Los Angeles-based Margo Moritz began learning the craft of photography at the age of 13. Since then, she has worked as an editorial and more recently a commercial photographer and taught courses at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and elsewhere. For the past few years, one of Margo’s ongoing projects has featured portraits and lifestyle images of teenage girls. For Margo, the natural evolution of this project was to offer them an intensive photography course.
Margo created her Girls Photo Club as a summer camp for female-identifying teenagers (ages 12-18) wanting to learn photography. Students don’t need any experience, just the desire to learn.
Studies show a sharp decline in the self-esteem and confidence levels for teenage and “tween” girls, especially in comparison to their male counterparts. One study reported in the Atlantic surveyed girls between the ages of 8 and 14, asking them to rate their confidence on a scale of 0 to 10. The average of the girls’ responses fell from approximately 8.5 to 6 during these years — a deficit of 30%. Other studies indicate how mastering a skill can improve a young person’s feelings of self-worth and value. With women especially, teaching them to find their value in what they can do rather than in what they look like can help combat marginalizing social expectations. In addition, focusing on developing their photography skills has the added benefit of providing a creative outlet.
The course will take place over eight weeks, beginning June 29th, with an online session each week. However, if Margo receives a minimum of 4 students from Los Angeles or San Francisco, she will be able to offer an in-person workshop for additional learning.
Ultimately diversity in the commercial photography industry could be a happy consequence of this summer camp. According to an article from The Conversation, only 18% of the Association of Photographers’ accredited members are women. At the same time, research by Equal Lens found that less than 25% of the commercial photographers represented by 70 of the industry’s leading agents are female.
Margo’s decade of professional commercial work combined with her past teaching experience has allowed her to develop an extensive curriculum for the summer. She will begin by teaching many technical photography skills, starting with the basics of shooting in manual before moving on to more complex topics. Margo will walk them through the physics of capturing light, the mathematics of exposure, and the relationships between f-stops and shutter speeds.
If you or someone you know might be interested in participating in Margo Moritz’s summer camp sign up for Girls Photo Club here.
About the Author
Shannon Stewart is a Temple grad with a BA in English. She worked as a Marketing Specialist, a writer, and is now the editor at the art production agency Wonderful Machine. You can connect with Shannon via LinkedIn and follow her on Instagram. This article was also published here and shared with permission.
