Photography majors in Erin Lefevre's 12th grade class are off and running with a challenging assignment: Photograph an object in 10 ways.
"I always like to give this project to my seniors to start with," Ms. Lefevre explained. "They're making 10 distinctly different images of the object. This allows me to assess how they approach photography, how they think about composition, how they use lighting, also, what objects attract them as photographers. It gives me a starting point to understand their perspective, and observe how they work through problems."
Among the objects students selected were a pair of volleyball sneakers, a pink jewelry box that was open and filled with gold hoops and necklaces, and a shiny perfume bottle. Common photography challenges the students faced were coming up with 10 unique ideas and dealing with unwanted reflection of light on their object.
Classroom 519 has two studios and is filled with top of the line MAC desktops. Some students shoot in natural light as well as using the studio sets. For seniors, everything is shot on a digital camera. Sophomores and juniors also shoot traditional film.
Ms. Lefevre encourages her students to take on challenges of their own, and further explore their creativity outside the classroom. "Students are permitted to borrow school cameras and many do take advantage of this opportunity," she said.
Erin Lefevre is an award-winning documentary photographer from New York City. This is her second-year teaching at HSFI, and her eighth-year teaching in NYC public schools.
Before she began her teaching journey, Ms. Lefevre was a full-time freelance photographer, working primarily in photojournalism. She has photographed commissions all over the country, with her work appearing in publications such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, British Journal of Photography, and more.
In 2017, Erin Lefevre taught an inaugural photojournalism summer program at the Brooklyn Public Library and fell in love with teaching. It inspired her to join the NYC Teaching Fellows program, and start her career teaching in NYC public schools.
Outside HSFI, Ms. Lefevre continues to work as a documentary photographer, focusing on visual storytelling, and highlighting stories and events that relate to New York City culture and under-represented issues.