As a homeschooling mom I’m always evaluating what is and isn’t working and what opportunities would be beneficial for my child. One of the things we’ve done this semester is join a local homeschool co-op here on Maui, that meets weekly in Kihei.  Right off the bat I was given the opportunity and responsiblity of teaching a photography class to the high school students. My goal and hope was to inspire the class to find what they loved about photography and to learn how to create better photographs themselves.

This is a glimpse of our first class, which included going on a short walk to find something that inspired each student.  I have to say the top right is inspiring– a blouse with little cameras all over.  So cute!

Every week I taught and every week the students were assigned projects using both a point-and-shoot or their iPod or phone camera as well as a “good” camera photograph.  They also sent in inspiration images from a variety of professional photographers online.  Every week they got better and better, and I could see them thinking and improving.  For our last class I spent the last twenty mintues outside teaching them how I shoot, and showing them what I do. It was a quick glimpse and also the worst lighting possible, because we started just after 12 noon. We walked out of the building and although I had a few spots in mind, time permitted just one area in general.

These two lovely high school students volunteered to be my models for the portraits. Thankfully the 3rd/4th grades science class had learned about helium earlier in the day, and I was able to use two helium balloons that I had seen and asked to borrow, knowing they would make for great, simple props.

So here is what I did, and I’ll share the why as well, just above each photo…

Friends photos- because portraits of friends in high school is just plain fun and I wanted to capture that joy. We added an extra dash of whimsy with the balloons.
In the photograph below I had a really difficult time making the lighting work as there were shifting clouds and the hot sun. But it works here as they are mostly in open shade.

And then a “story shot”– as in you can create a story from this image. Plus I love seeing the freedom that is implies with them skipping.

We also did some individuals and here is model A.– as in Amazing. I placed her near the red hibiscus because it totally worked with the shirt she was wearing. For this pose I wanted it to look timeless with the balloon and primary colors, and I also added the angle with the arms– subtle but also adds interest.  Even though the sun is overhead and so strong, I was able to make the shot work thinking about all the other details and making sure the lighting worked well for her too.

And then the low aperture portrait, which we had studied.  Here, the eyes in focus and then there is a softening from there towards the ears, body and background.  The background is completely blurred with the exception of a little pop of red, that works well with her shirt. Gorgeous girl:

And a non-smilely black and white. Even with the harsh light I love how it was hitting her here and to get her a little more “serious” I had her look away from the lens.

And then for model F., as in fantastic and beautiful, I had her go in a different spot about 8 feet away, and could use the background colors to pop her more neutral outfit. The shape and arch of the palms added interest, especially when getting close to them, and I wanted to use all of that in composing her portraits.  So here is one that captures her sweet spirit.  I also love the subtle detail of her shirt and then the grid of the palm in the bottom right corner all framing her.

I also love this one and the shape of the trees, this time she is facing them and looking back.  I also tried to use the texture of her sweater to add another element of interest to the overall composition.  And then I paid attention to the light again as it wasn’t cooperating with me, but I needed it to cooperate with flattering the lovely F.

I was just about out of time but corralled the class together for a group shot with really, really, fast posing instructions. Again, short on time and high on sun I think we made the picture work. And I used those balloons to add one more layer of fun.

Here was the first shot. Which I didn’t like because of the uneven lighting (see the far left in shadows?)

I shifted them all down. And got this to remember this great group of students:

#greatmemory