The Photographer badge is part of the “Legacy” badge set introduced in 2011.
Purpose: When I’ve earned this badge, I’ll know how to capture my vision of the world in photographs.
Step 1: Focus on composition: Shoot five landscapes[]
- Now it’s time to get into photo basics! Do a little research into the four elements of
composition: the “rule of thirds,” framing, depth, and lead lines. When you photograph
your landscapes, keep the composition guidelines in mind.
- Take five photos from a different vantage point.
- Try to shoot images from above, below, or at some other angle. You might capture the marina view from the Girl Scout Leadership center in a 360-degree panorama.
Step 2: Focus on light: Shoot five portraits or still life images[]
- Think about what features do you want to capture about a person: her fashion sense, her love of serenity?
- What features of an object do you want to showcase: a vase’s smooth surface, a cactus’ spiny texture?
- Capture the same person or object from five different perspectives.
- As you take five portraits or still-life scenes, experiment with light to see how it can help
you emphasize the features you choose. Try flash, natural light, using a flash outdoors, or a light source you create.
- You might play around with more than light: What about distance from the object(s), zoom,
and angle? If you’re taking portraits, experiment with posed and candid shots.
Step 3: Focus on motion: Shoot five action shots[]
- Try to stop motion and retain a strong sense of movement by doing this step.
- Take photos of a group or an individual in motion.
- A group could be a sports team, children playing, or your friends running, swimming or kayaking! Capture an individual in five stages: maybe a swimmer approaching the shoreline, plunging in, forming her swim stroke, going through the water, and her breath sequence.
Step 4: Tell a story with photography[]
2015 Gold Awardee Melissa McHenry
- Use your new skills to tell a photographic story than means something to you. Do you
want to show others a cause close to your heart, or create the story of you for a resume or
college application? Take your photographs, then share them in one of these ways.
- Make a digital slide show.
- Post your photographic story about your visit to the Girl Scout Leadership Center in a private online space for family and friends.
- Create a photo album or scrapbook, or a digital slideshow.
- Share your creation with others.
Melissa McHenry, Girl Scouts of Nassau County[]
Melissa McHenry was a Girl Scout who received her Gold Award in 2015. On May 9, 2016, she died of sudden heart complications just after she came home to Lynbrook after her first year of college. She was 18 years old.
In true Girl Scout fashion, Melissa loved giving back to her community. After learning that a fire had destroyed a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post and a new construction had gone up in its place, for her Girl Scout Gold Award she combined her passions for art and giving back to help decorate the interior of the new space. To inform her approach and bring an educational touch to her art, she interviewed local veterans on the different services they provide and learned about the various branches of the U.S. armed forces.
Melissa’s dedication to leaving her corner of the world better than she found it is what Girl Scouts is all about.