Last week PSC sparked inspiration in the hearts of twenty year 12 students from Trinity College Colac – a secondary school that pushes boundaries with its extra-curricular focus. Students who came to PSC were those with media classes, interested in exploring different styles in photography, with the best college in Asia- Pacific.

Image by Taylor Ferne-Morris

Led by PSC course director, Daniel Boetker Smith, students were first introduced to the concept of ‘Instagram Photography’. He broadened their understanding about new frontiers of the art and medium, giving them a list of leading Instagram photographers to seek inspiration from, for the workshop session of the day.

‘Students chose from leading photographers like Chien Chi Chang, Stacy Kranitz, Victor Cobo, Boogie Photographer, and PSC's Katrin Koenning to use as their inspiration for the workshop. We discussed the way Instagram can be a vibrant gallery for showing off your work, and that plenty of careers have been made off the back of Instagram. The workshop was really a starting point to test out different styles and approaches. Students were encouraged to take away some important messages about the power of the photographic image.’ (Daniel Boetker Smith)

Image by Taylor Ferne-Morris

Image by Taylor Ferne Morris

Trinity College Colac teacher, Ryan Geary accompanied our students and was impressed by the outcome of the workshop:

'The session was perfectly timed in our content and the students gained an enormous insight as well as skills which will benefit them as soon as next week.The session was informative, interesting and interactive which our students loved. After the initial shock of having to use their Instagram accounts they were soon coming up to me and saying how others were liking and commenting on their photography which also gave them confidence.'

Thanks to Maria Duarte, the communications and students officer for full time studies, images of students were reposted on the PSC Instagram account:

This was yet another successful collaboration between our teaching staff and aspiring photographers from Australia. Secondary students from Trinity College Colac absolutely enjoyed the exposure they received thanks to spending a day at PSC. They received professional feedback for the work they jubilantly created, giving them a slice of the PSC life! We are looking forward to our next workshop in May.

"The workshop was a great opportunity to get back to basics, we just got out into the street and were shooting really raw and improvised ideas. We had fun, and the students really came away with the understanding that there is never a right or wrong answer with photography, you've just got to do what feels right." (Daniel Boetker Smith)