CTE Spotlight: Digital Arts Students Find a New Perspective on Animals

Today, our Career and Technical Education Month highlight is our Digital Arts Program at Corvallis High School. Teacher Jayce Giddens’ Photography 2 class is currently working through different genres, and today’s focus was on British animal photographer Tim Flach.

Focusing on the Setup and Subject

Students viewed a series of shots Tim took of a single subject to see how using a stand-in before shots helps to properly set up and refine lighting and shutter speed. Mr. Giddens also discussed the benefits of a “tethered” photography setup in this scenario and how it enabled the photographer to instantly view and edit images. 

By watching a video on his background and artistic perspective, students also explored how Flach’s deep understanding of animal behavior helped him create better photographs. This lesson helped students think about their subjects and answer their genre reflection for this unit: “How does someone take a good photo of an animal?”

Putting Creativity in Perspective

Once they headed out onto campus to start shooting, you could see them putting those lessons on perspective, composition, lighting, how to fill the frame, and the rule of thirds into practice. Several students also stayed in the lab to do photo editing, asking Mr. Giddens for help getting their edits just right.

Learn more about our CTE programs here: Career & Technical Education (CTE)