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Troop 89
Great Bend, PA

Photography Merit Badge

Categories: Merit Badges
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About Course

  • Photography is the art of telling a story with light. In this course you will learn how a camera actually works, how light and exposure and composition change a picture, how to take the photos the merit badge asks for, how to improve them with editing software, and how to arrange a set of images into a visual story that says something.

Every lesson is built around the official Photography merit badge requirements. Each one quotes the requirement it covers, explains the skill in plain language, gives you a hands-on exercise, and tells you what your counselor will ask you to show or explain.

An important note: this course is study material. It does not sign off requirements. Only a registered Photography merit badge counselor can do that, and the official requirements on Scoutbook and at scouting.org are always the final word. Work through these lessons, do the photography, then bring your work to your counselor.

You do not need an expensive camera. A smartphone will earn this badge just fine.

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What Will You Learn?

  • Anticipate and prevent the hazards of photographing outdoors and in a studio
  • Explain how light, exposure, depth of field, angle of view, and composition change a photograph
  • Describe the basic parts of a camera and how an exposure is made
  • Photograph a subject using different angles, light sources, depths of field, and compositions
  • Capture close-ups, action shots, animal shots, nature shots, and pictures of people
  • Improve a photograph with editing software by cropping, adjusting exposure, and correcting color
  • Plan and present a visual photo story of eight to twelve images
  • Identify career opportunities in photography and what it takes to prepare for one

Course Content

Topic 1: Safety First and How a Camera Works
Before you take a single picture, know the hazards and know your tool. This topic covers requirement 1 (safety) and requirement 3 (the parts and operation of a camera).

  • Start Here: How This Badge Works
  • Lesson 1: Digital Safety and Your Online Footprint
  • Lesson 2: Staying Safe While You Shoot
  • Lesson 3: Inside a Camera, and How an Exposure Is Made
  • Quiz: Safety and Camera Basics

Topic 2: The Elements of a Good Photograph
Requirement 2 asks you to explain seven things that change the quality of a picture. These four lessons cover all of them: light, exposure, depth of field, composition, angle of view, motion, and the decisive moment.

Topic 3: Taking the Shots
Time to put the camera to work. This topic covers requirement 4 (photographing one subject different ways) and requirement 5 (photographing different types of subjects), and includes the assignments where you submit your work.

Topic 4: Editing and Enhancing Your Photos
Requirement 6 asks you to describe what editing software does and then actually improve one of your own photographs.

Topic 5: Tell a Story, and Look at Careers
The final topic. Requirement 7 asks you to plan and produce a visual story of eight to twelve images, and requirement 8 asks you to look at where photography can lead as a career.

Topic 6: Meet Your Counselor
Everything in one place: what you must SHOW, what you must DISCUSS, and how to get ready. Read this before you arrange the final meeting.

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