbing, and ventilation. Your darkroom needs enough space
for a sink (long enough to fit four 11” x 14” trays and a water bath) and along the
wall, a row (or two) of enlargers. (Underneath each enlarger could be drawers,
shelves, or cabinets for storing notebooks, negatives, and paper.)
The sink needs to have temperature controls and proper drainage. You can
store chemistry under the sink or in a nearby closet. Ideally, you would have a
separate sink for film processing, as that can take place in a lit area. If you don’t
have the space, you can alternate when film processing and printing activities are
taking place.
You will need a print finishing area, where prints can be dried, pressed, and
mounted. If you are going to use fiber paper, you need paper drying racks (shelves
with screens on them), and a dry mount press.
If you want a studio, you need at least 12’ by 12’ space in which to set up
lights. Against one wall, you can create a background or set up a seamless paper
stand and drag down the color paper when you want to use it.
Itemized list for a traditional darkroom for 10 students
Film Developing Area

2 changing boxes for loading film
10 plastic reels/tanks
2 film washers
10 thermometers
Beakers/graduates (#)
Storage tanks for chemistry
1 Film dryer
Ventilation
Sink – 6 ft. (pre-plumbed & installed)
Printing Area
10 Omega enlargers C760L
10 Negative carriers
10 Nikon lenses
10 Easels
10 Contact printers
10 Beseler timers
Gray-lab 300 timer
10 Filter sets
10 Grain focusers
Trays/tongs (12 plastic, 2 stainless steel, 11” x 14”)
Safelight Thomas
Print washing bin
Sink (pre-plumbed, 10 ft.)
Finishing Area
12 screens and racks for fiber printing
Dry mount press, 11” x 14”
Paper cutter
Light table (4 ft.)
Loups
Miscellaneous (tacking iron, mat cutter, scissors)
RC Print Dryer
APPENDIX 3: Building a Traditional and a

Digital Darkroom
Studio Set Up
2 Tripods
Backdrop stand/5 rolls seamless
Dynalights
Lowell hot lights
Case
Light stands
Omni portable hot lights
Light meter
Vivitar flash kits (# 10 or 2)
Polaroid-back large format camera
15 Cameras (35mm manual)

Display of Work
Projector
Wall screen
Frames/mounting
Homesote walls for viewing work prints

Digital Darkroom
Digital Darkroom
In designing a program for 10 students, you could adapt the school’s current computer
center for a digital imaging project.
List of Equipment
Eleven computer stations with access to the Internet
Computer specs: 128 Ram to use Photoshop; enough space on hard drive for
printer driver, digital camera software, software for image and text projects and
Web projects; zip disc drive; network for educational purposes to share files
and to view images all together. Recommended: larger monitor for teacher or
data projector and screen, so that students can see demonstrations clearly.
One flat bed scanner
Photographic-quality printers
Five digital cameras, with manual control option, to be shared in pairs
Printing paper & ink cartidges
Zip disc to store final images and curriculum resources at school
Software for image manipulation, digital camera use, and Web projects

Digital Darkroom
G
Glossary
of Photographic Terms
Aperture a camera control that opens and closes to let in light, like the iris of an
eye. The aperture controls the depth of the area that is in focus.
Blur indistinct shapes in the image, as a result of motion of the subject or

of the photographer
Camera a device used to create photographs, a dark box with a small opening
through which light enters. Camera controls admit an amount of light
(the aperture control) through an opening (lens) for a certain amount
of time (shutter control) to create an exposure on light-sensitive film,
which is then processed using chemicals to create a lasting image on
film, paper, or other surfaces.
Cropping cutting aspects of the subject or scene out of the camera frame
Depth of field the area around the focal center (primary point of focus) that is in or
out of focus. It measures the distance from the area of focus to the
focal center.
Exposure the act and result of allowing light to contact light-sensitive film,
paper, or other surfaces
Focus the point where light rays converge, the area that is in clear and
distinct detail. The focal center is the primary point of focus. Focus is
achieved by manipulating the focus ring on the camera and aligning
shapes in the center of the viewfinder.
Framing using the camera frame to include and exclude information
Negative the film or paper onto which light has recorded an image as an
inverse of the natural image (areas that are dark are light and
vice versa). Shining light through the negative and exposing light-
sensitive surfaces creates positive images, such as prints, in which
the forms have their natural look (dark areas are dark, light areas are
light).
Negative space the space in the image that is not directly defined as positive space,
the subject, or distinct shapes (e.g., the sky)
Photograph an image rendered by light and recorded onto a light-sensitive

surface, typically using a camera
Photography the art, craft, and process of rendering visual images onto a
surface; a type of photographs (e.g., documentary photography)
Shutter speed a mechanism in the camera that functions like a door, opening and
closing to let in light. It is triggered by the shutter release button on
the camera. Shutter speed is the speed at which the door opens
and closes, can be fast or show, and is measured on the shutter
speed control in fractions of a second.
Vantage point also point of view, the photographer’s perspective, created by how
the photographer is positioned when taking the picture
GLOSSARY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC TERMS

B
Bibliography
Technical Information

Coe, Brian, and Mark Haworth-Booth. A Guide to Early Photographic Processes.

London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1983.
Horenstein, Henry. Black & White Photography: A Basic Manual. 2d. Rev. ed. Boston:
Little, Brown, and Company, 1998.
Horenstein, Henry. Color Photography: A Working Manual. Boston: Little, Brown, and
Company, 1998.
London, Barbara, and John Upton. Photography. 5th Ed. New York: Harper Collins
College Publishers, 1994.
Education Theory/Visual Literacy
Arnheim, Rudolf. Visual Thinking. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969.
Adatto, Kiku. Picture Perfect: The Art and Artifice of Public Image Making. New York:
BasicBooks, a Division of Harper Collins, Inc., 1993.
Barrett, Terry. Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images. 2nd

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Berger, John. About Looking. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980.
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Egan, Keiran. The Educated Mind: How Cognitive Tools Shape Our Understanding.
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Eisner, Elliot W. The Arts and the Creation of Mind. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press, 2002.
Eisner, Elliot W. The Enlightened Eye: Qualitative Inquiry and the Enhancement of
Educational Practice. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.
Fiske, Edward B., ed. Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning.
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BIBIOGRAPHY
Gardener, Howard. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York:
Harper Collins, 1990.
Gardener, Howard. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Photography Collection. New York: Bulfinch Press, 1999.
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Aperture Foundation, Inc.
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Museum of Modern Art, 1982.
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Press, 1994.
BIBIOGRAPHY
Resources on the Web
ArtLex Art Dictionary

http://www.artlex.com/
ArtsConnectedEd
http://www.artsconnected.org/
Arts Education Partnership (AEP)

http://www.aep-arts.org/Artslink2.htm
ArtsEdge
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/
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http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/professional_resources/standards/natstandards/
standards.html
The ArtsLiteracy Project

http://artslit.org/home.html
The Art Museum Image Consortium

http://www.amico.org
The Art Museum Network

http://www.amn.org
Creative Multimedia Resources

http://www.phenomenotions.org/curriculum/multimedia/resources.htm
Getty Arts Ed Net

http://www.getty.edu/artsednet/
Kodak Digital Learning Center http://www.Kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/plus/chapter5/

index.shtml
The Knowledge Loom

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http://www.loc.gov/
BIBLIOGRAPHY
List of museum online collections
http://www.arthistory.ucsb.edu/research/archives.php
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http://www.marcopolo-education.org/
Prints and Photographs Collection of the Library of Congress

http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/print
National Art Education Association

http://www.naea-reston.org
Timeline and Image Collections of the ICP and George Eastman House
http://www.photomuse.org
BIBIOGRAPHY
F
List of Figures
The figures list includes student work produced in ICP programs and staff
documentation of ICP programs (names provided when known), reprinted for
educational purposes. In addition, we have reproduced several photographic works
with permission of the artist or estate.
Book Cover Sequence

Students Creating Images, Staff documentation by Curtis Willocks, High School of
Fashion Industries, 2001
Learning to Use the 35mm Camera with Teacher Karen Lindsay, Staff documentation
by Nancy Wechter, 2001
Creating Images, Staff documentation, Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1998-1999
Portrait, Student work by Zoila Mendez, ICP Community Record Program at The
High School of Fashion Industries, 2000-2001
Foreword
1. Birds in Flight, Student work by Rue Sakayama, ICP Internship Program, 1999
PART 1: VISUAL LITERACY
Cover Sequence
Joyce Theater Rehearsal, Student work by Joseph Gilmore, ICP at The Point, 1999
Students from ICP at The Point, Staff documentation by Mara Faye Lethem, 2000
Tapping Feet near Carnegie Hall, Student work, Portrait Rhythms, ICP Community
Record Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School, 1997-1998
Chapter 1: Why Photographic Education?
2. Cornell Capa, Savoy Ballroom, 1939
3. Landscape, Student work by Darkeem Dennis, ICP Internship Program, 1999
4. Skateboarding, Student work by Ileia Burgos, ICP Internship Program, 1999
5. Grandmother, Student work by Eboni Peartree, ICP at The Point, 1999
6. Joyce Theater Rehearsal, Student work by Joseph Gilmore, ICP at The Point,
1999
Chapter 2: The Language of Photography

7. Vik Muniz, Action Photo I (After Hans Namuth), 1997–98
8. Example of Shallow Depth of Field, Student work, ICP Polapan Workshop, 1995
9. Example of Deep Depth of Field, Student work, ICP Polapan Workshop, 1995
10. Student work, Birds and Worms Workshop, 2000
Chapter 3: Visual Literacy: Concepts and Strategies

11. Ernst Haas, London, 1951
12. Students Touring ICP Galleries, Staff documentation by Erin Fallon, 2000
LIST OF FIGURES
PART II: TEACHING PHOTOGRAPHY
Cover Sequence
Students Touring ICP Galleries, Staff documentation by Erin Fallon, 2000
Self-portrait, Student work by Olga Liptova, Teen Workshop, 2000
Capturing Motion, Student work, Portrait Rhythms, ICP Community Record Program
at The Adolph S. Ochs School, 1997-1998
Chapter 4: Teaching the Basics: History, Technique, Aesthetics,

and Practice
13. Creating a Polaroid Photograph, Staff documentation by Erin Fallon, Family
Program, 2000
14. Self-Portrait, Student work by Arismende Paulino, ICP Internship Program, 1995
15. Photographer Chester Higgins, Jr. Meets with Students, Staff documentation,
Academy of Community Education and Service, 1998-1999
16. Learning to Use the 35mm Camera with Teacher Karen Lindsay, Staff
documentation by Nancy Wechter, 2001
17. Students Printing in Darkroom, Staff documentation by Adam Eidelberg, ICP at

The Point, 1998
18. Creating a Polaroid Photograph, Staff documentation by Erin Fallon, Family

Program, 2000
19. Student work, Birds and Worms Workshop, 2000
20. Creating Images, Staff documentation, Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1998-1999
21. Critiquing Images with Instructor Accra Shepp, Staff documentation, ICP
Internship Program, 2000
Chapter 5: Strategies for Developing Projects

22. Portrait, Student work by Zoila Mendez, ICP Community Record Program at The
23. Writing on a Portrait, Staff documentation, ICP Community Record Program at

The Adolph S. Ochs School, 1998-1999
LIST OF FIGURES
24. Students Creating Images, Staff documentation by Curtis Willocks, High School
of Fashion Industries, 2001
25. Final Poster, Portrait Rhythms, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph S.
Ochs School, 1997-1998
26. Capturing Motion, Student work, Portrait Rhythms, ICP Community Record
Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School, 1997-1998
27. Tapping Feet near Carnegie Hall, Student work, Portrait Rhythms, ICP
Community Record Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School, 1997-1998
28. Student Writing, Staff documentation, ICP Community Record Program at The
Adolph S. Ochs School, 1997-1998
29. Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School,
1999-2000
30. Students from ICP at The Point, Staff documentation by Mara Faye Lethem, 2000
31. Students in the Studio, Staff documentation by Curtis Willocks, ICP Community
Record Program at The High School of Fashion Industries, 2000
32. Portrait, Student work by Zoila Mendez, ICP Community Record Program at The
33. Portrait, Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The High School of
Fashion Industries, 2000-2001
34. The Point, South Bronx, Staff documentation by Mathew Monteith, 1997
35. Lab Manager Mara Faye Lethem Helping with Film Processing, Staff
documentation by Michael Casserly, ICP at The Point, 1999-2000
36. Peer Educator Damion Castro Teaching Camera Handling, Staff documentation
by Curtis Willocks, ICP at The Point, 1998-1999,
37. New York Fashion Show, Student work by Joseph Gilmore, ICP at The Point,
1999
38. Subway, Student work by David Viera, ICP at the Point, 2000
39. Bride, Student work, ICP at the Point, 2001
LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter 6: Meeting Educational Goals
40. Learning Large-Format Photography, Staff documentation by Curtis Willocks, ICP
at The Point, 1999
41. Self-portrait, Student work by Olga Liptova, Teen Workshop, 2000
42. ICP Publication of Student Work, ICP Community Record at The Earth School,
1995
43. Students Editing Pictures, Staff documentation by Karen Lindsay, 1997
44. Student Journal, Staff documentation by Curtis Willocks, ICP at The Point, 2000
45. Student Reflection on Art Work, ICP Community Record at The Earth School,
1995
46. Learning Large-Format Photography, Staff documentation by Curtis Willocks, ICP

at The Point, 1999
Chapter 7: Documentary Photography Projects

47. Camel on Fifth Avenue, Three King’s Day Parade, Student work, Re-Visions of El
Barrio, 1998
48. Student work by Ileia Burgos, ICP at the Point, 2000
49. Gate, Student work by David Conforme, ICP at The Point, 1998
50. Flower, Student work by Jorel Velez, ICP at the Point, 2000
51. Young Girl Peering out Window, Student work by Marcus Cave, ICP at the Point,
2000
52. Camel on Fifth Avenue, Three King’s Day Parade, Student work, Re-Visions of El
Barrio, 1998
Chapter 8: Portraiture Projects

53. Student work by Rue Sakayama, ICP Internship Program, 1999-2000
54. Student work by Rue Sakayama, ICP Internship Program, 1999-2000
55. Student work by Tiffany Williams, ICP Internship Program, 1999-2000
LIST OF FIGURES
PART III: CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Cover Sequence
Critiquing Images with Instructor Accra Shepp, Staff documentation, ICP Internship
Program, 2000
Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The Academy of Community

Education and Service in East Harlem, 1997-1998
Photo/Theater Activity, Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph
S. Ochs School, 1999-2000
Chapter 9: Making Curriculum Connections

56. Going to Class, Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph S.
57. Creating Images, Staff documentation, ICP Community Record Program at The
Earth School, 1995
Chapter 10: Photography & History

58. Student Portrait in the Photo/Theater, Photograph by Instructor Matthew
Septimus, ICP Community Record Program at the Academy of Community
59. Robert Capa, U.S. Troops Landing on D-Day, Omaha Beach, Normandy Coast,
June 6, 1944
60. Storyteller and Veteran Roy Godes, Staff documentation by Nancy Wechter, ICP
Community Record Program at The Academy of Community Education and
Service in East Harlem, 1998-1999
61. Toy Soldiers from Lighting Demonstration, Student work, ICP Community Record
Program at The Academy of Community Education and Service in East Harlem,
1998-1999
62. Student Posing as Rosie the Riveter, Photograph by Instructor Matthew

Septimus, ICP Community Record Program at The Academy of Community
LIST OF FIGURES
63. Student Portrait in the Photo/Theater, Photograph by Instructor Matthew
64. Re-enacting a Historical Photograph, Photograph by Instructor Matthew

65. Photo/Theater Activity, Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The
Academy of Community Education and Service in East Harlem, 1998-1999
66. Re-enacting Protests, Photograph by Instructor Matthew Septimus, ICP

Community Record Program at The Academy of Community Education and
Chapter 11: Photography & Social Studies

67. Lewis Hine, Immigration in the 1900s
68. Portraying Characters in a Photo/Theater, Photograph by Instructor Matthew

Septimus, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School,
1999-2000

1999-2000

1999-2000

1999-2000
74. What Would You Bring to a New Country?, Student work, ICP Community
Record Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School, 1999-2000
75–78. Picture Story, Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph S.
LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter 12: Photography & Multicultural Education
79. Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The Academy of Community
Chapter 13: Photography & Literature

89. Guest Artist Matthew Septimus Creating a Photo/Theater, Staff documentation,

ICP Community Record Program at The Academy of Community Education and
LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter 14: Photography & Writing
1997-1998
1997-1998
1997-1998
93. Portraits and Poetry, Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The
Creative Learning Community, 1994-1995
94. Portraits and Poetry, Student work, ICP Community Record Program at The
Creative Learning Community, 1994-1995
Chapter 15: Photography & Other Art Media

95. Family Day, Student documentation, Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1995-1996
96. Student work, Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1995-1996
105. Family Day, Student documentation, Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1999-2000
106. Opening Reception, Staff documentation, Re-Visions of El Barrio, 1999-2000
LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter 16: Photography & Digital Imaging
108. CD Project, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School,
1998-1999
Chapter 17: Photography & Professional Applications

109. Student work by Ileia Burgos, ICP Internship Program, 2000-2001
110. Book Project, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph S. Ochs School,
1998-1999
111. Post-it Project, Student work by Maren Congilione, ICP Internship Program,
1999-2000
112. Student work by Ileia Burgos, ICP Internship Program, 2000-2001
113. Student work by Beth Lasoff, ICP Internship Program, 2000-2001
114. Student work by Zoe Ellis, ICP Internship Program, 2000-2001
Afterword
115. Student from ICP at The Point, Staff documentation by Curtis Willocks, 2000
PART IV: RESOURCES
Cover Sequence
Lab Manager Mara Faye Lethem Helping with Film Processing, Staff documentation by
Michael Casserly, ICP at The Point, 1999-2000
Student Writing, Staff documentation, ICP Community Record Program at The Adolph
S. Ochs School, 1997-1998
Self-Portrait, Student work by Arismende Paulino, ICP Internship Program, 1995
10 LIST OF FIGURES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the past nine years at ICP, I observed how the students in our photography
programs saw greater value in themselves with each photograph that they created.
They were discovering that they had a new skill and greater confidence, that in
the photograph they manifested their perspective, there for others to see. This
wonderment happened over and over again, and yet each time I witnessed it, I found
it deeply rewarding and truly extraordinary, an experience for which I am grateful.
For supporting this book and my work in Community Programs over the years,
I’d like to express my appreciation to Phillip S. Block and Willis Hartshorn. For her
dedication to Community Programs, I’d especially like to acknowledge Marie Spiller.
Many staff at ICP have offered invaluable support during the production of this book,
including: Lacy Austin, Ed Earle, Erin Fallon, Suzanne Nicholas, and Amy Poueymirou.
Our reviewers, Sharon Dunn, Cathleen Kiebert-Gruen, Marielle Palombo, and Nancy
Wechter, provided wonderful feedback. Special thanks to Jean Witter for her helpful
editorial comments on the manuscript and to Patricia McGee for creating a wonderful
graphic design. Our collective thanks to the generous foundations who supported
Community Programs and this book.
Above all, I’d like to the thank all the faculty who contributed so much of
themselves to Community Programs and this book, especially: Lina Bertucci, Allen
Frame, Frank Franca, Karen Furth, Susan Kleckner, Deborah Klesenski, Mark
LaRocca, Karen Lindsay, Dona Ann McAdams, Matthew Septimus, Nancy Wechter,
and Curtis Willocks. I’m grateful to the many wonderful volunteers at ICP who offered
a helping hand, moral support, and inspiration over the years.
I deeply enjoyed working with all of you and thank you once again for the great
spirit that you brought to each project and shared with each student. My love and
gratitude to all our inspiring students and aspiring photographers.
Cynthia Way
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF
PHOTOGRAPHY (ICP)
As a museum and a school, the International Center of Photography (ICP) is
dedicated to advancing the understanding of photography, its history, impact, and
evolution. Founded in 1974, ICP is a true center, integrating exhibitions, collections,
and education programs.
Community Programs actively reaches out to communities in an effort to make

the creative and educational possibilities of photography more accessible. The
three main divisions of Community Programs are Museum Education (gallery tours,
workshops, and intergenerational programs), Teen Academy, and Community
Partnerships. The variety of programs speaks to the medium’s ability to engage
and inspire a diverse audience. The goals are to foster visual literacy, self-esteem,
and empowerment.
The following Community Programs are referred to within Focus on

Photography:
Museum Education
Guided Gallery Tours illuminate for audiences of all ages the ideas,
techniques, and aesthetics embedded within ICP’s exhibitions.
Experienced museum educators lead interactive tours engaging groups in
interpretive activities, which can include drawing, writing, and conversation,
geared to various levels and curriculum areas.
Polaroid Workshops use the immediacy of the medium to introduce
audiences of all ages to elements of photographic expression.
Family Programs introduce children and adults to photography as they
work together on activities.
Teachers’ Workshops explore the applications of photographic education
and present effective ways to design photography programs.
Teen Academy
Teen Academy offers a range of opportunities for teenagers to explore the

power of photography and discover their own voice while developing their
photographic skills. The program includes seasonal 10-week black-and-
white, color, and project-based photography courses as well as a yearlong
pre-collegiate program (Internship). All classes include slide lectures,
darkroom time, guest artist visits, field trips, and critiques, culminating in a
final presentation for family and friends.
Community Partnerships
ICP at the Point is a thriving photography center in the South Bronx,

launched in partnership with The Point Community Development Corporation.
The program, featuring a classroom/studio, darkroom, business, and gallery,
is dedicated to exploring the creative and practical aspects of photography
and fostering entrepreneurship in the community.
The Community Record Partnerships provide in-depth, hands-on

photographic instruction in collaboration with schools. Integrating academic
curricula, classes include slide lectures, darkroom time, guest artist visits, field
trips, and critiques, culminating in a final exhibition and/or publication.
Re-Visions of El Barrio is collaboration between ICP and partnering

organizations from the East Harlem community. Using photography and other
media, local youth learn to re-envision their identity and community.
Portable Digital Darkroom provides instruction to schools or organizations

in the basic techniques of digital photography. Students and teachers work
together with digital cameras and laptop computers in their discovery of
photography. This program seeks to integrate writing and photography to
realize the educational goals and curriculum of the partnership.
For more information on ICP’s Community Programs, please visit our website at
www.icp.org.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As ICP Coordinator of Community Programs for nine years, Cynthia Way designed
and managed all community programs, initiated new programs and collaborations,
wrote educational material, and led extensive teacher trainings. Ms. Way implemented
more than 40 partnerships with elementary, middle, and high schools, cultural
institutions, and community centers throughout New York City.
Ms. Way holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Brown University and an
M.F.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia University. She has taught fiction writing at
The New School in New York City. She also has co-designed and taught educators’
workshops at the Institute for Writing and Thinking at Bard College. For four and a
half years, she worked as Senior Writer/Editor of educational publications in print and
new media at Brown University’s Education Alliance. Currently, she is the Director of
Education at the Williams College Museum of Art.
1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street

New York, NY 10036

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International Center of Photography

by Cynthia Way for the

Written by Cynthia Way for the International Center of Photography

© 2006 International Center of Photography

Published by the International Center of Photography, New York.

Printed in the United States of America.

Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide is a comprehensive resource

Letter from the Director .................................................................................................. v

PART I: VISUAL LITERACY

PART II: TEACHING PHOTOGRAPHY

PART III: CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

PART IV: RESOURCES

Glossary of Photographic Terms

ICP provides high-quality photographic education programs, augmenting a

To collect photographs is to collect the

Viewing, discussing, and creating images can be a passage to self-discovery

Photography is not just about technique; it is about perception and communication.

As Coordinator of Community Programs at the International Center of Photography

Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide will help educators use photography

Part I: Visual Literacy—strategies, definitions, discussion questions, and reflection

Part III: Curriculum Connections—case studies and curricula illustrating ways to

Appendix 1: Basics of Photography

Appendix 2: A Brief History of Photography

Appendix 3: Building a Traditional and a Digital Darkroom

Bibliography—resources on photographic technique, history, and education as well as

Educators can approach Focus through multiple pathways.

Some suggestions are presented below:

Educators with a beginning knowledge of photography and teaching may prefer

Suggested pathway: Review the basics of photography by reading Appendix 1:

❂ For those with a strong technical knowledge of photography but little

❂ For educators with a specific interest in designing a curriculum connection in

Suggested pathway: Read Part III, Chapter 9: Making Curriculum Connections.

Suggested pathway: Select Part II, Chapter 7: Documentary Photography

❂ For experienced photo-educators who wish to jump right in and teach

Suggested pathway: Read Part I, Chapter 1: Why Photographic Education?; Part

In addition, Focus can serve as a useful resource for professional development

Why Photographic Education?

T his chapter discusses

Our Love for You Will Never Rewind.

Mario Hyman, eighth grader

Capturing the Imagination

When working on photographic assignments, students respond visually and

Part I: Visual Literacy

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education? 

Part I: Visual Literacy

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education? 

To truly teach students, educators themselves need to be visually literate

Part I: Visual Literacy

(ICP course evaluation)

Rewards of Photographic Education

You’ve Captured Our Hearts

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education? 

In high-quality photographic education projects, educators will see many areas of

Says Kathy McCullough, director of The Earth School, of a 1995 collaboration:

The ICP photography program gives young people a new language to

Support for Art in Education

Part I: Visual Literacy

Teaching photography in art class or integrating photography into other disciplines

According to current research on education reform, when a school’s curriculum,

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education? 

Experience is central to growth because experience is the medium of

A high-quality art education program fosters an understanding of the art medium,

Part I: Visual Literacy

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education?

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education?

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education?

CHAPTER 1: Why Photographic Education?