We kicked off our Easter holiday Photography Courses for Kids and Teens with two brilliant days at The Photographers’ Gallery
We love running photography courses for teens at The Photographers’ Gallery in London and this was no exception! This Easter break we spent 2 days running full day workshops inspired by the work of Deutsche Börse Photography Prize nominee Batia Suter. Suter produces prints of digitally manipulated images, as well as image sequences and collages, often using found pictures. Her artistic approach ultimately presents how images affect and manipulate meaning, depending on where and how they are placed.
Day one: A Photographic Collage: Old and New
The day started by taking the teens to have a tour of Batia Suter’s work. We asked them what they liked, what they didn’t, and how they think they can use her work to inspire theirs.
Once we were back in the classroom we looked at how changing the context of an image can create a new meaning for that image. We encouraged the students to look through newspapers, magazines, photography books, and printed images from the web, looking for compositional, textural and gradient similarities.
The teens used their found images to create a new image by cutting them up, drawing on them, combining images and creating a new collage using old images.
We discussed why they found their found images interesting and how they could then go outdoors and implement the similarities in their own photographs.
In the afternoon we taught the teens how to use their cameras to achieve similar images, going over the exposure triangle and explaining how the use of camera mechanics such as aperture, shutter speed and ISO can enrich their images. Then we head outside so the teens could photograph their new images.

Thomas

Tom

Rhys
Once we were back in the classroom the students printed out their favourite photographs and some decided to build another collage using their new photographs with the old images from before.
At the end of the day the students hung up their old collages, new photographs and new collages for a mini exhibition.
Day two: Pictures within Pictures
Building on yesterdays photographic collage workshop, today we were encouraging our students to work within their own camera frames to create a picture within a picture. Looking at the work of famous photographers such as Gary Stochl, Vivien Mayer and Giles Peress, we encouraged our students to incorporate more image layers in their photographs whilst shooting.
We went over how to use depth of field and slow and fast shutter speed to enrich the visual layers in the teens photographs. We also taught our students how to set their camera’s to black and white, and encouraged them to take black and white photographs to add to their image’s layers.
Time to head outside! Using puddles, reflections and posters found on the streets of London, our students were able to visually add layers, creating textures and even collage like images.
Check out some of the teens amazing photos:

Jack

Albi

Ruby

Rhys

Jack

Jack

Albi

Freya

Freya
At the end of the day we had another mini exhibition so the students could show off their amazing work to their parents and fellow course takers.
Impressive right?!
If you know someone who would love to take part in one of our upcoming photography courses for kids and teens then click here!
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We look forward to seeing you on a course soon.