I have not taught any classes in digital photography but I have worked in the photography business for over nine years and I have taken several classes in photography. One class that I took that was particularly engaging was Photography & Design. In this class, we learned about different types of basic design theory as it pertains to photography. Here are three examples of some of the assignments:
- Everyone must take and present three different pictures of the same subject. In this case, it was eggs. It sounds like you would end up with a lot of repetitive images of eggs but in fact, the presentation contained a lot of surprising variety, Consequently, the results emphasized individual creativity and perspective. It was also a fun exercise for doing macro images and working with subtle gradations of light and shadow in black and white.
- Photograph the same area with one image conveying great depth of field and the other conveying a flat depth of field. For this assignment I went to Sather Gate at the UC Berkeley campus and photographed the same path looking straight down the middle and then again from the top floor of the tower. The first image had a large depth of field and the second looked almost like a game board in its flatness. Others in the class had similar striking opposites.
- Photograph a series of sequenced images and present them to the class in whatever format you wish. This class was my initial inspiration for working with stop-motion animation. You could also work with life-size models. This assignment is really fun and challenging and allows for narrative possibilities. This could easily be made into a small group assignment as well. I placed my sequence of a dancing puppet in a large accordion style booklet of matted 8x10 prints. We also present our images in slides for another related assignment.
And speaking of slides, I don't know how you present the completed images normally but you could incorporate the images from the class into a series of cross dissolved slides with music in a simple film editing program such as I-life, formerly known as I-Movie or possibly Powerpoint. PC probably has the equivalent simplified programs but I am not familiar with them. This could also be given as a final presentation portfolio assignment for the work done within the class. Kids love to work with the possibility of movement and many of them are quite savvy with various motion image digital formats on the internet. This assignment takes them a step further in terms of organization of material, editing out the best material and presenting them in a cohesive package within a set list of parameters. I recommend giving them a precise time frame to work with here. They will also enjoy incorporating music to the images.