Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about local landscapes and painting them.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to photograph a local landscape.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords throughout the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords will be using today are landscape, composition, rule of thirds.

I'm gonna say those words again and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Landscape, composition, rule of thirds.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

The landscape is the view of a place including both natural and human made features.

Composition is how we arrange or organise the things we want to take a picture of.

And rule of thirds is a guideline to help make pictures look more balanced.

Pause the video here to make a note of these key words, And when you are ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that'll be working through together in today's lesson.

Identifying a local landscape.

And creating a photographic composition.

In the first learning cycle we're going to explore identifying a local landscape.

What do these images have in common? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? What do they all have in common? Well, these images are landscapes.

A landscape is the view of a place including the land.

Let's take a look at this image carefully.

What noises might you hear? I can maybe imagine hearing birds tweeting and wind rustling in the bushes in this image.

I can imagine it being quite windy and can you see those clouds forming in the background? A landscape could include water.

Take a look at this image here.

Can you see this large body of water? It might be a pond or a lake.

I wonder what might be swimming underneath, what might be hiding under the rocks, or between the vegetation that's growing inside the lake.

Maybe there's something gliding on top like a goose or a swam or maybe even a boat.

It includes trees, all different kinds of trees.

Looking at this image closely, we can see how these trees are growing quite close together.

You can weave through them.

You can imagine what's hiding underneath the leaves and foliage.

Maybe some foxes have made a den.

A landscape can also include mountains.

Take a look at this image here.

Can you see those snowy peaks? And we can also see trees.

I wonder what the temperature is like on those mountains? Landscapes can also include buildings.

Looking at this image here, we can see a building with lots of windows.

I think this is a block of flats.

I wonder how many people are living in these buildings? And it can also include roads.

Those roads, looking at this image could have three lanes.

I wonder where they could be going? Can you see in this image as well that the landscape includes that sunrise in the background? What can the people from these cars see as they travel along these roads? Landscapes can include both natural and human made features.

What human made and natural features can you see in this photograph of a landscape here? We see some trees, some buildings, some roads, and even some hills in the background.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which is the best definition of a landscape? The view of a place, a natural scene, a view with buildings.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said the view of a place.

You're absolutely right.

Because a landscape can include both natural and human made features.

Now this is an image of a natural landscape.

What features can you identify of a natural landscape? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What features could you identify? Well, a natural landscape mostly features things which are found in nature such as grass, trees, and hedges.

This is a more urban landscape, which human made elements can you identify? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? What was human made in this landscape here, this urban landscape? Well, this urban landscape shows buildings, roads, and a park which are human made.

Natural landscapes will sometimes contain a small number of human made features.

Urban landscapes will sometimes contain a small number of natural features.

Both natural and urban landscapes can have a mix of natural and human made features, but natural landscapes focus more on nature.

And urban landscapes focus more on buildings and roads.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Urban landscapes cannot include trees.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's false, you are absolutely right, but why is that false? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner about why this statement is false and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that although the urban landscapes mostly contain human made features, they can still contain trees.

You are absolutely right.

Well done.

An artist might choose to make an artwork about a landscape for several reasons.

Like Andeep says, "I like this landscape because I walk my dog here at the weekends." Laura has chosen a different landscape.

She says, "This is my local park.

I've always liked playing here with my friends.

Even though it's an urban landscape.

I like the way it has natural features too." Not all natural landscapes are green spaces.

Lucas says, "I chose this landscape because going to the sea is one of my favourite things." Some landscapes might mean more to some people than others.

Jun says, "This landscape means a lot to me.

As my best friend lives in one of these houses." Andeep says, "That is a great reason.

There are other landscapes which mean more to me, such as the field with the tree which I climb." Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which statement is not true.

Landscapes can be human made.

All landscapes are special to everyone.

Some landscapes have natural features.

So pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about which statement is not true and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said B, all landscapes are special to everyone.

You're absolutely right, that's not true.

Because not all landscapes are special to everyone.

They may be connected to a personal choice or a memory.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to discuss local landscapes that have meaning to you.

You might think about sharing if the landscape is natural, urban or a mixture of both.

And why this landscape is special to you.

Perhaps it is a place close to school or maybe a park that you enjoy walking through or somewhere you like to play certain games with groups of friends.

Or maybe it's a place that you visit when you are in the school holidays.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at discussing local landscapes that are meaning to you and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, you might have discussed maybe an urban landscape that has a meaning to you or a landscape with trees and grass or maybe a landscape with the sea and cliffs.

You might have said, I like the way this landscape has a personal story to me.

This landscape is special because it has dramatic cliffs and a wide sandy beach.

Or I like this landscape because when I look at green spaces, it makes me feel calm.

Well done for having that discussion about your local landscapes that have meaning to you.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to explore creating a photographic composition.

Which composition do you prefer out of these three here? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue, which one did you prefer? Well, in photography composition means how we arrange or organise the things we want to take a picture of.

Photographers will decide where to place things in the photo to make it look interesting or balanced.

It can also mean considering what we wish the viewer to notice within the photograph.

So looking back at these images here, the subject is the same as they both capture a tree, but the photographer has thought about the composition of each image differently.

Can you see where the tree is in both of those images? There are some ideas that artists might use to help them when they take a photograph.

One idea is called the rule of thirds.

The rule of thirds in photography is a simple guideline to help make pictures look more balanced.

So take a look at this image here.

The photographer has imagined the image is divided into nine equal parts by using two vertical lines and two horizontal lines to form a grid.

Now the photographer might place the most important parts of their picture along these lines or at the places where the lines cross.

Can you see where the photographer has lined up the tree? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

In which image does the grid represent the rule of thirds? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? if you said C, you are absolutely right.

This grid has been divided into thirds, both horizontally and vertically so that there are nine parts.

So using the environment around you, you might compose a photograph using the rule of thirds.

So here is my grid with the rule of thirds and then my photograph here.

So I've used that rule of thirds to create and compose that photograph.

So you have a go at that now.

Pause the video here and take some time using the environment around you to compose a photograph using the rule of thirds.

And press play when you are ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, you may have experimented with different viewpoints while still using that rule of thirds.

Hopefully you've taken some photographs in portrait and some in landscape orientation, and hopefully you held your hands steady so that the subject was in focus.

A photographer can also choose the type of lighting that they want in their photograph.

With the sun behind the photographer, it will light up the subject from the front, making the subject bright and clear.

If the sun is to the side, it creates shadows and highlights, which can make the photo look more dramatic.

If the sun is in front of the photographer, it can create a silhouette effect where the subject is dark against the bright sun.

In this image, it is hard to see the subject as a photographer is facing towards the sun.

In this image, the sun is behind the photographer, which makes the subject easier to see.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

A photographer should always face the sun.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here to give yourself a moment to think.

And press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that's false, you are absolutely right.

But why is that statement false? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think?` If you said The photographer can choose how they take their photograph and its composition, but you should be aware of the different effects that lighting can have upon their subject, then you're absolutely right, well done.

In the next part of the lesson, you may choose to move to an outdoor location to explore some photography equipment.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to take a photograph of a local landscape.

You might like to think about using the rule of thirds to arrange your composition.

And think about where the light in your composition is coming from.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at taking a photograph of the local landscape.

And press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, you might have chosen a local landscape that is special to you.

Thought about the rule of thirds for your composition, and it made sure that the light was to the side of or behind the photographer.

Well done for having a go at creating a photographic composition.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about photographing a landscape in your local area.

Local landscapes can be important to people for different reasons.

Photographers can choose to use the rule of thirds to aid their composition.

And photographers consider their light carefully and the effect it will have upon their composition.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.