flvs creative photography assignments

Learning Photography Through a Virtual School

Virtual schools have become increasingly popular as school and family budgets continue to be squeezed. Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is an internet based public school that offers a full range of classes for students, starting in middle school. FLVS is free for Florida students, including those who are home schooled. Students outside Florida can also take classes, through FLVS Global, for a fee.

My daughter has wanted to learn photography for a couple of years now, but I’m not a photographer. I knew I could find someone who would teach her, but that would cost a lot, and I don’t like spending a lot of money when my children first show interest in an elective. For example, I’d rather rent versus own until I know this is something we’re going to stick with.

This summer, I decided to enroll her in FLVS Photography Segment 1, leveraging the freedom we have in school choice as homeschoolers.

Connections Academy and K12 are two other online virtual schools for students.

Abigail has not only learned new photography skills, but also the history of photography, composition and how to choose her subjects.

What has my daughter enjoyed about learning photography throught a virtual school?

• Her teacher, Ms. Perez

She is always available for questions and further direction. She regularly provides feedback, support and encouragement to Abigail via email and telephone. Abigail always comes running, bursting with excitement, to tell me all the wonderful things her teacher told her about her current project. Her words have made my daughter feel like an artist.

• The photography projects

The projects have been varied and plentiful. Through them, Abigail has learned to look at everyday objects in new ways, viewing the world as a photographer. Each project has a specific focus, teaching her a new element of design. She has learned about composition by using the rule of thirds and how to focus on foreground, background or middle ground.

She made a pinhole camera to learn how the camera works. Other projects have included “a day in the life” and also focusing on textures and finding design elements. One of her favorite assignments was finding the letters of her name in regular things.

What have I enjoyed about using a virtual school?

• Independence

It took us a couple of weeks to learn what pace the teacher was expecting, however, once we understood this, Abigail took complete control of her course. While setting up her weekly schedule, she decides what assignments she will complete on which days. She schedules phone assessments with her teacher and studies on her own. She has learned how to transfer her photos to the computer and upload them to her teacher. Her word processing skills are improving through written assignments and is also learning netiquette as she converses with other students online.

• Project schedule

Although there are a fair amount of projects to be completed each week, it has not been overwhelming. There is no busy work as each assignment serves a specific purpose.

• Her teacher

I love that someone other than me is teaching and supporting my daughter. It has been wonderful for her to receive praise and critiques from another adult. It is also another avenue for Abigail to converse with adults and continues to teach her how to politely state her case if she disagrees with something.

Enjoy free classes at  Openculture ,  Coursera  and  Kahn Academy , just to name a few.

Overall, taking an elective via FLVS has been a very positive experience. I will definitely be enrolling her in Photography Segment 2 and most likely other electives in the future.

Do you utilize a virtual school for your child’s learning?

***Just prior to posting this, I received a note letting me know that Abigail’s beloved photography teacher has been laid off because of budget and enrollment issues (along with a ton of other teachers). This saddens me. We have a lot of educational choices in Florida and I hope that families continue to support these choices, so they remain available to us.

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Get Inspired With These Creative Photography Assignments

Last year I wrote about what to do when you find yourself in a  photography rut (I’ve reposted the article so it appears near the top of the recent articles list, or you can click the link to read it).

One of the ideas is giving yourself creative photography assignments or briefs. Over the last year I’ve realized just how powerful this idea is as I’ve set myself assignments and briefs to follow.

I believe in this way of working so strongly that I wrote a new assignments ebook, 100 Creative Photography Assignments , with the aim to give you enough ideas and inspiration to give you at least a year’s worth of shooting.

The book is structured into twenty broad themes, with five assignments for each theme. 

Today I’d like to share some of my favorite assignments from the book with you. The theme is listed in brackets after the assignment.

These assignments will boost your creativity. Some of them are easy. None of them are complicated. Most of them are challenging. All of them are designed to help you see the creative potential in everyday subjects.

To give you a taste of what’s in the book here are some of my favorite assignments. Whether you buy the book or not, I hope you’ll find these ideas useful.

Assignment 19: Hands (Frames)

Use somebody’s hands as a frame for something they are holding. It helps if the object is smaller than your model’s hand. Stuck for ideas? Ask somebody to cup their hands and fill them with strawberries. It’s verging on cliche but fun to play with.

I made the photo below on a walk with my son. He picked up the yellow berries and held them out for me to make a photo. His hand frames the berries, and the dark background frames his hand. It’s another variation on the frame within a frame idea.

Assignment 28: Botanical gardens (Flowers)

Botanical gardens are ideal for finding flowers that don’t normally grow in your local area. Big tropical flowers in particular make great subjects. 

The advantage of botanical gardens is that they often have large greenhouses full of interesting plants and flowers you can photograph all year. 

You can move in close to make great close-up photos of unusual flowers. You can also step back and make photos of flowers in their environment. Add interest by including the glass of the greenhouse walls.

Assignment 33: Street art (Buildings)

Street art is a fascinating subject because, in urban environments, there’s so much of it. It’s a theme you can return to as you travel, photographing street art in different parts of the world.

For me, there is a clear difference between graffiti, which is mindless vandalism, and street art like in the photo on this page, which is made by skillful artists. The first is depressing (which could be an interesting theme in itself and is also connected to Assignment 39: Urban decay ). The second is uplifting and celebrates creativity and freedom of expression. 

But of course, you may have a different opinion and you can interpret the brief any way you like.

Assignment 36: In the area (Your local neighborhood)

The hardest thing about photographing your own neighborhood is familiarity. The longer you’ve been living there the more likely it is that you’ve stopped noticing how interesting it might be to somebody seeing it with fresh eyes.

This assignment is your opportunity to put that right and make a series of photos that show the local architecture in your neighborhood. Whether it’s suburban housing, rural life or urban living, there’s something interesting to photograph. 

If it helps, imagine you’re a visitor from another country seeing your neighborhood for the first time. What would they find interesting about it? What makes it different? If your neighborhood is boring, how can you capture that boredom?

Assignment 39: Urban decay (Your local neighborhood)

Some buildings can look good for centuries if they’re well looked after. But others soon fall into decay, especially if they’re not maintained. Look for the beauty in decayed or run-down buildings. 

You expect older buildings to be in a state of disrepair, especially if you live in a country that has plenty of ruins. But more modern urban decay can be just as interesting. Why do modern buildings fall into disrepair? What stories do they tell about their neighborhoods, towns and cities?

Another approach to this idea is to photograph urban decay in other countries, and then compare the results with what you get in your local area.

Assignment 58: Small towns and cities (Urban skyline)

This assignment is similar to the previous one except that this time your brief is to make a photo of the skyline in a smaller town or city. 

The focus is on ordinary buildings. Residential areas are often an interesting subject. As you wander around you’ll see a big difference in architectural styles as you move from one neighborhood to another. 

These are smaller, more intimate urban skylines. It’s another assignment with great potential to turn into a series.

Assignment 65: Shadow as a frame (Light and shadow)

Your brief for this assignment is to photograph a scene with a brightly lit subject framed by shadow. Architecture is a great subject as you can use standard features like arches and doorways. 

As long as you have something interesting lit by the sun to juxtapose against a shady foreground you’ll have enough contrast to get this effect. You can play with the shadows in post-processing to see whether making them darker improves the composition.  

Another approach to this brief is to stand indoors and shoot out through the window. If the scene outside is lit by the sun there’s enough contrast to create a black frame around it.

Assignment 72: Abandoned furniture (Everyday objects)

The other day I walked past an old armchair abandoned in the street, and it reminded me of the photo on this page that I made in Newport, Rhode Island, some time ago. 

It also reminded me of a red couch I saw abandoned in a field in Mexico, some old chairs I saw outside a house in Alaska, and the time I saw a motorcycle gang sitting on an old sofa watching a carnival in New Zealand.

This is a good assignment to keep at the back of your mind. If you see a piece of abandoned furniture somewhere, make a photo of it, even if it’s with your smartphone. As time goes by you’ll build an interesting series of images. 

Assignment 80: Limited color palettes (Composition)

The final composition assignment tests your observational skills by asking you to make photos of scenes with a limited color palette. 

Often this type of scene is dominated by a single vibrant color, like the orange flowers in the photo on the right. Using a limited color palette simplifies the design of the photo by simplifying the colors used in the composition. 

If you’re outside making photos, then this brief is a good test of your composition skills. But you can also think about this assignment if you have more control over the scene. 

If you’re making a portrait of somebody, for example, what happens if you ask them to wear a blue jumper, blue jeans and stand in front of a blue wall? What difference does it make if they wear an orange jumper instead? Exploring the use of color like this can give interesting results.

Assignment 83: Cool colors (Mood)

A few years ago I spent a summer in northern Spain, where there are a lot of cloudy days. But the clouds gave the landscape another mood, fertile rather than arid, cool rather than hot, contemplative rather than vacation-like. 

Cloudy light has a higher color temperature than sunlight, which means it’s naturally blue. You can neutralize that by adjusting White Balance, or you can enhance it instead, adding to the mood and feel of the scene. That’s what I chose to do in the photo on the right. It’s also your brief for this assignment. Look for a scene that works well with cooler, blue colors (like a winter landscape or a cloudy seascape) and make a photo that captures the moodiness of the scene. 

Assignment 91: Road signs (Landscape)

Some photographers equate landscape photography with photographing the wilderness, but there are many parts of the world where the natural landscape coexists with man-made elements. In long-settled countries like Britain the entire landscape has been affected by man in one way or another. 

For this assignment your brief is to incorporate road signs into a landscape photo. How can you juxtapose man-made and natural elements of the landscape in an interesting way?

In the photo on this page, I was struck by the symmetry created by placing the road sign between the distant wind turbines, another man-made element of the landscape.

100 Creative Photography Assignments

These assignments come from my new ebook 100 Creative Photography Assignments

I’m proud of this one and wish I’d had it 20 years ago when I was starting out in photography.  Click here to learn more

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Tips for Creating the Perfect Learning Space

Still settling into an at-home learning routine this semester? If so, you may find that you are having a tough time staying focused, on track, or organized. If this is the case, we have a few tips to help you create the perfect learning environment at home. 

Find Quiet Space

Nothing makes school more difficult than noisy distractions; finding a quiet space to work is essential for students (and parents!) to stay focused while learning from home. Set up a workspace that is unique to your learning needs in a separate room away from loud noises, toys, and distracting electronics.  

Ensure Good Lighting 

When choosing a spot to attend live lessons and complete assignments, make sure there is adequate lighting. Try placing your desk in front of a window, in a room with a ceiling light, or in an area where you can add a floor or desk lamp to easily see what you’re writing, typing, or reading.   

Utilize Dual Monitors

If possible, try incorporating a second monitor so you can refer to modules, lessons, and notes on one screen while working on assignments on the other. Dual monitors are also a great way for students to spread out their windows to view live lessons, presentations, and more at the same time.  

Post a Calendar and Follow a Schedule 

With online learning, students have flexibility to customize their academic schedule to accommodate how and when they learn best and make time for the activities they love. With this flexibility, organization and timeliness is crucial to keeping up with academic due dates and deadlines.  By creating a calendar and following a weekly schedule, students will have a visual aid to monitor their progress and stay on track. 

Keep Essentials Handy 

Even if you are taking all of your courses online, school supplies are recommended to take notes, participate in activities, and stay organized throughout the year. Here are some of the essentials you should keep in your learning space: 

• Notebooks 
• Pens & Pencils 
• Folders & Binders 
• Mouse 
• Headset 
• Power Source

Looking for more inspiration for your at-home learning space? Join our FLVS Parents and Students Facebook Group  and visit us on Pinterest  for more virtual school tips and resources.  

Photo Credit: Kharma, FLVS Creative Photography student

6 comments on “ Tips for Creating the Perfect Learning Space ”

Thanks really helpful

Thank you 🙂

Cool. Dual monitor idea!

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