Taking and Editing Photos

I think I have taking photos down...I have done this a lot.  Mostly on my iPhone, using the same app that is on my iPad. 

First using my iPad's built in camera, a photo of my classroom:

Then using the editing tools to enhance the photo:

I like the bright colors, I used the chrome filter for that.  I also cropped the photo to focus on the students and get rid of the extra space around them that wasn't necessary to tell the story.

We also reviewed taking a screen shot by holding done the power and home buttons at the same time. I use this occasionally when my students create artwork in ColAR app! because I want to capture the animation.

Here is a screen shot of a photo I took that was in my photo library:

Here is a screenshot of the same photo after it has been modified with editing tools:

I take a lot of photos of my students' artwork.  I then upload it to my students' digital portfolios.  I take photos of artwork to be able to print out as examples of digital art for their actual portfolios as well.  I take photos to document clay creations and structures built out of blocks in our architecture center.  I also upload photos of artwork and students working in the studio to Twitter and our class and school websites.

There are so many ways to use photos in the art room.  Here are a few more ideas.

Students can take photos of still lifes they set up to draw.  This way the photos can be used as a reference if they need to complete their drawings at a later time.

I can take photos of how our centers, and specifically supplies, are organized and post them in the center so students can refer to them as they clean up and return & organize the supplies.

I can use photos for step by step directions on how to do a certain task, like mixing tints of colors with paint, or to provide tutorials for my students who may miss a lesson.

I can use photos to create a presentation for our art show, open house or a board meeting.

We can find examples and take photos of art concepts like line, shape, texture, etc.

Print photos and use in a collage.

Screenshots can be useful too.  I can take a screen shot if I'm introducing a new app to the class.

It would be great if I needed to capture a shot of a map in a map app. I could use screenshots to capture images when I am using a web browser, and to explain to my students how to use the web browser to find information. If students are using an app that doesn't allow you to save an image you've created, like in Minecraft for example, a screenshot would be necessary to have a record of the student's work.  Students can snap a picture of their artwork and send it to me in an email or upload it to Dropbox.  This is a quick way to assess the student's learning and possibly formulate plans for addressing areas where they may not be meeting expectations.