We usually try not to be our boys' merit badge counselors. A Scout with 121 badges whose parents have signed off on 100 of them is... well, suspect. Even if everything's been done properly, it doesn't "feel" right. Part of the benefit of the different badges is getting to talk to professionals and hobbyists with passions in their fields. However, I do have a passion for photography. Some of my children have a considerable measure more of talent than I do, but wisdom truly does come with age :-). So when a call went out for counselors for a nearby clinic, I volunteered and signed up as the counselor.
How to Teach the Photography Merit Badge -- search engine hits gave me almost nothing of value! Yes, there are millions of sites about photography, but no step-by-steps. It's really not that difficult of badge. Merit badges are supposed to be overviews of the subject - to give the boys a taste of a possible career. I decided to move straight down the requirements.
1. Explain how the following elements and terms affect the quality of a picture:
- a. Light-natural light/ambient, flash
- b. Exposure-aperture (f-stops), shutter speed, depth of field
- c. Composition-rule of thirds, leading lines, framing, depth
- d. Angle of view
- e. Stopping action
The easiest (and I think, best) way to do this was by example. I gathered about 100 photos that demonstrated positive and negative uses of each of the above. We discussed each one, telling what was good, and what could have been done to make it better. I was a little humbled to hear some of the comments about ones that I had shot
. It always amazes me how much I learn from those I'm teaching. I used diagrams for the rule of thirds, and brought a couple of old cameras that the boys could use to stop the shutter and watch the aperture change.
Requirements 2 and 3 were basic for anyone who has used a camera. I was fortunate that all the boys were pretty familiar with photography; most brought their own cameras with them. I gave them the choice to do the photojournalist option with a digital camera at the clinic, or choose topical and/or film to finish at home. All chose not to earn partials.
They decided on the story they wanted to tell, then I sent them off with buddies to photograph their story. 45 minutes later, they were all corralled, waiting to print their images on the supplied computer -- which didn't work.
We ended up having them processed by the local drug store (I sure hope this stuff is tax-deductible!). By this time, the morning merit badge class had only 45 minutes left. They still had to construct their photo essays, plus be INDIVIDUALLY tested on the requirements (discussion is not the same as testing). I was blessed to have a trusted, intelligent adult with me who went over requirement 5 (jobs), then tested each Scout. She also took care of Req 3 with a few of them. Meanwhile, I was going over Reqs 1 & 2. Between the both of us, we got six Scouts fully tested in 45 minutes. The other three Scouts were riding with me, and we did them in the car on the 1.5 hour drive home. We were pushing it with six.
I asked the Merit Badge organizer if we could have 30 mins after the clinic to do the essays. He agreed to keep the building open. The Scouts wandered in as their other classes finished, and they fulfilled requirement 4:
a. Produce a picture story using the photojournalistic technique of documenting an event. Share your plan with your counselor and get your counselor's input and approval before you proceed. Then, using either a film camera or a digital camera, produce your approved picture story. Process your images and select eight to 12 images that best tell your story. Arrange your images in order, then mount the prints on a poster board. If you are using digital images, you may create a slide show on your computer or produce printouts for your poster board. Share your picture story with your counselor.
I was amazed at the quality of some of their photos! One young man in particular literally had magazine-quality compositions. He sheepishly told me that his dad was a professional photographer. It ran in the family. The photojournalist "stories" ran from the mundane - "Today's merit badge clinic" to incredibly creative -- "The Raven's Dinner" (a story of a raven beginning in a tree, showing it foraging, looking at its food 'entrees' including slug eggs, etc). Some boys you just know are going to take great pictures. Albert took photos of people, and really had a talent for capturing expression. With the intelligence this young man showed during the class, I wasn't too surprised to see such excellence. But it's those that are unexpected that warm a teacher's heart. Eddie seemed to be sleeping through most of it, but his answers when tested showed that his mind had processed it all. And he came up with one of the best photos of the day, a toadstool in the midst of a colorful conflagaration of leaves.
All in all, we spent about 5 hours on this badge, when we included the essays. That's about the SHORTEST time that should be allotted in order to cover it. And that was using the simpler options, with Scouts who mostly had considerable experience in photography.
Seiji finished his at the clinic (well, finished in the car). Soumei was busy helping and another Scout accidentally appropriated his photos, so he still has the essay to do. It was a good day! Teaching them in a group with other Scouts helps to remove the suspicion that they have been given a badge they haven't actually earned. I'm confident the Scouts today actually earned these.
