The Poetry of Photography: What is the Essence of our School?

I. Introduction
Introduce the class to "The Poetry of an Image" -Pedro Meyer. Students will discuss the difference between Poetic language and Prose. With this comparison in mind, students will explore the difference between documentary photography and artistic compositions that have been digitally composited.

II. Exploration and Critique
The class will view Vivian Maier's street photography. Students will select three images from the Maier collections that draw them in. Each student will present the images while the whole class will learn to critique the images.
Critique Rules: 1. Go beyond "I like it" 2. Describe an element you see. 3. Listen to others' opinions. 4. Make suggestions, not criticisms.

III. Image Capture
The teacher will pass out cameras and explore the school campus (Ideally during lunch, a sporting event, or something active)
Each student is responsible for bringing in 10 images.

IV. Collaboration and Compositing
With all students equipped with 10 images, the class will learn basic editing skills (balancing light, cropping, etc).
From these images, the class will decide on 10-15 total photos (from all the student's images) which will be used to collage/composite the work into 2-3 combined works that represent the school and it's identity.

V. Presentation
The images will be printed and hung in a prominent location within the school.