The Camera as an Art Tool · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

The camera is a tool, you are the artist

Arts & Music · Visual Art · ages 12-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What does the sensor or film do?

    • Records the focused light as a picture
    • Bends the light rays
    • Chooses the frame

  2. What does the lens of a camera do?

    • Stores the photo for years
    • Bends light and focuses it
    • Picks the moment to shoot

  3. Which three choices does a photographer make?

    • Lens brand, price, and weight
    • Weather, season, and luck
    • Frame, moment, and focus

  4. Opening the lens wide keeps everything from near to far perfectly sharp.

    Circle one:   True   False

  5. Maya wants the swings sharp and the fence behind soft and blurry. What should she change?

    • The time of day only
    • The colour of the fence
    • How wide the lens opens

  6. How did photography change what painters chose to paint?

    • Painters explored light and feeling instead of only recording looks
    • Painters stopped painting completely
    • Painters only copied photographs

  7. Two photos show the same market. One lists prices clearly. The other crops to colourful shapes. What is the difference?

    • One is a record and the other is a composition
    • One camera is broken
    • Both are arguments

  8. A poster pairs a photo of a dry cracked riverbed with the words Save Every Drop. What is the photo doing?

    • Just recording a riverbed
    • Making an argument to persuade you
    • Testing the camera sensor
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The camera is a tool, you are the artist W1-mt_TIdod5lPOl-s1

  1. Records the focused light as a picture · The sensor or film keeps a record of the light the lens focused.
  2. Bends light and focuses it · The lens bends the entering light and brings it to a sharp focus.
  3. Frame, moment, and focus · Framing, timing, and focus stay with the photographer, not the camera.
  4. False · A wide opening gives a shallow sharp zone, so the background turns to blur.
  5. How wide the lens opens · Opening the lens wide shrinks the sharp zone, so the background melts into blur.
  6. Painters explored light and feeling instead of only recording looks · Photos took over recording, which freed painters to paint light and feeling.
  7. One is a record and the other is a composition · The price photo records facts, while the cropped one is built for beauty.
  8. Making an argument to persuade you · The pairing pushes you to act, so the photo argues rather than just records.
Worksheet · LightMySky