Aperture On Sight

Teaching visual literacy through photography

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” —Dorothea Lange

Welcome to Aperture On Sight!

Getting Started

Aperture On Sight is designed to teach visual literacy through working with photography and creating photobooks. The curriculum combines art, visual and media literacy, and technology lessons. Learn more about how to get started.

Download the Workbook

A workbook for students to accompany the Aperture On Sight curriculum and encourage open dialogue and reflection.

Resources

Additional information, reading lists, games, tips, and tutorials for teachers.

Curriculum

Lesson 1

The first lesson, Hello Photography!, introduces students to Aperture On Sight and gets them started working with a camera through a simple photo scavenger hunt.…

Lesson 2

The second lesson features the book This Equals That (Aperture, 2014), by Jason Fulford and Tamara Shopsin, an excellent teaching tool for introducing photographic form…

Lesson 3

The third lesson introduces students to the concepts of framing and point of view. Through the use of examples and activities in the workbook, students…

Lesson 4

In the fourth lesson, students learn to intentionally frame images by understanding that there is a connection between what they see and what they photograph.…

More Teaching Tools

Professional Development

Aperture offers consulting and workshops for schools and educators seeking to engage with Aperture’s twenty-session visual literacy and photography curriculum.

Novice and experienced arts educators become comfortable leading groups of students through interpreting and creating meaningful images with the coaching of an Aperture On Sight visual literacy trainer—a professional photographer and trained arts educator.

Bringing Aperture On Sight to Your School

Aperture teaching artists, who helped to write, develop, and test the Aperture On Sight curriculum, are available to provide direct educational services to schools, camps, museums or after- school/weekend programs. Our teaching artists are trained to teach the program in a variety of environments as well as work with partners to meet organizations’ needs.

About Aperture

Support - About

Aperture, a not-for-profit foundation, connects the photo community and its audiences with the most inspiring work, the sharpest ideas, and with each other—in print, in person, and online.

Interested in partnership?

Aperture Foundation’s corporate partners and their employees enjoy exclusive benefits and affiliation.