District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support Educational Technology
Technology Toolkit

Self-Portrait Series
Avon Public Schools

Description of Activities

The students completed this project in three stages and created finished products at each stage: an inner self-portrait, an outer self-portrait, and a combined inner-outer self-portrait.

Inner Self-Portrait: Students listed their cultural origins and conducted an investigation of the imagery unique to each culture, deciding whether or not to utilize this imagery in their work. They also listed their likes/dislikes, aspirations, and concerns as a way of seeking sources of imagery. In addition, students researched the work of artists who create self-portrait imagery that parallels this approach to self-portraiture. They produced a series of self-portraits with the option to include their own images.

Outer Self-Portrait: Students viewed and discussed traditional photographic portraits by the masters. They investigated and discussed ways in which artists manipulate lighting, composition, contrast, color, and surroundings to communicate the personality of the subject. They learned how to set up a tripod and lighting with various backgrounds and either had themselves photographed or used the self-timer to shoot a series of images. The images were then manipulated in Adobe Photoshop 7.0 to "tweak" brightness, contrast, and color of the series of images.

Inner-Outer Self-Portrait: In this stage the students used the two previous approaches in a series of images, which included both the students as subjects (from the outer self-portrait step) and elements of the inner self-portrait ideas. The students combined these two steps to create unique images.

In the culminating activity the classes held an exhibition and critique of their image series, which included artists' statements. The students developed oral critiques as a group, and they individually developed written critiques.

Universal Design/Inclusion
Classes contained no more than seventeen students, which allowed the teacher to give individual attention to students. Students were encouraged to develop an individualized approach to project assignments within the parameters of the rubric. The development of a personal visual vocabulary was supported. The students readily assisted each other with problems, thus promoting problem-solving and a cooperative classroom culture.

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