GSPA conference sessions

I attended A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words led by Mark Johnson and Literary Magazine: A Best Works Approach led by Kristy Cates at the GSPA Fall Conference. Johnson's session was interesting. Although I have taken a class that covered much of what he talked about, I enjoyed it. It was nice to get a review and I can never learn too much about taking good photographs. I thought he covered a good deal of information during the session, but it was presented in a non-timidating way. I particularly like his advice to know what your story is, tell the story through people and that we don't take photos "of" things, but we take photos "about" things. He also reviewed the three main points he told us in his introductory class - 1. Fill the Frame 2. Control the background 3. Wait for the moment - I think with these simple tips, teens (or anyone really) could take better photos without even knowing the technicalities of aperture and shutter speed. In fact, I liked that he didn't get into all of those details because it can be an intimidating side of photography. Johnson also went over incorporating visual variety and gave some final tips, one of which we all can learn from. He said "Accept your limitations ... shoot what you can." All-in-all this was a review for me, but definitely one that I needed.
The second session I attended was not as relevant to me. Kristy Cates did a great job of engaging the students in her presentation about Literary Magazines. I liked how rather than giving a full-on lecture, she allowed the kids to talk freely, ask questions and give input. She posed several good questions such as "what are you promoting?" and "Do you want to be inclusive or exclusive?" I also liked how she had students write ideas on a dry erase board and then discuss them. The session in general was a breeding ground for creativity and ideas. Each school described how they run their magazine and were able to bounce ideas off each other. Some of the more cutting-edge ideas that appealed to me included putting a DVD or CD in the magazine that had poetry or music included, adding sheet music, using mixed-media as an art form and incorporating an online version. Basically, I wish I had attended this sort of thing when I was in highschool - it just wasn't available to me (that I know of). What a great way to encourage writing, journalism, and creativity all together.