Photography in the middle school setting can be tough in terms of logistics.  What can students take photos of around the school when all of the other students are in classes that can't be disturbed and we live in New England where the weather is not always conducive for going outside?  One answer that has produced pretty interesting results is a photography scavenger hunt!  The scavenger hunt list could revolve around any type of theme or be a random list of ideas.  As a teacher I like that it promotes creativity as I don't see photos of the same things over and over again.  Students also seem to like the challenge of checking each item off the lists.

My students recently did a scavenger hunt with photos that showed off their interests and personality.  Here is the list we used: 1.     Your name in a creative way.
2.     Capture your reflection in an unusual way.
3.     Spell a word that is meaningful to you with objects or people on the ground.
4.     Something with your favorite color.
5.     Something you are wearing or have on you.
6.     An object that is interesting up close.
7.     Something fun or funny to you.
8.     Something you couldn’t live without.
9.     You favorite thing about school/being at Coolidge.
10.   Something that shows off one of your interests.

Students then used Animoto to produce a video showcasing their photos.  We had a video day where we watched them all on the SMARTboard and had some food to go along with it!  Overall it was a very fun project!

I'm very behind on posting to my blog, but wanted to share some photos that my 7th grade students took a few weeks back.  For the first photography assignment I had students try to find hidden letters of the alphabet around the school.  This was a project that I did in my Intro to Photography course at Syracuse University many years back.  Since the assignment is still memorable to me all these years later, I thought my students might also enjoy it.  You can also buy custom gifts using photo letters at sites like this.
To begin the project, I have them watch the commercial below.  We discuss how the images are interesting because they make you look at everyday objects in a different way.  This ties well into introducting students to be creative with both their subject matter and how they take their photography shots.

Students worked in groups of 2-3 with one camera.  Their goal was to walk around the school looking for hidden letters in their everyday environment.  While it was mostly an exercise in being creative with their photography, I did also encourage them think about their composition and perspective of each shot.

Here are some of their letters!