Photography: the influence of sources on photographic investigations
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can research, record, and annotate a photographer’s work, and show how their ideas, style, or techniques connect to my own.
Key learning points
- Researching photographers helps us understand their ideas, style, techniques, and context.
- Context can include cultural, historical, material, and social influences on a photographer’s work.
- Annotation means describing, analysing, interpreting, and making a personal response to images.
- Research should inspire our own photography, not by copying, by adapting techniques and linking them to our themes.
Keywords
Research - investigation into and study of information to establish facts and reach conclusions
Source - a place from which something, in this instance images or information, originates
Context - the circumstances that form the setting of an idea, event or photographic work
Annotation - notes and comments that accompany work
Common misconception
Research is separate from making work.
Research feeds directly into experimentation and outcomes.
Teacher tip
Keep reminding students to link back to their own theme. That way, research never feels separate from making, and students avoid description with no connection.
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Why is research important in photography?
Q2.True or false? A source in photography can only be a famous exhibition in a big city.
Q3.Match the type of source to its strength:
broad, affordable way to explore themes quickly
high quality images, detailed research into one artist or theme
immersive experience of seeing a photographer’s work directly
Q4.Why is it important to share your ideas and describe your intentions when researching and responding to photographic sources?
Q5.Why is it useful to make a mind map before starting research?
Q6.True or false? Context (historical, cultural, material, or social) has no impact on how a photographer’s style develops.
To help you plan your 10 art and design lesson on: Photography: the influence of sources on photographic investigations, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 art and design lesson on: Photography: the influence of sources on photographic investigations, 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 4 art and design lessons from the Photography unit, dive into the full secondary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.