On Posing
In this activity, students will compose a personal essay on the experience of being photographed, reflecting on issues of consent, posing, self-expression, image manipulation, and identity in the digital age.
PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 4: ESSAY
1 class period (45-60 min) + written assignment
VIDEOS:
The Power of Portraiture Video and Transcript (as needed)
HANDOUTS:
Handout 1 (as needed)
Handout 2 (as needed)
Handout 3 (as needed)
WORKSHEET:
TEACHING PLAN:
- Art and Culture
Medium > Visual Arts
Subject Matter > Art History
Subject Matter > Philosophy
- History and Social Studies
Themes > Culture
Themes > Globalization
World > The Modern World
- Literature and Language Arts
Genre > Biography
Genre > Essay
Place > Modern World
- Analysis
- Creative writing
- Critical thinking
- Cultural analysis
- Discussion
- Evaluating arguments
- Expository writing
- Interpretation
- Literary analysis
- Media analysis
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions
- Persuasive writing and speaking
- Representing ideas and information in writing
- Synthesis
- Textual analysis
- Visual analysis
- Writing skills
- ELA Reading: 5-7, 10
- ELA Writing: 1, 3-6, 10
- ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-2
- HSS Reading: 5-7, 10
- HSS Writing: 2, 4-6, 10
LESSON 4 HANDOUTS
- Allow additional time for peer review, editing, and revision of work, or for students to evaluate the use of perspective, structure, style, and tone in their finished pieces.
- Add a visual requirement, such as the use of images in the finished essays.
- Increase the minimum length requirement for the essays, asking students to reference contemporary theories on photography or digital portraiture in their reflections (see Handout 4 and Photography Unit Research handout for related texts and resources).
- Publish class excerpts in the school newspaper or literary/art journal, coordinate a class blog, radio segment, or podcast, or encourage students to submit their final pieces independently.