Note: Be sure to review all resources and preview all artists before determining if they are appropriate to share with your students.
With standardized and portfolio testing over, the countdown to the end of the year has begun! We all know that this last stretch of the school year can be a challenge to keep students engaged, especially in specialized courses like photography. We’ve come to your rescue with plenty of one-day activities perfect for this time of year and your budding photographers. Better yet, these photography lessons require little prep and minimal supplies. Even if you don’t have a set of cameras in your classroom, these activities are still achievable using cell phones or tablets.
Keep reading for one-day photography activities to get your students to stay focused until the end of the year!
1. 36 Exposures
Recommended for: High School
Combine the limitations of 35mm film photography with the convenience of digital photography. The 36 Exposures activity involves not looking at the images until students capture all 36. This exercise mimics shooting a roll of film by waiting to see the results until the end. This practice encourages students to frame their compositions with more intention and thought. If you have access to DSLR cameras, the activity challenges students to use aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to shoot correct exposures. Direct students to take all 36 exposures in one location or within a specific duration. The best part is seeing how many successful images students shoot from the session!
2. Abstract Forms
Recommended for: Middle and High School
Note: Be sure to review all resources and preview all artists before determining if they are appropriate to share with your students.
Focus on the Elements and Principles and get students to creatively look at everyday objects with this activity. Encourage students to play with found objects and lighting. If you have macro lens clips for cell phones, this will prompt students to more closely consider each object’s texture. The work of Liz Deschenes is a beautiful example of abstract forms in photography.
3. Abstract Paper Challenge
Recommended for: Middle and High School
Dive into the world of abstract art even further using only paper. The challenge is to make paper not look like paper. This unique activity encourages innovation and experimentation with limited materials such as paper, tape, light, and a camera. Students have the most success when they manipulate the paper’s surface by folding, crumpling, or taping the paper. Use side lighting to enhance textures and add dramatic effect. These tips create visually interesting surfaces and compositions! For additional ways to manipulate paper, check out the 5 Cut Paper Collage Techniques resource in FLEX Curriculum.
4. One Lens
Recommended for: Elementary, Middle, and High School
Challenge students to explore photography with a minimalist approach using only a single lens or focal length. By focusing solely on composition and framing, this activity pushes students to get active and walk closer or farther away to zoom in and out of their compositions. Using one lens also prompts students to see the world through a specific viewpoint.
5. From Where I Stand
Recommended for: Elementary, Middle, and High School
Explore perspective and composition in photography with this idea. Students will photograph a series of pictures from only one spot. They can turn around and shoot at various angles but not leave their place. This forces students to get creative with unique vantage points as they lean, crouch, and bend. Add a surprise factor by telling the students where they will stand.
6. Story Roulette
Recommended for: High School
Incorporate writing into your photography lessons with Story Roulette. Have students write one-sentence stories or six-word memoirs. Use these as student-generated final photography prompts that emphasize visual storytelling. Students can create one photograph that captures the essence of their story or shoot a series of photos in a narrative form. To add the element of chance to the activity, students can pick their prompt from a hat.
7. Famous Artwork Recreation
Recommended for: Middle and High School
Who better to find inspiration than the masters? Recreating famous artworks and photographs is a perfect way for students to study fine details such as composition, lighting, and style. Provide students with a collection of famous artworks to choose from. This also challenges students to learn about outfits and objects from certain time periods and cultures and find similar ones to include in their final piece.
8. One Object Challenge
Recommended for: Elementary, Middle, and High School
Find beauty in the mundane with the One Object Challenge. Many of us don’t have the luxury of expensive props or beautiful scenery within the confines of the art room. This activity requires students to find exciting ways to photograph something they see every day. It also helps students understand how photographers can make objects look more interesting than they appear.
9. What’s In My Bag
Recommended for: Middle and High School
Use flat-lay photography to create non-traditional self-portraits using items from student’s bags. This activity works well for students who want to explore identity without using their faces. The contents of their bags represent a symbolic view of their personalities and interests. The completed flat-lay photographs become a visual narrative of who the students are. A fun extension is for students to guess whose portrait belongs to whom within the classroom.
10. ROYGBIV Series
Recommended for: Elementary, Middle, and High School
Explore color and composition by creating photographs inspired by the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Students can find those specific colors to photograph or use color symbolically to convey stories and emotions. For instance, a student can photograph red rose petals or an angry portrait using red lighting for the color red. To extend this lesson, create a color wheel using the final images!
From exploring abstract forms, compositions of the masters, or faceless self-portraits, these activities will energize your students to create art! Having a handful of one-day photography lessons at your fingertips is perfect for your end-of-the-year arsenal. These quick and enjoyable activities keep students excited to create, all while requiring minimal preparation and supplies. Plus, these activities reinforce knowledge and skills with minimal pressure. Capture the freedom and creativity the last few weeks of school will bring!
Check out the resources below for more ways to incorporate photography into your art room:
- Strategies for Teaching Photography (Ep. 231)
- Ask the Experts, Episode One: Photography
- 3 Refreshing Ways to Bring Photography Into Any Art Class
- Studio: Photography
What’s your favorite way to bring photography to your students?
How do you keep photography students engaged at the end of the year?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
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