Practical activities using photobooks
From Chris Francis, St Peter's School
This resource contains some ideas and activities for promoting the use of (photo)books in the classroom. I'm using the term 'photobooks' broadly here, referring to all books about photography upon our shelves. For further resources relating to photobooks and the myriad of possibilities under this banner you might be interested in:
- What is a photobook? - exploring the history of the photobook and investigating great examples of the form; encouraging experimentation the creation of a photobook.
- The (In)decisive moment - exploring the relationships between photographs, time and memory with the photobooks of Henri Cartier Bresson and Nick Wapplington.
- Jack Latham: Sugar Paper Theories - a major project developed in response to a notorious unresolved double murder investigation in Iceland. The work won the Bar Tur Photobook Award in 2016. The resulting photobook is an innovative combination of original and archive images and text.
Developing a photobook library
Firstly, a declaration of interest, not all schools will be as lucky as we have been: In July 2019 our Art & Photography Department were fortunate to be on the end of a sublime gift courtesy of Tom Oldham, Portrait Photographer and all-round good man. He had put a call-out via social media for donations of photobooks for schools, stimulated by a discussion we’d had when I happened to share insights into the challenges of running a department with limited resources. I wasn’t expecting him to act, and I certainly wasn't anticipating the response that would follow. As a result, Tom arrived with a VAN FULL of photobooks, one of two visits to schools that he made that week, not only giving his time to collect books and deliver them, but also stopping to spend the day with students and share his work and experiences. We remain highly grateful to Tom and all the photographers and supporters that donated. So, the motivations for writing this resource are partly a means of saying 'thank-you', and to demonstrate that such kind efforts are by no means gathering dust, but also to share some practical ideas for those that either have an established library, or might benefit from such kindness in the future. |
It is an unfortunate truth that dedicated teachers too often dip into their own pockets or trail charity shops or e-Bay in an attempt to provide students with access to art and photography books. Here are some alternative ways in which a specialist library might be developed: In schools with whole-school libraries, funding can sometimes be found or negotiated for a few new books each year, or perhaps even a subscription to a contemporary magazine. If you haven't asked your librarian it is definitely worth a go. Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) are often receptive to requests for support with resources, or alternatively, if lucky, a letter to parents asking for donations of books can hit the mark with someone with an interest in - or working within - a related field. If students are making their own photobooks it can also be an opportunity to develop a student photobook library - growing a collection (through duplication) of successful examples for others to enjoy and learn from.
Practical ways to make more of your photobook library in school
1. Thematic displays Let's start with the most obvious way of displaying books (and artworks) in art departments. But it is still an enjoyable curatorial exercise - and one that can also be given to students. A thematic display can highlight the books available that link with current projects. Alternatively a display might be in response to current news, topics or school events. A mischievous or subversive selection can always provide a discussion point. 2. When books combine For this we managed to secure a couple of unwanted display racks from a nearby library, but a shelf would suffice. The straightforward invitation to students was this: Thoughtfully choose a couple of books and display them together in the rack. Your choices might be a connection (or contrast) of genre, styles or techniques, or something more playful and unexpected, such as material/paper properties, titles or size of book. Once on display, add a piece of accompanying text - thoughtfully explain, draw attention to, stimulate reflection on your choices. |
3. Pictures and Post-its
This is a useful exercise when considering TC#1 'Photography consists of many genres...' It can also be a helpful introduction to TC#7 'Photographs are not fixed in meaning, context is everything'. Below is a suggested approach:
This is a useful exercise when considering TC#1 'Photography consists of many genres...' It can also be a helpful introduction to TC#7 'Photographs are not fixed in meaning, context is everything'. Below is a suggested approach:
- Place a wide selection of books across the table(s) and invite students to choose one.
- Ask students to carefully consider the types of photographs it contains and then, on post-it notes, write a word that links with each image. Students might consider genres (portrait, landscape, wildlife, fashion etc.) or associated technical or descriptive words.
- Experiment with photographing the word/post-it note on the relevant image. Also consider the shape, colour and edges of the post-it and how this might conceal, align with, disrupt the image in an interesting way.
- Now experiment with mixing words and images in unexpected combinations. How do these new combinations of word and image alter the potential meaning or impact?
4. Disrupted surfaces Placing objects on top of images and photographing them is a simple idea but one with lots of possibilities. It is also one a range of artists have explored including John Stezakar and Stephen Gill. Here are a few suggested approaches:
|
5. Lines of distinction
This activity has proven excellent for promoting discussion on subtle differences between book themes and specific photographs. The challenge for students is to order books in a line in-between two distinct terms. Some suggestions are:
Formal ------------------------------ Informal
Objective --------------------------- Subjective
Traditional-------------------------- Contemporary
Most emotive --------------------- Least emotive
Formal ------------------------------ Informal
Objective --------------------------- Subjective
Traditional-------------------------- Contemporary
Most emotive --------------------- Least emotive
6. Flat out
This activity was inspired by Batia Suter's practice of displaying her collection of open photobooks on tabletops and floors. The challenge is for students to work collaboratively to arrange a series of photobooks, open at particular pages, in a long line or other arrangement, so that they form a sequence or pattern of connected images. Here are a couple of examples of Suter's work:
This activity was inspired by Batia Suter's practice of displaying her collection of open photobooks on tabletops and floors. The challenge is for students to work collaboratively to arrange a series of photobooks, open at particular pages, in a long line or other arrangement, so that they form a sequence or pattern of connected images. Here are a couple of examples of Suter's work:
In this example, students decided to arrange photobooks from the classroom library (an odd arrangement of charity shop finds and donations) in a chromatic sequence.
Other responses explored subject or genre associations or discovered surreal juxtapositions. Lots of interesting discussions can be had about the importance of context (TC#7) and the history of appropriation in photography. The activity also lens itself to creative documentation through tracking shots, time lapse and close-up selections.
In addition...
The ideas above lean towards practical activities with whole classes. Of course there are many other ways for students to benefit from a healthy book collection, not least:
The ideas above lean towards practical activities with whole classes. Of course there are many other ways for students to benefit from a healthy book collection, not least:
- Regular quiet reading time - an established slot each month where students can conduct screen-free research.
- Student book reviews - set a short writing task, a 250 word book review, a perfect way to develop writing skills for the personal study.
- A photobook club - a lunchtime or after school club, perhaps established by KS5 subject prefects, that provides an opportunity to read, talk about, make photobooks.
Finally...
If you are a publisher, industry professional or a kind-hearted other keen to support photobooks for (other) schools we would love to hear from you here.
If you'd like to make a donation to support our work with teachers and young people you can do so here. In addition, if you are a teacher with further ideas to share, relating to this post or others, we'd also love to hear from you. It's good to share. That's one lesson that developing this website has taught us, as have the actions and kindness of Tom Oldham and his network.
If you are a publisher, industry professional or a kind-hearted other keen to support photobooks for (other) schools we would love to hear from you here.
If you'd like to make a donation to support our work with teachers and young people you can do so here. In addition, if you are a teacher with further ideas to share, relating to this post or others, we'd also love to hear from you. It's good to share. That's one lesson that developing this website has taught us, as have the actions and kindness of Tom Oldham and his network.