Homework 4.3. Digital Photography

Image from http://khooll.com/post/50568583904/vintage-via-lylaandblucom

As a teacher, I think that digital photography is a really powerful tool when working with students who are tentative with traditional materials, as well as those who are very well-versed in them, and can be a very accessible way of encouraging students to explore more personal and substantial creative ideas that they might be hesitant to breach through other traditional media. 

Students in today's increasingly digital climate are likely already familiar with casual digital photography, and I don't think that it would be too far of a leap to encourage them to think about this digital imagery and image-taking from a more creative perspective. For students who lack confidence in their artistic skills, it might help them depict things realistically that they might not be able to with their own hand, allowing them the freedom to explore ideas that they might not be comfortable exploring on paper. For students who have a very formal background in the arts and traditional materials, digital photography might remove some of the pressure of aesthetics and realism, allowing the students to branch out from what they are used to and explore in a more imaginative way. 

I think digital photography really nicely relates to the actual viewpoints of the children themselves, and could help to encourage autonomy and ownership over whatever issues or topics that they choose to explore through this medium, even if, or especially if, they might be challenging topics to address through other more traditional media. Because digital photography can be simultaneously concrete and abstract, I think that it can really provide an outlet for students to express themselves in terms of their own accord, whether that is extremely clear and direct or vague. 

Additionally, through all of the editing processes that exist for digital photography today, students can develop an even stronger sense of ownership over their images, and add additional layers of meaning without necessarily feeling that they are irreversibly making changes to a piece of work.