: Rye High School Students Explore Photography [Jordan Matter

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Rye High School Students Explore Photography

Recently I was invited to speak at Rye High School in Westchester, NY. I visited students from AP Photography, and we discussed the nuts and bolts of a photographer's life. The head of the department, Tony Campbell, had seen Dancers Among Us and used it to inspire their creativity. He gave them this assignment- Bring a friend to model in a location where either what they are doing or wearing juxtaposes the environment. Sound familiar?

I really enjoyed meeting them. They seemed interested and passionate, and several plan to pursue professional careers as photographers. My main point of emphasis was, to quote Nike, just do it! Every day each of them will have a choice- to grab their camera and go make photographs, or not to. It's really that simple. The ones who say yes every day will probably have exciting careers, and the ones who say no should find something else to do.

Below are the results of their assignment. They all headed into NYC on a cold Saturday and walked around with their cameras (which is basically my job description every day). And they took some cool photos. Just imagine how much they'd learn if they did that every weekend!

I made this offer to them, and I'd like to extend it to any young, passionate kids interested in photography. Come to my studio, watch the process, join me on a shoot, pick my brain. I'm convinced I have the greatest job on earth. Spend some time with me and you'll be convinced too.