Even though it will still be hot for the next few months, summer 2016 has come to an end, which means our summer teen photography program has come to a close as well. We had a blast passing along our photographic knowledge and providing these high schoolers with the opportunity to explore such a varied, creative medium!
During our Professional Portraiture and Photojournalism camp, teens had the opportunity to work with seasoned professionals to master the art of portraiture. We were pleased to be joined by David LeRoy Hunsaker, who led our teens in studio portraiture.
The students experimented with a variety of lighting techniques and got to practice directing a each other as models; they created a diverse range of creative portraiture from the same props and equipment, proving that the opportunities in photography are limitless!
During the second half of the camp, the students heard a presentation from Neil Miller on his long career of street (candid) photography, and then practiced the un-posed approach outdoors in surrounding Downtown Gilbert. Learning how to photograph a subject in his or her natural state is a vital skill for any photographer.
At the end of the workshop the students learned how to edit images in Photoshop and print them on our archival inkjet printers, and each student left the camp with an edited, printed portfolio of the work they created. These students now have the tools they need to start out as professional photographers!
During our two Exploring Photography summer camps, teens got to experiment with a wide variety of photographic techniques. They explored traditional darkroom photography by making photograms, shooting black and white film with SLR cameras, processing the film themselves, and making darkroom prints of their negatives.
Many of our students had never shot a roll of film and had only seen darkrooms in the movies, but they stayed patient with these tedious and time-consuming processes. By the end of the week many listed the darkroom as their favorite part of the camp!
Our Exploring Photography students also had the opportunity to make lumen prints, which is a process by which silver gelatin paper is overexposed to UV light, using plant material to create designs.
In addition to learning so many traditional processes, our teens kept with the times and practiced digital photography as well. They shot digital pictures, edited them in Photoshop, and made beautiful, professional-quality prints of their best images.
At the end of the camp, the students put all the work they created over the week on display and we discussed their results in a critique. Our students created some fantastic artwork – check out the online exhibit of their work here.
We had so much fun during our teen camps! Thanks to all the students that joined us, and we hope to see you again soon!
