Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about photography and painting and looking at facial expressions in portraiture.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to take digital photographs of different facial expressions.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are facial expression, photography, focus, lighting.

I'm going to say those again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Facial expression.

Photography.

Focus.

Lighting.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Here are each of the definitions of our keywords.

A facial expression is the appearance of the face that shows feelings and emotions.

Photography is the art of capturing images with cameras.

Focus is the clarity of a chosen subject.

Lighting is how bright or dark a photograph is as a result of the light.

Pause the video here to make a note of the keywords.

And when you are ready to continue, press Play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, identifying different facial expressions, capturing different facial expressions.

In the first learning cycle, we're going to explore how we identify different facial expressions.

Now, how might someone communicate an emotion without using any words? Hmm.

Take a look at that portrait photograph of a man there.

Have a about that question.

How might someone communicate an emotion without using any words? Well, Lucas and Laura are discussing how people might communicate their emotions without using words.

Lucas says, "When my best friend is annoyed, I can see it in the way he rolls his eyes." Laura said, "When people are happy or excited, they smile or their eyebrows sometimes rise up." Lucas and Laura are referring to facial expressions.

Have one of your friends ever made those facial expressions before? Facial expressions are a tool for communication.

Facial expressions are movements of the face that show emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, or surprise.

Many artists and photographers use them in their images to tell stories and connect with their audiences.

Take a look at that portrait photograph of a man there smiling.

He's using a facial expression to communicate his emotions.

Facial expressions are a universal way to communicate emotions, even without words.

What emotion do you think this person might be feeling? Hmm.

Take a look at that image.

What do you think? Well, you might say that she's happy.

Why would you think this? Is it because she's smiling? In portraiture, facial expressions can help to bring the subject to life and allow viewers to connect with the artwork or photography more deeply.

Photography is the art of capturing images with cameras.

Now, photographers may take photographs of a person to capture their portrait.

Facial expressions can help to convey specific moods, ideas, or emotions in portrait photography.

Take a look at that photographer there, who is capturing a portrait picture.

There are lots of different examples of portrait photography with facial expressions that you could take a look at.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is a facial expression? Is it when someone looks directly at a light source? Is it the way someone's face shows their emotions? Is it the clothes someone chooses to wear? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to answer this question, and restart when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that a facial expression is the way someone's face shows their emotion, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, photographers use facial expressions to capture raw emotions, to tell a story, or convey a mood.

The eyes and the mouth are considered key features for facial expressions, as they move the most and can be used to convey the most emotion.

Have a look there at those two images, one of the eyes and one of the mouth.

I wonder what those facial expressions are showing.

What emotion? What do you think? Facial muscles move to create different facial expressions.

Facial movements can happen because of an emotion the person is experiencing, and that can include raised eyebrows and widening eyes, smiling lips, furrowed eyebrows.

Have a discussion with a partner.

Which emotion do you think each of these three facial expressions might be showing? Can you have a go at making those facial expressions? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to have that discussion, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Now, "The raised eyebrows and widened eyes in the first picture make me think of shock or surprise," says Sophia.

"The smile in the second picture reminds me of happiness and joy." Did you think the same as Sophia? And Jun, he thinks the third picture with furrowed eyebrows looks like a combination of emotions.

It looks like being cross and upset at the same time.

What did you think? Did you agree with Jun? I'd like you to pause the video here, and can you match the four facial expressions to the corresponding emotion? We've got happiness, sadness, surprise, and anger.

So which of these emotions would you place with the facial expression? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to match those facial expressions to the emotion, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Shall we take a look? So the first image, the first facial expression, could match to happiness.

A smile.

The second image, the eyes widening, could be matched to the emotion of surprise.

The third image of somebody screaming, their mouth wide, could be linked to the emotion anger.

And looking at the final image, the eyes could be linked to the emotion sadness.

Well done if you matched those four facial expressions to the matching emotion.

This brings us to our first learning task.

With a partner, I'd like you to take turns mimicking and identifying four key facial expressions, happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise.

Discuss with your partner how each facial expression changes the position of the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to take in turns with your partner mimicking and identifying those four key facial expressions, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? I hope you had a great time mimicking and identifying those four key facial expressions.

What did you notice about the changing position of the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth? Well, you might have discussed that the mouth opens and cheeks rise for happiness, that the mouth frowns for sadness, that the brow furrows for anger, that the eyebrows lift upwards for surprise.

You may have also noticed other details for each facial expression.

Well done for completing that learning task.

We're now going to move on to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to look at capturing different facial expressions.

Cameras are tools for taking photographs and recording moments.

Through photographs, facial expressions and emotions can be captured and frozen in time.

Digital cameras, smartphones, and tablets can all be used to create photographs and record facial expressions.

When taking photographs, it is important to focus on the subject.

You can focus on a specific area by touching the screen on the part of the image you want to focus on, if using a smartphone or tablet, or pointing towards the subject and pushing the shutter button halfway down to refocus the shot on a digital camera.

So take a look at that image there on screen, there's someone using a smartphone to focus on the flower in the photograph.

So they've touched the screen on the part of the image they want to focus on.

To take great photographs, as well as using focus on the subject, it helps to make sure there is good lighting.

Lighting refers to how bright or dark a photograph is as a result of the light.

Natural or artificial light can be used to create good lighting and help make the subject visible.

You can see in that image there, there's lighting set up for a photo shoot.

Lighting affects how we see the subject.

Take a look at these three images here.

How does the lighting impact on how we see the facial expressions? Take a look at that first image, then the second one, and then the third.

Have a quick discussion with your partner.

How do you think the lighting has impacted on how we see the facial expressions in each of these photographs? Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, that first image, it's not in focus, and it's too dark.

The second image, it is in focus, but it's still too dark.

And the last image, it's in focus and it's using good lighting.

Using focus and good lighting when taking portrait photography helps to convey facial expressions.

We can see them a lot better.

Taking multiple photographs gives the photographer more options to choose from.

Which photograph is the best option for the photographer here? There's three different images.

What do you think? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner.

Which photograph do you think is the best option? And press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, taking a look at this image, in portrait photography, the best option should be in focus.

It should use good lighting and convey the intended mood through the facial expression.

So this image, this portrait photograph of a woman smiling, is quite clearly in good focus, good lighting, and it shows us the intended mood through the facial expression.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Why is it important to review photography? Is it to check the camera's battery life, to count the number of photographs taken, or to ensure it conveys the intended mood? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about this question, and then press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that it's important to review photography to ensure it conveys the intended mood, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, capturing different emotions in portrait photography can be done by capturing the right facial expression.

You can see in this photograph of a man, he's looking quite surprised.

Now, which details express happiness in this facial expression, do you think? Well, we have relaxed eyes in this image here, raised cheeks, and we also have a smiling mouth.

Now, try to capture these details in your photography to express the emotion of happiness.

So we want to see relaxed eyes, raised cheeks, and a smiling mouth.

What's about sadness? Well, that might involve lowered eyebrows, soft, distant eyes, they may be with or without tears, and downturned lips and mouth.

Try and focus on these features to capture sadness in a facial expression.

And what about anger? Well, anger shown in this facial expression through a furrowed brow, squinting or fierce looking eyes, and either tightly closed lips or open shouting mouth.

Try capturing the energy of this expression through photography.

And then surprise.

This often involves raised eyebrows, wide open eyes, and an open mouth.

Aim to freeze these dramatic moments in a photograph to capture the facial expression of surprise.

Now, let's take a look at some tips for taking great portrait photography.

You need to hold your device steady, use focus on the face, use good lighting, natural light works well, and take multiple photographs to review and choose the best option from.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What should you consider when selecting the best photograph from multiple options? Clarity of emotional expression, the type of camera used, or the background is filled with objects? What should you consider when you select the best photograph? Pause the video here.

Give yourself a moment to think about this question, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that you need to consider the clarity of emotional expression when selecting the best photograph from multiple options, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

This brings us to our second learning task.

I'd like you to capture a series of expressive portrait photographs that display the four facial expressions, happiness, sadness, surprise, and anger.

To do this, I'd like you to use a digital device such as a digital camera or a smartphone to take photographs.

You can work with a partner, taking turns to act as the photographer while the other acts as a model.

The model will display each facial expression, holding each for five to 10 seconds while the photographer captures multiple shots.

And then swap roles and repeat.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at capturing a series of expressive portrait photographs that display the four facial expressions, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Did you capture all of those facial expressions in your portrait photographs? I hope you had a great time capturing them.

Now, as a second part to this task, I'd like you to review the photography to identify which photographs best capture the intended facial expression using focus and good lighting.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to review that photography with your partner, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

So if you selected your best photographs, you might explain why you chose those, like Jun has here.

He says, "My chosen photograph successfully conveys the emotion of surprise as her eyebrows are raised and her mouth is wide open.

I think it is in focus and uses good lighting." Well done if you were able to capture those photographs and choose the best ones based on the best focus and good lighting, and also that it conveys the emotion.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about digital photography and creating a series of facial expression photographs.

Different facial expressions convey different emotions through certain facial movements.

These facial expressions can be used in portrait photography to convey a chosen emotion.

By focusing on the subject's facial expression and using good lighting, the intended emotion can be conveyed clearly in the photograph.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.