(Piazzi, n.d.)

Lesson 1 - capturing moments and composition

Duration: 90 minutes

Learning objectives and measures for success:

For students to:

  • Develop an understanding of how photography is used to represent the cultural and social values of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders

  • Understand the historical and political significance of the photography art form and its role in capturing moments in time

  • Explore the various ways that image conveys meaning and purpose

  • Develop a good understanding of photographic composition and shot types

  • Demonstrate their understanding of composition and captured moments through research and annotations

Focus code/convention/media form/skill/technique:

  • Exploration of the photography art form and viewpoints

  • Engagement in pre-production planning and research

Resources required:

  • Digital display or projector

  • Computers

  • Pens (if required)

Lesson Structure:

Curriculum links:

Manipulate media representations to identify and examine social and cultural values and beliefs, including those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ACAMAM074)

Analyse a range of media artworks from contemporary and past times to explore differing viewpoints and enrich their media arts making, starting with Australian media artworks, including media artworks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and international media artworks (ACAMAR079)

Action 1: Introduction to the unit – 5 minutes

Introduce students to the unit plan and outline for this 4-week period. This will include the research tasks and learning manual photography, although a focus should be had on highlighting the Capturing Moments assessment task and what is required.

Work with students through the outline and provide them the rubric.

Action 2: Introducing Capturing Moments concept – 25 minutes

Using developed PowerPoint presentation, introduce students to the concept of capturing moments and work through slides while prompting questions to discuss in depth. Ensure that the cultural, social, and political significance of each provided image is discussed and highlighted.

Watch imbedded YouTube video ‘The Art of Capturing the Moment in Photography’ (Kanashkevich, 2022) to extend students understanding in general contexts. Watch from 0:00 – 1:00 and 6:50 – 9:12

Action 3: Overview of photographic composition rules – 15 minutes

Use composition resource to provide students with an overview of some key compositional elements, working through each slide and discussing the foundations of each. Use question prompts in slides to encourage discussion and possibly provide further demonstrations (Morton, 2023). This slide should be made available for students to download and reference in their next task.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18zATUvuR4Tp0uBICYCTRxHAN4qRM2ikU/view (Morton, 2023)

Action 4: Composition responding activity – 50 minutes 

Introduce responding task – students are required to choose 3 composition rules of their choice from the provided PowerPoint slides and find an example of each from 3 separate certified photographers online. Students are required to research and make annotations guided by the following questions:

  • Why did you choose this artist? Why were they of interest to you?

  • How does this image align with the composition rule chosen?

  • What is the personal, cultural, or social significance of this captured ‘moment’?

  • Can you identify/what do you think the meaning of this image is? What makes it special, powerful, or impactful?

 

Students can choose to research any artist or photographic style that interests them as long as they are aiming to analyse composition rules and are looking for imagery that represents a ‘moment’ - within the Initial PowerPoint presentation there is a list of photographers for students to view and kickstart their exploration.

  • IMPORTANT – students are required to research into at least 1 Indigenous photographer

This task should be recorded in their progress folio.

Action 5: Pack up – 5 minutes

Wrap up task with students and encourage students to save and backup their work.

Home Learning:

If the task wasn’t completed within class time, students should complete it as homework before the next lesson.

Teacher Actions:

Teachers should look to assist students in working on the task, ensuring everyone is on track and has gained an understanding of the task.

Rotate throughout the room and have focus discussions with groups or individuals, providing suggestions and support where needed.

Assessment strategies:

Diagnostic – class discussion, monitoring levels of understanding in relation to composition and ‘decisive moment’ photography

Formative – observation, checking for understanding, progression through research and annotations

Summative –

Download here

Differentiation Strategies:

  • Students can work in pairs/groups to complete responding task

  • If necessary, workload can be adjusted to responding to 1 artist and 1 compositional rule

  • Time for focus group discussion can be facilitated so students can share their understanding with others

Inclusions of Indigenous artists, women artists, and artists with disability – seeing diverse identities reflected within curriculum content