This Week’s Theme: “Some Kind of Beautiful”
Morning Positive Affirmations Video By SandZ Affirmations: Click HERE
Journal Prompt:
What does it mean to be beautiful?
What are some things around you that you find beautiful? These could be things or people in your home or community.
7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey:
Habit 6: Synergize
Read Aloud: Sophie and the Perfect Poem
Visual/Literary Art Project:
This week’s assignment is to LOOK FOR BEAUTY AROUND YOU and PHOTOGRAPH SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL. I encourage you to be reflective and get creative. If you don’t have a camera you can use your phone. (My sample at the end of this post was taken using the camera on my phone.)
This week, we have special treat! Professional photographer, business owner, and humanitarian Amber Raines shares some picture-taking tips with the Community Classroom. Before starting the assignment, check out Amber’s tips below.
Meet Amber
Amber is a professional photographer and friend to the Community Classroom. She describes herself as a “self-taught photographer” who enjoys “reading books about photography, practicing the art of photography as well as editing.”
Amber founded her own company, Murphy Raines Photography, in 2017- the same week she defended her dissertation! (Amber has her PhD in Leadership for Higher Education.)
Amber specializes in Birth Stories as well as photography for branding, lifestyle and special events.
This week, Amber shares her passion and talent with us to help guide our project. Use her tips below to help you complete this week’s project. To see more of Amber’s amazing work and learn about her nonprofit work, click the buttons below.
Amber’s Photography Tips
Great photography is about maximizing your eyes.
Background and Framing
Background is important because you want your photo to be free from distractions or anything that might take away from your main subject. As you remove distractions, you will begin to examine what is left and how you want your photo to be perceived. This takes us to framing.
Framing, draws attention to a specific part of your composition. Look for doorways, openings, and shapes that will help focus attention on your subject. As you practice, you will be able to work your frame by paying attention to every part of it. Remember, framing is powerful and will improve your photo. In the example photo, I included the rock to frame the photo.
Assignment: Take an image using your framing skills.
““One doesn’t stop seeing. One doesn’t stop framing. It doesn’t turn off and turn on. It’s on all the time”
~Annie Leibovitz
”
““You don’t take a photograph, you make it”
~Ansel Adams”
Composition and The Rule of Thirds
In photography, composition means how you position things in your photos. When you draw or build a house, you start with a strong foundation. Think of composition as your strong foundation.
The Rule of Thirds: If you have played tic- tac- toe before, then this portion of the lesson will hopefully be easier to remember. As you look through the lens of your camera or phone, visualize an imaginary tic- tac- toe grid in your lens that divides your picture into thirds. The purpose of the rule of thirds is to capture a picture that is appealing to our eyes. Place your subject near an intersection of the tic-tac-toe grid. In the example photo, the hat was the focal point landing on the rule of thirds.
Assignment: Take an image using the rule of thirds and your framing skills.
Light and Shadows
Even though you cannot pick light up and move it, there is so much magic in it and you can adjust to the light. When you compose your photo, be sure to know where your light is. In photography, you always want to use the light as your personal assistant. By using your eye, you can control the light around you as you compose you frame your photos. The best way to learn about light, is to always practice observing it. If you are sitting at your desk or outside playing with your parents, observe the light around you to see how it is impacting the atmosphere around you. Shadows result from hard natural light. This is why you see your shadow only when the sun is shining bright. In all the examples, I used soft, natural light to avoid shadows.
Assignment: Take an image using each lesson and also control for the light.
““Light is your subject.”
~Henry Carroll. ”
A special thank you to Amber for these gems of information!
Below are my “Some Kind of Beautiful” samples:
“Raindrops”
This is a photograph I took of the rain hitting the window. Rain can represent so many things. It can be seen as something dreadful or something wonderful and helpful. Today, it represents my “Some Kind of Beautiful” because of the peace, stillness, and rest it encourages. ~AJM Ellis
Morning Cup of Coffee
This is probably one of the most BEAUTIFUL sights to me: A Morning Cup of Coffee! :)
~AJM Ellis