We’ve found numerous sources online of writing about photography that may prove of interest to K-12 teachers and students for discussion in the classroom. As a matter of policy, we provide reference access only to those that publish material by permission of the authors. Here are links to those:
- American Society of Media Photographers, Inc. (ASMP): Advisories on copyright, model releases, what professionals expect from assistants, and more. Particularly useful for students considering photography as a career. For secondary school teachers and students.
- Apogee Photo: Self-described as “the Internet’s photography magazine … designed to inform and entertain photographers of all ages and levels,” Apogee includes interviews, profiles, and articles on technical subjects, some of them in a “Photography for Beginners” section.
- Freestyle Teachers’ Lounge: Free registration at this site published by the noted distributors of tools and materials gives you access to charts, video clips of demonstrations, and other materials, including a “Holga Manual” (PDF download). The “Photo Know-How” section offers free tutorials on black & white printing and an assortment of alternative processes (cyanotype, collodion, etc.).
- The Masters of Photography site has short biographies of numerous important figures, plus portfolios of representative images for many of them.
- Nikon School & Workshops: This Nikon site for photo education provides online tutorials, slideshows, videos, and PDF downloads on assorted topics, plus profiles of selected professionals, q&a sessions with them, and more. For secondary-school level teachers and students.
- Photocritic International, photo critic and historian A. D. Coleman’s widely read and controversial blog on photography and new digital technologies. For secondary school teachers and students.
- The Spruce Crafts: Photography: Liz Masoner’s section of the former About.com website have migrated here, providing a source for information on a narrow range of matters photographic.
- >Re:PHOTO: (“ray-photo”)From 1999-2007 Peter Marshall wrote on photography for About.com, producing over 400 major features on photographers and the history of photography, as well as technical matters, including much on digital photography. These were probably the best single online source for such material — written in easy-to-read, non-jargonized language, accessible to just about anyone. But they’ve vanished from the web. Now he has his own blog, highly recommended.
- The Photography Criticism CyberArchive: Founded and directed by critic and historian A. D. Coleman, this is the largest online archive of writings about photography from by authors from Talbot and Daguerre through the present. Subscription-based. Query for subsidized access. For secondary school teachers and students.
- PhotoWings, created by photographer Susan Katz, is another extremely valuable repository of and portal to large quantities of information. The site’s deep links to images and texts online elsewhere will connect you to a wealth of fascinating material for you and your students to explore. For secondary school teachers and students.
- Teaching Photography, the companion website to The New Eyes Project, exists as a resource for teachers of studio photography and related subjects ― photo history, criticism, and theory; media studies; visual culture; etc. ― on the post-secondary level. Much of the material there, including assignments, can be adapted to the K-12 curriculum.
