Photo Crafts and Activities

The Still Life Photography activity uses light and texture to tell a story. Instead of photographing people or buildings, experiment with making a still life.

A still life is an arrangement of objects that have interesting shapes and textures. Artists often use strong light to make interesting shadows.

Many artists arrange fruits and vases as subjects; you can try a basketball, shoes, hoop, and net or whatever else interests you. Choose your favorite objects and create a still life.

What You'll Need:

Step 1: Look for some interesting objects and arrange them on a table.

Step 2: Take a picture of your still life arrangement.

Try using different kinds of light such as natural light, spotlight, or colored light when taking your photos. Take pictures from different angles as well.

Go to a museum and look at all the still life paintings on the walls. Can you re-create a still life painting with your camera?

The next photo activity asks you to look at your subjects (even your still life subjects) from a new point of view.

Looking for more fun photo crafts? Check out these pages:

The Point of ViewPhoto project.

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The Point of View Photo activity shows that you can make objects bigger than a building or smaller than a stone -- it all depends on the angle.

Taking pictures from a unique position can change the way you see the subject of your photo.

What You'll Need:

Take pictures from a different angle than usual. For example, photograph your dog from a ladder, your brother from down by his feet, a nature scene from between two branches, or a group of friends from one end of the group.

It's an easy thing to do, and it will give your photos a new twist. Make a study of a series of items by examining them from different angles and from close and far away.

You can take a photograph from an interesting angle and then use half of it for the activity on the next page.

Looking for more fun photo crafts? Check out these pages:

With a Half and Half Picture, half the design is a photograph and half the design is hand-drawn or hand-painted artwork.

This photo craft gets you thinking outside the box. Using part of a photo gives you the guidelines, but the hand-designed portion allows your creativity to take flight.

What You'll Need:

Step 1: Look through an old magazine for a picture of a person's face. Make sure it is somewhat symmetrical -- a picture with similar halves.

Step 2: Cut the picture out, then cut it in half down the middle of the face. Glue one half of the picture on a piece of drawing paper; discard the other half.

Step 3: Use a pencil to sketch in the other half of the face. Try to match the facial features. Then color it in with charcoal or colored pencils.Once you've practiced this drawing technique, try sketching some other symmetrical pictures such as a person's body, a penguin, or a house. Then, instead of gluing the magazine picture to the paper, use removable tape to set the cutout half in place. Sketch in the other half of the picture, then remove the original half and sketch in the rest of the picture.Continue to the next page to learn how to put stories with your photographs and act them out in a homemade theater.Looking for more fun photo activities? Check out these pages:

Step 3: Use a pencil to sketch in the other half of the face. Try to match the facial features. Then color it in with charcoal or colored pencils.Once you've practiced this drawing technique, try sketching some other symmetrical pictures such as a person's body, a penguin, or a house. Then, instead of gluing the magazine picture to the paper, use removable tape to set the cutout half in place. Sketch in the other half of the picture, then remove the original half and sketch in the rest of the picture.Continue to the next page to learn how to put stories with your photographs and act them out in a homemade theater.Looking for more fun photo activities? Check out these pages:

The Photo Puppet Theater photo craft turns your life story into a play. Make puppets using your baby photos as well as recent photos. Then tell your own story in your very own puppet theater.

What You'll Need:

Step 1: Find some pictures of yourself from when you were a baby. Get one of your old school pictures and then find one or two taken the most recently.

Step 2: Ask permission to cut out 'yourselves' and glue a craft stick to the back of each photo.

Step 3: Make a box stage to act out your play. Cut out the bottom of the box. Decorate it with paint to make it look like a room in your house. Add a curtain to your stage. Glue a piece of fabric across the top front edge of the box. Pull it back over the top to raise the curtain.

Step 4: Tell your own story with your stick puppets.

Once you've completed your Photo Puppet Theater, ask a friend to create their own photo puppets. Combine your puppets for a bigger cast of characters and create even more stories for your theater.

You don't have to limit yourself to reality with the photo craft on the next page, so if you're looking for something extraordinary, keep reading.

Looking for more fun photo craft activities? Check out these pages:

The Fantasy Photo project.

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These Fantasy Photos tell a fictional story with real pictures. With this photo craft, you'll create adventure in which you play all the parts of the story.

If you've always wanted to take a safari, now's your chance -- you can even be the animals you see on your trip.

What You'll Need:

Step 1: Plan a setting for your story. Think of a scene where there are lots of people doing different things, such as a circus or a football game.

Step 2: Have a family member or friend take several pictures of you dressed as the different parts of the story. For the circus, pose as a ringmaster, an acrobat, a clown, and even a lion. Dress up in costumes to fit the roles.

Step 3: When the film is developed, cut your pictures out and glue them on a piece of poster board. Draw a circus scene with three rings, a trapeze, balls to juggle, a lion, and more.

Don't be afraid to be silly! If you're setting your Fantasy Photos in a bowling alley, you can even be the bowling ball and bowling pins. Remember, this is your Fantasy Photo, so let your imagination do the work.

Any of the characters in your Fantasy Photos can be used in the photo craft on the next page, too.

Looking for some more cool photo craft activities? Check out these pages for inspiration:

The Photo Statue photo craft.

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Most statues are made out of wood or stone, but you don't need to go to the hardware store to make Photo Statues. For this photo craft, you just need a photograph and a few simple supplies from the art cupboard.

It's easy to turn your favorite photos into movable statues that you can set up on a dresser or bookshelf -- with Photo Statues, there's no frame required.

What You'll Need:

Step 1: Find an enlarged photograph of a friend, family member, or yourself.

Step 2: Carefully cut around the outside edges of the photo's subject.

Step 3: Place the cutout photo on the foam core board and trace around it. With an adult's help, use the craft knife to cut the shape from the foam core board. Leave a straight edge at the bottom.

Step 4: Glue the photo on the board. Trim the edges to even it out.

Step 5: Make a stand with two rectangles of foam core board. Cut a slit in the middle of each board half way through. Cut two slits in the bottom of the photo statue. Insert each rectangle in the slits.

Now your Photo Statues are ready to stand on their own. These statues make a nice addition to any flat surface where pictures are displayed.

And if you think some of these photo statues look pretty silly, you haven't seen anything yet. Go to the next page for a seriously silly photo activity.

Looking for more fun photo activities? Check out these pages:

The Fantasy Photo craft.

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Create fantastical photos featuring you and your friends -- it's easy with the technique that follows.

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­This photo craft project lets you be as goofy as you want. You can place some friends upside down, mix around the faces and bodies, cut faces into funny shapes, or put your subjects in silly environments.

What You'll Need:

Step One: Plan a setting for your story. Think of a scene where there are lots of people doing different things, such as a circus or a football game.

Step Two: Have a family member or friend take several pictures of you dressed as the different parts of the story. For the circus, pose as a ringmaster, an acrobat, a clown, and even a lion. Dress up in costumes to fit the roles.

Step Three: When the film is developed, cut your pictures out and glue them on a piece of poster board. Draw a circus scene with three rings, a trapeze, balls to juggle, a lion, and more.

Keep your silly photos -- and your treasured pictures -- in a personalized collage. On the next page, you can discover how.

Looking for more fun photo projects? Check out these pages:

A Photo Collage tells a story in pictures. You can describe a particular object with a series of photographs and never even say or write a word.

Collages are best when they're full of pictures and images of the same type, but not necessarily the exact same thing. For example, you can do a photo collage of cats and include pictures of Siamese cats, cat food, tigers, and other related images.

What You'll Need:

Step 1: Take a series of different photos of the same thing such as several types of dogs or close-ups of a variety of flowers.

Step 2: Glue the photographs in a row on a colorful piece of mat-board. Choose a color that picks up something in your pictures.

You can also take a series of pictures of parts of an object. For instance, take photos of car tires, the trunk of the car, and the car grille. Put them together on the mat-board.

Make several Photo Collages and have a showing of your photography. You can choose to create collages that all follow one theme, or create a 'gallery' of dozens of totally different subjects.

The next photo craft will show you how to make a special frame for a special photo -- this can go in your gallery too.

Looking for more fun photo projects? Check out these pages:

To create a Seashell Frame, collect shells along the shore. Put a photo of you playing at the beach inside the frame.

Pick the shells you like the best, but try to find smaller-sized shells that will be able to be glued onto the frame easily. Search for many different colors of seashells, or try to find all white ones -- you can personalize your Seashell Frame any way you choose.

What You'll Need:

Step 1: Find a variety of small seashells.

Step 2: Glue them on the picture frame. Start in the corners and make the same arrangement in each one. Then glue small shells between the corner decorations.

Step 3: Let the glue set, then put your picture in the frame.

You can also decorate a wooden box with seashells. Just glue the shells on the lid. Give your seashell frame or box as a gift to a friend or family member.

Looking for more fun photo projects? Check out these pages: