Getty Unshuttered is both a platform and a community for teens to share their passion for photography and social justice advocacy. At a time when digital tools are needed in schools, Unshuttered provides lesson plans and accompanying teaching resources that inspire high school teachers and their students to explore the medium and its social impact.
Lessons are designed to be used in a series, but feel free to choose how they best fit with your individual classroom plan. They can be implemented in a variety of teaching contexts: from visual art to English Language Arts to social studies, and beyond. We want to hear your thoughts, experiences, and feedback.
Social Justice Advocacy and Photography
Photographs convey potent messages. They entice. They draw us in. They communicate ideas that resonate across time, place, and context. Photography has often been used to bring awareness to social justice issues and to inspire action. Today we live in a world in which more people than ever create and consume images. Photography may be our most powerful means to inspire positive change. These lessons include explorations of self-identity, community, and service.
Visual Narrative and Photography
Visual narratives are everywhere. They not only reflect but can shape our daily experiences, our thoughts, and even our values. They can present information, demand our attention, and construct our realities. As educators, our call to action is to support students as they discover the types and purposes of visual narratives, the elements that distinguish them, and the tools to effectively construct their own visual narratives. This five-lesson series will focus on the art of storytelling through photography.
Foundational Photography Skills
No matter what type of camera a student has, this lesson plan series will teach them the basics of photography as a set of skills. From composition to light to perspective, students will learn the principles of the medium to inform how they “read” photographs and to enable them to hone their creative practice.