One Unit – Many Subjects
From the physics of light to the art of composition, photography is the perfect blend of everything STEAM.
Photography is also an ideal activity for multi-age homeschool classrooms. Lessons and activities are easily adjusted to meet the needs of multiple age and ability levels.
Getting Started – Choosing a Camera
First of all, any camera will work to get started in photography – even your phone camera. You can follow many of our lessons without investing in special equipment.
I’ve decided to use the Canon XTi camera for our homeschool study. This DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) is an entry-level camera first introduced by Canon in 2006. Why chose a 13-year-old camera? The answer is simply, cost. Newer DSLR cameras are expensive, whereas a working XTi can be easily purchased in the used market for less than $70.
The XTi lacks some of the advanced features found in newer cameras, but it still functions perfectly as a teaching platform. For my youngest student, who will be focusing on composition, the XTi’s fully-automatic setting turn the camera into a simple point-and-shoot device. For my older students, the camera’s easily accessible manual settings allow for experimentation with functions like shutter speed, aperture size, and ISO settings.
Photography for Homeschoolers – Outline
- Camera Obscura
- Build and test a Camera Obscura
- Pin Hole and Oldschool Cameras
- Getting to Know your DSLR
- Procedures
- Parts
- Care
- Lenses
- Pinhole
- Zoom
- Prime
- Aperture
- Depth of field
- Light – More or Less
- Shutter Speed
- Slow to Fast
- Light – More or Less
- Composition
- Rule of Thirds
- Balancing Elements
- Symmetry and Patterns
- Astro Photography
- Adapter
- Long Exposure
- Telling A Story
- Photo Essay
- Edit in Post
- Sharing
- Printing
- Sending
- Presenting
