CREATIVE PHOTO ASSIGNMENTS
Colour or texture collage
You are going to take some photographs around school to make a collage. You will need to choose enough photos to form a square after editing (minimum 9). Your camera should be on auto unless you know how to use the other settings.
Either choose to study colour or texture to focus on for this lesson.
To create a collage you can use one of the many web based platforms such as picmonkey, befunky or fotor.com |
Alphabet challenge
You have now looked at colour and texture. Next you will need to focus on patterns and in particular the alphabet and numbers.
In pairs or a group of 3 you are now going to develop a collage of the alphabet and numbers (0-9). This might sound like a simple task as we see text and writing everywhere we go in our daily lives. However, each letter you take must be created from an everyday object that you might also see in your environment. Have a look at the examples below for some ideas.
In pairs or a group of 3 you are now going to develop a collage of the alphabet and numbers (0-9). This might sound like a simple task as we see text and writing everywhere we go in our daily lives. However, each letter you take must be created from an everyday object that you might also see in your environment. Have a look at the examples below for some ideas.
MTR Challenge
Follow in the footsteps of Mark O’Leary and Aisling McDonnell who spent a year ‘collecting’ all Hong Kong MTR stations and have just published their colourful photo series. The couple, who were resident in Hong Kong for three years, used objects from around their home as part of their ‘MTR Challenge’.
A Chalky Adventure!
Float away on a balloon, fight a crocodile or ride a bike, simply create your story using chalk and then climb into the image!
Deconstructed landscapes
Try a new way to explore a landscape by creating a composite of multiple fragments of it that you've taken during a short walk. A 20-minute stroll is all you need. Keep your kit and settings simple, and don't get bogged down with tripods, filters or complicated techniques. Shoot anything that catches your eye. When you're back home, create a grid and assemble your selection of pictures.
Optical illusions
This project uses forced perspective to play tricks on a viewer's perception of the relationship between differently sized objects in a photo. The best way to approach this is to shoot a recognisable subject and get them to pretend that they are interacting with a much larger object or subject, which is actually in the background. Choose a small aperture to provide a large depth of field that will enhance the effect.
Mirror mirror off the wall!
Using reflection in photography can lead to some amazing effects and beautiful images. Using water, windows, mirrors or any sort of reflective surface can change an image into a work of art. The wonderful thing about using reflections when taking photos is that they can completely alter the image from something fairly straightforward to something richer or abstract or otherwise more artistic. Try using old mirrors or other items that can generate a reflection to produce a unique series of portrait images.
Food Landscapes
Spice up your food photography! All you need is a set of model figures - Hornby 00 gauge figures are perfect, as they're available in a wide range of poses. The most important aspect is to establish a sense of narrative. Check out further ideas at this link.
Kitchen close-ups
Your kitchen is an ideal location for shooting a macro project. Its reflective surfaces can be used to create interesting backgrounds for your shots, and a shallow depth of field can transform the most mundane of objects you'll find there. Creating a triptych of images can result in a piece of fantastic wall art for your kitchen too, although it's important to think about how they're going to work together before you start shooting. Here, 3 objects - a fork, a bowl of cereal and coffee granules - were all shot from a similar angle, with the impression of height linking the sequence.
Black & white
Black and white is nothing new when it comes to art; it’s been going on since the beginning of time. Art photography is similar in that it started out as black and white due to technical limitations, way before the dawn of colour film. Even though the majority of photography is done automatically on digital cameras, black and white still lives on today. The beauty of black and white photography is that it focuses on visual elements such as tone, texture and shape. By starting this project for yourself, you’ll begin to see things in a different light and, rather than just colour, your eyes will become better trained in recognising different shapes and forms.
Choose a theme
Focus on a new subject to try new compositions and break out of your normal photography routine.
Subject ideas:
– Shoes
– Flags
– Windows
– A color
– Lines
– Doors
– Chairs
Subject ideas:
– Shoes
– Flags
– Windows
– A color
– Lines
– Doors
– Chairs