What the lesson is about

Photography is a strong and visually engaging topic for pupils of art, and can form the basis for excellent class projects, investigations and individual portfolios. TES Resources contributor Chris Monaghan has shared a range of photography resources - mostly pitched at older pupils doing A- level or equivalent - dealing with light, exposure, how cameras work, various types of images and how to produce them.

How to use it

Photographs taken in the night time or low light can produce amazing images as the shutter can remain open for longer periods. Chris has uploaded a PowerPoint showing a series of images taken in dark settings - useful as a starting point for a night-time photography project.

One of his most popular resources is a PowerPoint looking at composition and visual elements in a photograph. It considers aspects of photography such as the rule of thirds, and how an odd number of elements in a photo can often give the picture a more natural feel.

There’s an introduction to portrait photography, which supplies a brief history of portraits and the move from paintings to photography, as well as how portraits are used to sell magazines, on album covers and in advertising.

A similar resource considers still life, and how that compares in the media of painting and photography. It looks at different ways of lighting a still life, and there is an assignment at the end where pupils have to choose a theme for a still life and shoot it.

Where to find it

www.tes.co.ukphotography.