PHOTO MONDAYS
Virtual photography program for teens!
February 1st - April 19th (10 weeks)
Mondays, 5:30-6:30 pm
For Teens
(10 students max)
Our Photo Mondays program will serve as a supportive and welcoming virtual space for teens to come together to learn new technical skills, share their images, and practice using photographic language to enhance how they can explain their own artistic process. Participants will be given engaging photo prompts and ideas to consider to help them refine their photographic eye. Led by OA lead mentor Maya Jackson, students will also have an opportunity to have break-out sessions with other OA Photography mentors to discuss their work, or to have individual technical instruction tailored to their interest.
For more information about the class please contact liana@oakwoodarts.org
WEEK #8: INSPIRED BY YOUR FAVORITE ALBUM COVER!
For our 8th week of Photo Mondays led by Instructor Maya Jackson and Program Intern Tricia Evangelisto, students created and shared images inspired by their favorite musical artists! Mazzy Star, SZA, and Mr. Stupendium are a few artists this week's work was inspired by. As this session of Photo Mondays comes to an end we welcomed guest speaker Gordon Stettinius of @candelabooksandgallery to inspire students to submit their work to their TENTH annual UnBound Exhibition! We are grateful for the fellowship of artistic young minds & hope to be sharing more as meetings resume.
Photo by Delaney, grade 10. Inspired by Mazzy Star
Now, it’s your turn!
Imagine the artist asked you personally to create their next album cover or cover art for a specific song. Based on the artists' style, would it be a portrait, nature scene, or maybe a still life? What colors and items would you incorporate into the photo to try and get the mood you want to convey across. If someone were to see your "album cover" would they also be reminded of this artist? This project is meant to be fun and for you to think outside the box while drawing inspiration from the music that you love. You can choose multiple different music artists and do several photos, create a series just from one artist, or have a single photo to represent everything. Happy shooting! :)
WEEK #7: CREATING A PHOTO SERIES
This week for PhotoMonday our students were tasked with creating a Photo Series of 3 to 5 images. Photo series often tell stories about a certain time, place, event, or even emotion, and the images connect conceptually to each other in some way. Each week we are surprised at the level of skill & subjects of interest as our students continue to share work that means a lot to them!
Photo by Jasmyne, grade 10.
Photo by Jasmyne, grade 10.
Make your own photo series!
Your series can showcase your favorite landscapes, portraits of people who are important to you, or meaningful items you have in your room...the sky is the limit!! A photo series can also be a group of images with completely different subject matter but all of the shots are edited/appear similarly, like each one being black and white or having a dreamy filter on top.
WEEK #6: GOLDEN HOUR
“Golden Hour” a coveted moment in time for photographers all around the world; This week for Photo Monday’s our students shared their one-of-a-kind golden hour photos! Each photo presents a unique perspective and reminds us of the magic that can be made, whether uniquely ‘Mine-crafted’ or through spur-of-the-moment nature shots, our students continuously display dynamic points of view from Libby Hill, to the rooftops on Monument Ave.
This week the assignment was to experiment with taking pictures during "Golden Hour". In photography, the golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky. The period of time shortly after the golden hour at sunset (or before sunrise) is called the blue hour, when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade.
Photo by Natalie, grade 10.
Photo by Karys, grade 8.
Give it a try!
The photos you take can be nature/landscape-based, portraits of people, or a scene you set up. The subject matter, composition, perspective, etc. is completely up to you all, so feel free to get creative!
WEEK #5: EDITING A SINGLE PHOTO 5 DIFFERENT WAYS!
Students were asked to put their Pixlr editing skills to the test and edit the same image 4 - 5 different ways. Give it a try, play around with any other editing tools that interest you!
There is another version of Pixlr called Pixlr X and you are welcome to try both, if it’s your first go, we recommend editing your photos with Pixlr X; it seems to be easier to navigate and more user-friendly in general: https://pixlr.com/x/
Other options below!
Happy Editing! :)
WEEK #4: INTRODUCTION TO PIXLR
This week, in real-time during our zoom, we demonstrated some of the different editing techniques you can accomplish using the free photo editing website Pixlr: https://pixlr.com/e/
We love this site because it has a lot of editing capabilities that are similar to the ones in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. Pixlr is a great resource to experiment with lighting adjustments like exposure and contrast, as well as more involved edits like removing/changing the background of your photo or making one part of your image in color and the rest black and white.
Photo by Ethan, grade 8.
Edit by Ethan, grade 8.
Photo by Jasmyne, grade 10.
Edit by Jasmyne, grade 10.
Want to get a feel for editing your photos in programs similar to Adobe Photoshop?
Pixlr: https://pixlr.com/e/ Another fantastic free online photo-editing program similar to Adobe Photoshop is https://www.photopea.com/ We encourage you to use either one you prefer to edit your images!
WEEK #3: Self portraits
This week our Photo Monday students focused on self portraiture! Instructor Maya Jackson and Program Intern Tricia Evangelisto were blown away by these beautifully nuanced portraits taken by our teens in grades 7-10th, and the creative ways in which they captured themselves.
After viewing work from both Maya and Tricia, the prompt for this week was to create a literal portrait of themselves or to photograph items that they feel best represents them. Maya remarked that “Some of their portraits are up to the same standards I saw during my time in the VCU photo program!”
Photo by Jasmyne, grade 10.
Photo by Christopher, grade 9.
Looking to take a stab at self-portraiture?
For this assignment, make a self-portrait using a camera, tablet, or cell phone, etc. The location, lighting, and overall setup are completely up to you! Think outside the box and include what you think would best represent you through a single image. These self-portraits can be literal photos of yourself or represented figuratively through things/items you decide to include in your image.
Share your work by posting on Instagram using the hashtag #OAPhotoMondays and follow @oakwoodarts! (Don’t use social media? You can also email your photos to liana@oakwoodarts.org)
WEEK #2: Experimenting with shadows
In today’s class we discussed how even though some of us have similar interests when it comes to what style of photography we enjoy, we all have our own artistic eye! Throughout the week our teens focused on photographing shadows and observing light by playing with different light sources.
Our class "photo of the week" is this awesome portrait captured by Jasmyne Kinslow.
Do you want to give this assignment a try?
Photos can be taken with any device: camera, tablet, cell phone, etc.
The important thing is to observe light! Look for shadows and focus on all types from objects to people, staged, or found. Try using at least two different light sources to take photos with shadows in them.
Make sure to take note of what light sources you used what the different types of light can do for your photography!
Share your work by posting on Instagram using the hashtag #OAPhotoMondays and follow @oakwoodarts! (Don’t use social media? You can also email your photos to liana@oakwoodarts.org)
WEEK #1: Find a photograph you wish you took
We are so excited to get started with our latest session of Photo-Mondays!
For the first assignment of our newest PhotoMondays program, our students were asked to find or choose a photo that they wish they had captured themselves. The image could be from anywhere! A famous photographer, magazine, social media post, billboard, movie/tv show, etc!
Delaney Stevenson wishes she took this image. Here’s why:
“I really love the whimsical feeling of this picture. The background really helps pull the whole piece together. I also love this style of architecture so I was immediately drawn to this! I think this is one of those pictures where you wish you were the one taking the picture so you could both get this great image, and experience this in real life. I think editing the background really helped pull the fairytale out of this scene.” Photograph by @samanthassamantiques
Do you want to do this assignment too?
Try to pay special attention to all the different types of images you see throughout the week and in how many different formats or settings you see them in. Once you've got your photo, write down the name of the Photographer, the title (if it has one), and any more information you think might be helpful like the location or date it was taken.
Think about what drew you to this specific photo. Was it the expression on the subject’s face? The colors in the background? What you find interesting about the photo could be a detail in the image itself or simply the way it makes you feel when you look at it. Jot down a few notes about why you chose that photo! How can you use this information while creating your own images in the future?
Share the image you wish you took by posting on Instagram using the hashtag #OAPhotoMondays and follow @oakwoodarts! (Don’t use social media? You can also email your photos to liana@oakwoodarts.org)
At the start of the pandemic through to the end of the school year, we posted new prompts every Monday as a way for our photo club teens to stay in touch with their mentors and each other, continue developing their skills, and explore a range of photographic techniques!
If you are new to this page, feel free to use any type of camera to capture your images, whether that be a cellphone, digital camera, laptop or tablet.
Share your work by posting on Instagram using the hashtag #OAPhotoMondays and follow @oakwoodarts! (Don’t use social media? You can also email your photos to liana@oakwoodarts.org)