Teacher Pamela Piffard-Williams likes to keep her Huntington High School photography students on their toes and a recent assignment had the teenager’s seeing from all angles.
Huntington’s young photographers have been producing stunning images throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic despite all the disruptions to classroom education and life in general.
Mrs. Piffard-Williams recently presented a lesson titled “Seeing From All Angles.” She taught students all about the multitude of possible camera angles and presented class members with examples of photos captured from the different angles.
“Notice how the student really moved all around the subject,” Mrs. Piffard-Williams told students as she presented a collage of seven photos of a guitar taken from close range. “Shot it from above, the side, looking down and some great detail shots.”
Student photos were presented in collage form during the lesson. “The most random object can be photographed and made into art,” said Mrs. Piffard-Williams as she presented a collage of images of a small bell. “Notice how the student edited their images to match the style of the bell. Rusty, warm and aged. They also cropped in interesting ways.”
There were other examples, such as a Stanley tape measure and of a dog. “If you can get your dog to stay still, then try getting a bunch of different angles of it,” Mrs. Piffard-Williams told students. “When you shoot from a variety of angles and shoot tight you can almost make this look like a puzzle.”
Another example was of a chessboard and chess pieces. “Here’s an amazing example of what a fun collage you can make when you shoot from angles and your subject has a strong pattern,” Mrs. Piffard-Williams said.
The assignment required students to find an object of interest; pick a location for the photo shoot with good lighting and a very plain background; start shooting and pay attention to where the camera is focusing; strive to make sure the exposure for each image matches to make the collage look better when assembled; fill the frame and get close to the subject with a goal of getting every side of the chosen object.
Students were required to snap at least 12 images, including photos from every angle. “Make sure all of the images are in focus,” Mrs. Piffard-Williams said.
Once students had their photos, Mrs. Piffard-Williams worked with them on editing the pictures and creating an image collage.
“Here’s a tip: Larger objects work much better than smaller objects,” said Mrs. Piffard-Williams before sending the teenagers on their way.
