By Regina Chaves-Andrade
On November 12th, multiple of Michelle Howell’s Digital Photography classes at Rialto High School stepped outside of the classroom into a real-life educational experience at Downtown Redlands, specifically aimed at street photography and absorbing the ambiance of new surroundings.
Once the students arrived, groups were arranged, pairs or groups of three, and quickly the day began. The student's objective was reached that day by taking photographs of their partners doing nine specific poses, which consisted of front facing, quarter, side profile, back facing, three-quarter, seated quarter, seated side profile, leaning side, and seated front view.
Students continuously participated in taking photographs of their surroundings and their classmates. Samantha Clemente, a senior at Rialto High School who is currently a part of the course, states, “Overall, the field trip has expanded my knowledge on learning to take good photographs of people in a different ambiance highlighting emotion and context. While focusing on the subject, their surroundings, and sentiment.”
Clemente further explained the importance of photographing at a different location to create wider knowledge of emotions and visuals, “I enjoyed photographing elsewhere instead of in our common environment at our school, helping me achieve the importance of backgrounds, a good pose can be ruined by a boring background and vice versa.”
As students explore, their ambition to create an eye-catching image grows. Throughout the day, students were seen doing anything possible to create a noticeably impressive photograph: lying on the floor, posing with their partners, and exploring downtown for new scenery. Clemente recalls never wanting to stop taking photographs in order to get the best one, stating, “I remember just wanting to try those poses out at different locations just to get the best outcome.”
Michelle Howell shared similar enthusiasm, outwardly stating that field trips like these are important so students can obtain adventurous first-hand learning experiences. Not just repeating the same surroundings or the same poses.
After a morning filled with exploration and diligent work, groups broke for lunch. Students gathered into their friend groups and conversed about all the photographs they had taken, where they wanted to take more photographs with different poses, and how amusing the trip had been. They also share stories and take in the environment surrounding them.
Later in the afternoon, students gathered once again to reflect on the photographs they had taken or still had time to approach. After the brief meeting, students went on with their day exploring shops or photographing downtown until it was time to leave.
The next day at school, students got to delve into the world of editing street photography in order to have an overall comprehension of virtual opportunities to make their photographs better. Editing helps students focus on their likings when it comes to making the image better and what needs fixing.
Concentrating on the subject to make them stand out and emphasize the person in their photograph to tell a story and catch the viewer's attention, as well as focusing on the background, making sure there is not something that is distracting, making the photograph look funky, making the photograph look interesting, ultimately creating context and visual effects. Overall, adjusting the image to their own liking and what makes it look the best all around.
The field trip stimulated a deeper understanding and added involvement to the aspect of street photography and editing photographs. Visiting Downtown Redlands and photographing around the scenic area helped students fulfill their needs to take photographs surrounded by different settings and explore different poses. Additionally, delving into editing and the importance of subjects and backgrounds in street photography
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