• Paper and coloured pens and markers
• Large sheets of paper, one per pair
• Materials for collage (optional)
• Pictures
Instructions
1. Lay out the pictures for everyone to see.
2. Explain how photographers and picture editors crop pictures to draw the viewer’s attention to what they want you to look at.
3. Ask participants to work in pairs and ask them to select the particular picture they would like to work with. Tell them to analyse the picture and then glue it to a large sheet of paper. They should then draw in what they think was happening beyond the border of the picture; that is, they should “uncrop” it.
4. Ask people to share their work and discuss the following:
• Why do photographers and picture editors crop pictures?
• Can cropping be regarded as a form of censorship?
Tips for facilitators
Participants should feel free to make their wider pictures as realistic or as fantastic as they wish. If you have the possibility, you could carry out this activity using digital pictures on computers.
