Since I stepped into my first journalism class some nine years ago, I have tried to learn something new everyday, but last week I had a chance to be the one who was doing the teaching.

I spent a small portion of Thursday afternoon speaking to Debbie Denniston and her newspaper students at Bayside Academy in Daphne.

A few weeks back, Debbie saw a photo I took during a Bayside football game and asked to use it on the cover of the monthly newspaper her students produce — BA Today.

I was honored she liked the photo enough to use it on the front page of the newly-redesigned paper, and mentioned to her that if she ever needed someone to come out and talk to the students about photography, I would be happy to help.

I had a great time talking with the students Thursday about the importance of strong photographs in today’s modern journalism.

Whatever platform is being used to share stories — print, online or social media — it is hard to overestimate the importance of a strong story-telling photo.

The new version of BA Today is a photographer’s dream. Big, slick pages show off the great photos the students in Denniston’s class are taking.

For Thursday’s class, I brought 60 photos of mine from past assignments to show how to tell a story with a single image.

It was an interesting experience for me to go from being a lifelong student of the craft to being a teacher of the next generation.

It was fun to see the students react to different photos I had taken over the years — photos of athletic triumphs, Presidential speeches and disasters.

I spoke with a few of the students about the cameras they are using, but I hope the main lesson they learned was that practice truly does make perfect.

For me, it has taken a lot of practice and I know I still have much to learn.

As we were going through the photos from my portfolio Thursday, I made sure to explain that my best images weren’t the result of just pointing a camera, crossing my fingers and pushing a button.

As each photo appeared on the classroom wall, I described the hours or even days I had spent lining up the shot while I waited for the perfect moment to arrive.

It was a truly awesome experience to be able to talk to the next generation of reporters, page designers and photographers.

I cannot thank Denniston and her students enough for the opportunity, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing all of their great photos and stories in the next issue of BA Today.

As you can tell, photography is now and forever will remain a great passion of mine, and it is nice to see the next generation shares that love.

Jay Sowers is the photo editor for Gulf Coast Media. To reach him, please email jay@gulfcoastmedia.com