Knowledge of photography is a great creative skill to have. It gives you the ability to capture important moments in your life at a professional quality.  There is a lot of creativity that goes into the art form. It is also a subject that is popular with young audiences.

If you are a professional photographer and have a lot of experience in the craft, you may be interested in teaching at a school or offering an independent class. Read on to learn about 6 strategies for teaching photography to young audiences, and some of the materials that will help you plan lessons.

1. Utilize Projectors

As you create your lesson plans, find ways to use a projector. This is important for two reasons:

1. When teaching your students about professional work, you can display examples for everyone to study in detail.
2. You can display their own work for peer evaluation.

If you are teaching somewhere that can accommodate it, opt for a projector made by high quality optical lenses manufacturers.

2. Take Advantage of Phones and Tablets

In many schools across the country, iPads and tablets have been incorporated into the classroom. You too can incorporate these devices into a photography curriculum. One way is through special lens attachments. Each lens creates different effects when attached to the camera of a smart devices. Some of the most popular ones include the fisheye, the macro, and the wide angle.

3. Learn Your Students’ Interests

One of the best ways to motivate your students is to learn their interests so they connect deeply with the material. This is true for any teacher, but especially for those working in an artistic field. When it comes to a student learning photography, they need a lot of practice. They can practice their skills by taking pictures of things that interest them.

4. Take Field Trips

Being a photographer means observing and preserving what you see in the world around you. For students to do this, they need to get out into that world and explore.

If you teach in a traditional classroom setting, try to incorporate field trips into your lesson plans. There may be some administrative planning involved of course, but this gives students a supervised opportunity to experiment.

One of the best places to go is out in nature. Taking trips to urban areas where you can people watch also makes for great material.

5. Assign Targeted Projects

Although taking pictures might seem pretty straightforward, you still need to think creatively. You need to be able to see the world a certain way to capture clear moments. For your curriculum, you should give assignments that target certain skills. The live application of technical information is a great way to learn.

6. Make Sure They Can Take Care of Their Equipment

One of the most important elements about photography is taking care of your equipment. A good camera needs to be taken seriously. This is something you should instil in your students from day one, especially if they are using any kind of rental equipment. Make sure that they know how to set up, break down, and clean their equipment if needed.

7. Teach Uploading and Editing

Another important part of the process is uploading and editing your photos. This applies to digital photography. If you are doing anything with traditional film it is a fun but very involved procedure to learn. Teaching your students the basics of uploading and editing their work it easy to do. Once they know how to effectively do this, they can save, upload, build a portfolio, and share with others.

These are just a few strategies you can use to build a class. Every classroom is different, so be prepared to change and stay open to suggestions from your students.