FEATURE
Learning the Basics Before Reaching Potential
Laurie McGowan, visual arts and photography teacher
by Andrew Brescia
Billboards, magazines, and websites all seem to showcase close-ups of human faces cropped across the subject’s forehead. Sometimes, the photograph’s frame is cockeyed. According to Lawrence Academy’s photography teacher, Laurie McGowan, these are examples of trends in photography—like producing prints that are big enough to blanket a king-sized bed. McGowan states that pointing out the trends will help students train their eyes, but her purpose in teaching photography is for them to learn the basics so that they create their own work, not follow trends. That
12 I FALL 2013
hasn’t changed since she began teaching at LA in 2006. Prior to being employed full time at LA, McGowan taught the photography Winterim for many years. “We go through every function of the camera,” McGowan says. “Every shot becomes deliberate. They have to ask, ‘Am I standing in the right spot? Do I have the right perspective? How is my exposure?’ They have 24 shots on the roll of film. That’s it!” That’s right, students use traditional film to learn the basics of photography. “When I came to LA, we had a traditional darkroom. Students shot film and learned how to print. Now we
