Grade Level: 6th – 8th
Classroom Time: Day One - 75 Minutes

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Photography is writing with light. “Photo” comes from the ancient Greek word for light, “Graphy” derives from Greek and Latin words meaning to draw, paint, or write.

Writing from Photographs is a strategy to successfully combine visual imagery with writing. The following three lessons use visual images as catalysts for student writing and cognitive thinking. In these three lessons photography is the medium for visual thinking because photographs are omnipresent and photo-based images are the basis of so much information and learning today.

Writing from Photographs stimulates students to ‘see’ more knowledgeably. It uses photographs to develop successful writing skills.

“Making a photograph starts with most of the elements that writing does in an essay, a letter, or a poem. It starts with an idea, conscious or unconscious – a story, a message, a feeling that the photographer wants to communicate.

Like every medium, photography has working elements which convey an intended message. Writing has descriptive words, actions, fragments of words, punctuation, and organizational structure(s) like sentences. Together they are used to tell a story. Photography uses light, color, darkness, shape, form (line), distance, sharpness, blurriness (lack of sharpness). Forms and shapes are defined by the interaction of light and shadow.

Photographs have subjects like written sentences do. Photographs have verbs, elements that show what is actually going on in a picture. They have elements that are like adjectives used to describe and highlight the subject-- color, form, sharpness, distance, location. And like writing, photographs have central characters, context, point of view and angle.

Although there are no right and wrong ways to make and to interpret photographs, there are accepted or expected ways we have learned to formulate and ‘see’ visual images. People generally use those conventions first when trying to understand or take a photograph.”

Wendy Watriss, Photojournalist
Artistic Director and Co-founder of FotoFest