Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Miah.

Today we're going to explore our environment by looking closely at textures all around us.

We'll be using our cameras to zoom in, spot patterns and capture the tiny details we often miss.

Let's go and see what we can discover.

In this lesson, you will be able to identify and record a range of natural and human-made textures, and capture these textures using photography.

Your keywords are on the screen now, and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Texture, natural, human-made, zoom.

Super.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Texture: how a surface feels or looks.

Natural: something that comes from nature and is not made by humans.

Human-made: something created or built by people.

Zoom: to make something appear closer in a photo.

Let's move on.

This lesson is all about recording environmental textures, and we have two lesson cycles today.

Our first lesson cycle is to do with exploring and identifying textures, and then we're going to move on to capturing textures through photography.

I'm super excited.

I hope you are too.

Let's begin.

So we've got four images here.

What do these textures make you think or feel? Which ones might be natural? Which might be human-made? What do you think? Let's start off by looking at bark.

It feels rough, strong, and protective, like something old and full of life.

It's natural.

The second image is a close-up of a flower.

This texture feels delicate, soft, and calming.

The patterns look gentle and detailed.

It is also natural.

Sand is our third image.

It reminds me of the beach, warmth, and tiny grains that shift and move.

It feels calm and peaceful.

It is also natural.

And lastly, human-made glass.

This, to me, looks smooth, shiny, and cold.

It feels clean and hard like something carefully made.

So textures help us understand the surface of an object, whether it feels rough, smooth, bumpy, soft, or patterned.

Natural textures come from living or once-living things, or from the natural world.

These can be leaves, trees, stones, grass.

Human-made textures come from materials people have created: bricks, concrete, tiles, painted wood, fabric.

Can you think of any more? I can think of some more.

For example, carpet fibers, glass windows or bottles, paper or cardboard, Wallpaper patterns.

So how do we know that they're human-made? Well, they often have regular shapes or patterns that don't usually happen in nature.

They are made of materials that people produce or process, such as concrete, plastic, or fabric.

They are found in places built or changed by humans, like buildings, roads.

They often have colors or finishes that nature doesn't create naturally, like painted surfaces or polished glass.

People around the world use textures from nature, such as wood, clay, leaf fibers, bark, and textures from human-made materials, such as brick, fabric, and metal to express their ideas.

Over to you.

If you see a rough, patterned surface made of brick, is it natural or human-made? Why? You can pause the video here and have a think and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So what did you get? Well, it's human-made.

If you got that, fantastic.

Bricks are created and shaped by people.

These artists use texture in different ways to show connections between people and their environment: Anni Albers, a German-American artist who used weaving to create patterns inspired by nature and buildings.

Mark Bradford creates textured artworks using layers of posters and materials found in city streets, capturing the life of a place.

Thandiwe Muriu, a photographer who uses fabrics and patterns to make portraits that link people to their surroundings.

Andeep says, "I really like Anni Albers' use of repeating patterns.

When I look at textures around school, I might sketch the shapes I see repeating, like lines in the fence or patterns on leaves." Sofia says, "Mark Bradford inspires me because he uses layers on the streets.

If I look closely at walls or pavements, I might notice scratches or cracks that could become part of my texture collection." Which artist uses layers of materials from city streets to create textured services? Is it A: Mark Bradford, B: Anni Albers, or C: Thandiwe Muriu? You can pause the video here and click play when you're ready to continue.

So how did you do? If you got A, Mark Bradford, well done.

That's the correct answer.

Mark Bradford uses layers of materials from city streets to create textured surfaces.

Let's move on.

This is the main task for this lesson cycle.

You are gonna identify natural and human-made textures.

You will create a table with two columns.

This could be in your sketchbook or a piece of paper.

You're going to label the two columns "natural textures" and "human-made textures." You will then identify and record as many examples as possible that you can see in the classroom or even outside.

You could include a small sketch beside each entry.

This is what your table could look like.

You can pause the video here.

Off you go, and have fun.

So, how did you do? Here is a completed table with some examples of natural textures and human-ade textures.

So on the left we have natural textures, so textures that are not human-made.

We have tree bark, leaf veins, stone surfaces, animal fur or feathers.

On the right hand side, you have human-made textures.

So that can be brick walls, fabric, painted wood, metal fences, concrete pavement.

Well done if you managed to list the different textures.

Let's move on.

Now you're going to capture textures through photography.

Ooh, have a look at this photo.

It is a close-up image of the inside of a pomegranate fruit.

How can you take a photo that shows every tiny detail? And what makes a texture look interesting in a picture? Have a think.

Photographers like Thandiwe Muriu use composition, zoom and framing to bring out details.

When taking photos, you could experiment by: zooming in to fill the frame, looking for patterns or repeated shapes.

Zooming in to fill the frame shows clear details, and finding patterns or repeated shapes makes the photo interesting and balanced.

Let's have a look here.

So we're zooming in each time.

What can you notice? In the last picture, I can see the veins far more clearly, and there seems to be a pattern there.

We can see long veins and then short veins.

I think the last image is a lovely composition because we can see the patterns.

When you zoom in on a photo, like starting with the whole leaf and then getting closer until you can see the veins, it helps you discover details that aren't always easy to notice.

This close-up view can make the photo more interesting because it shows patterns, shapes, and textures that create a unique design.

Zooming in fills the frame with these details, removing distractions and helping viewers focus on the small parts that make the leaf special.

This kind of composition invites your audience to look closely and appreciate the beauty in nature's tiny features.

Over to you.

Why might a photographer zoom in on a small part of a surface? Have a think.

You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? Well, you may have said something like this: To capture the details and patterns more clearly.

When you zoom in on a photo, it's like looking through a small window called a viewfinder.

You choose just one part of the leaf to see closely, like the veins.

This helps you find cool patterns and textures that you might miss if you look at the whole leaf.

Zooming in fills the picture with these details and makes the photo far more interesting to look at.

Well done if you've got that answer.

Let's move on.

Andeep says, "I always use the zoom on my tablet to get really close photos, but sometimes my pictures look blurry and fuzzy.

Hmm? What do you think is the best way to take a clear close-up photo? Have a think.

You can pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

Well, Sofia says, "Yeah, that happens because the digital zoom just makes the picture bigger without adding more detail.

It can make the photo less clear." What do you think is the best way to take a clear close-up photo? You could move closer to the object instead of just using digital zoom.

Use optical zoom if your camera has it.

Hold the camera steady.

And focus carefully on the texture.

Jacob says, "If I get really close, I can see all the tiny details." And you can see here this close-up image of the inside of the pomegranate fruit.

All the tiny little details of the pomegranate seed.

Can you see how, by zooming in on pomegranate seeds, shows their shiny, jewel-like texture and bright colors that you might miss from far away? The close-up reveals the tiny details, the smooth, glossy surface, and how the seeds fit tightly together.

Using zoom helps create a photo that feels almost like looking at precious stones, making the seeds looks special and interesting.

It also shows natural patterns and shapes that make the picture visually exciting.

Over to you.

Using digital zoom always makes a photo clearer.

Is this true or false? And can you think why? You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? If you got false, you are correct.

Why do you think this is? You can pause the video again.

So what did you get? Well, digital zoom can make photos blurry because it just enlarges the picture instead of adding detail.

Onto the main task for this lesson cycle.

So, I'd like you to take photographs of at least five different textures, both natural and human-made.

And then I'd like you to take a photograph of one close-up of texture that fills the frame using zoom.

Remember to hold your camera or device steady and focus carefully on the part you want to show.

Move closer to the object instead of using too much digital zoom to keep the photo sharp and clean.

You can pause the video here.

Off you go, have fun, and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So how did it go? Well, here are some examples of photographs of at least five different textures, both natural and human-made.

So in the first image, we have the inside of a pomegranate, and we can see that this is a close-up of the pomegranate seeds.

Then we've got a photo of a leaf on a tree.

We then have an image of tree bark.

We also have looking through textured glass.

And then our last image is of sand on a beach.

Here is an example of one very close up texture that fills the frame using zoom.

So this is a close-up image of the inside of a pomegranate fruit.

Well done if you managed to take those photographs.

You were able to use zoom effectively.

Let's summarize our learning.

So this lesson was all about recording environmental textures.

Observing and identifying natural and human-made textures help us understand the world around us.

Drawing and recording different textures can help artists remember places and ideas.

Lastly, using photography techniques like zoom and careful composition captures detailed textures for artwork.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson, I hope you really enjoyed it.

Bye!.