See, most of my skills aren't too easy to perform or teach; at least, they're difficult to teach without a significant span of time and planning. For example, I can write well, but that isn't very easy for me to teach, since it's a whole lot of intuition for me. So my challenge was finding something where a short amount of time could make a big difference for someone's knowledge of an area.
Eventually, the thought came to mind - photography.
One of my favorites from the pictures I've taken
So I packed up my tiny purple digital camera and went off to meet one of my friends by the Wilkinson Center and teach her some of what I termed "Artistic photography basics."
At first glance, this topic seemed just as hard to teach as writing, but I remembered my photography class from middle school. There was only one basic thing I remember actually learning there: the rule of thirds. In essence, the focal points of a photo should be in the locations where these lines intersect:
Pretty simple, actually. My teacher in 9th grade emphasized this one rule so much that I honestly don't recall much else from the class. This is what stuck with me. When the main points are at these locations, the eye is naturally drawn to them, and they are more aesthetically pleasing there as well. Like any rule in an artistic medium though, there are times when you don't necessarily follow it. To quote a certain movie which shall remain nameless, it's more like a guideline than an actual rule.
But knowing it sure makes taking nice pictures a much more consistent outcome.
I told my friend that I could only think of two real things that she needed to learn:
1) The rule of thirds
2) Almost anything can be a good picture.
Perspective is everything when you're taking pictures.
It literally only took her ten or so seconds to catch on to those two ideas once I'd explained them. My favorite part of teaching someone is that moment of comprehension when it 'clicks' in their mind. It's a great feeling to have explained something well enough that they get it and can apply it themselves. My friend, having figured out exactly what I meant, quickly took some very nice pictures (in my opinion). I'll put some below:
...and my favorite of the bunch.
(For that last picture I added another small piece of advice: I suggested using the tree branches to 'frame' the building, another technique that is commonly used.)
This was a very interesting experience to me. There are some skills that people think are just innate, like you either have them or you don't, and you can't improve them without natural talent. Photography can be one of those. Sometimes you'll look at a picture and say "Wow, there's no way I could ever take anything like that!"
Once it's reduced to a few simple points, however, it's not too hard to take artistic shots. Practice is key, like with most any skill, but it is certainly not a simple matter of natural talent versus no talent at all.
It also brought to mind the question: how did concepts like the 'rule of thirds' come to be passed down through generations of photographers? And what about other rules? Who first came up with them? I imagine that, whoever it was, they must have taught the rules to others, their friends who had a similar job or hobby with photography, and then passed it down over time just through simple, verbal teaching, just like I did in this instance. It's weird to think that although the technology for capturing the images has advanced so far, the basic concepts still remain pretty much the same.
I've never learned anything useful from a photography book (granted: I haven't read too many, and those I have read I didn't read too carefully), but in one half-year class I learned enough to improve my own skills, and to be able to teach someone else as well. That's the power that comes with demonstrated teaching.
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