Will kids who grow up snapping pictures on cell phones and sharing them on Facebook have the same appreciation for the art of photography and well-crafted photographic prints as today’s photography pros who grew up with film cameras and darkroom processing? Maybe not—unless they can learn from photographers who know how to explain the art in a way that makes sense to them.
That’s why some of the sessions in the new Genesis Digital Photography Learning Center in Mountain View, CA will be directed at children and high-school students.
From July 12 to 30 this summer, the Genesis Digital Learning Center will host three Kids Photo Camps, led by Canon Explorer of Light Vincent Isola. Open to students ages 10 to 14, each camp will last 3 hours a day for five days. For three weeks in August, Isola will lead High School Photo Camps for older students who want to take their photography to the next level.
Isola is an accomplished portrait and landscape photographer who started the Genesis Digital Photography Center in his state-of-the-art Genesis Photography StudioHis goal is to provide a hands-on, pain-free, and fun learning experience for photography enthusiasts of all ages. Classes will enable everyone from beginning amateurs to advanced professionals to learn from experienced photography professionals in a working studio environment.
Courses will cover photography and lighting skills, digital imaging, total color management, and archival pigment printing, using the newest Canon imagePROGRAF printers.
Isola believes that, “Photography is a great way to teach kids to look carefully at the world around them.” He hopes his students will come away with an understanding that “Photography is not just about pointing and shooting. It’s a decision-making process.”
During the camp, he will expose students to the basic concepts of digital photography and encourage them to be creative: “Our goal is to help young people have fun with a camera, find their own voice, and help them tell their story through photography.”
The children will learn and practice concepts of distance, angle, focus, perspective, and framing a photograph. Other topics that will be covered during the Photo Camp include:
- Proper camera handling and care
- Camera features and shooting modes
- Photography etiquette (when and when not to shoot)
- Metering, shutter speed, aperture, and while balance
- Choosing the correct exposure
- Selecting which images to keep
- Uploading, saving and editing images
- The basics of image printing
The skills will be taught in an age-appropriate way, using games, activities and field trips. Each child will have his or her own Mac workstation and share a 17-in. printer another student. At the end of the week, each student will bring home a portfolio of the images they have shot and printed during the week.
Isola said the idea for the photo camps originated after he taught a six-week class to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at the school his own children attend. He says, “I was completely impressed by each student’s ability to pick up tools they’d never used before and just play with them to try to figure it all out. They didn’t exhibit any of the angst and frustration that adults seems to have when trying new tools and they have no expectations other than trying to have fun. I’m hoping a bit of that rubs off on me. I think I learned more than they did!”
In the fall, the Genesis Digital Learning Center will also offer workshops for adults, on topics such as the elements of composition, digital wedding photography, children and baby photography, and exhibition-quality printing. A course will also be offered for owners of Canon DSLRs who want to learn how to use all of the camera’s features.
Some of the courses will be taught by other photographers and digital-imaging experts. For example, from Sept. 27- Oct. 1, experienced portrait artists Eddie Tapp and Judy Host will be conducting a comprehensive lighting and workflow workshop entitled Digital 4 Eleven.
To learn more, visit the Genesis Digital Photography Learning Center website: www.genesisdlc.com
