Digital photography: creating a series of facial expression photographs
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can take digital photographs of different facial expressions.
Key learning points
- Understand how facial expressions convey emotion in portraiture.
- Practise posing and recognising facial expressions.
- Learn basic skills for capturing expressive photographs using digital devices.
- Create a series of photographs showcasing different facial expressions.
Keywords
Facial expression - the appearance of the face that shows feelings and emotions
Photography - the art of capturing images with cameras
Focus - the clarity of a chosen subject
Lighting - how bright or dark a photograph is as a result of the light
Common misconception
Emotions are only conveyed through words and physical gestures.
Facial expressions are a universal way to communicate emotions, even without words.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to express different emotions through facial expressions as a form of acting or performance. Use a whiteboard to draw a basic face, changing the positions of facial features to highlight how they contribute towards different facial expressions.
Equipment
Digital cameras, tablets or smartphones with camera functionality (1 per pair). A whiteboard or printed pictures to demonstrate examples of expressive portraits.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a portrait?
Q2.What is photography?
Q3.Which of these emotions would likely involve a smile?
Q4.Which area of the face is most important for showing emotion?
Q5.Why is lighting important in photography?
Q6.What is a good way to make sure a photo is clear and focused?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.How are facial expressions primarily used in portraiture?
Q2.What is an important factor in capturing expressive photographs?
Q3.Which of the following is the best way to capture emotions effectively in a photograph?
Q4.When taking a photograph of an expression, why is it important to focus on the face?
Q5.What can be challenging when photographing facial expressions?
Q6.Why is it useful to take multiple photographs of a facial expression?
To help you plan your 5 art and design lesson on: Digital photography: creating a series of facial expression photographs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 art and design lesson on: Digital photography: creating a series of facial expression photographs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 art and design lessons from the Photography and painting: facial expressions in portraiture unit, dive into the full primary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.