From telling stories of facial insecurity to capturing the intensity of sporting events, I've found photography to be a far more versatile tool than I ever imagined. Though I initially struggled with the technical aspects of photography, I soon learned to control the camera and adjust it to my environment. The pics still often turn out blurry or over-exposed, but I'm now knowledgeable enough to quickly alter the settings in anticipation of a far-better shot on my next attempts.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
PHOTOJOURNALISM
FACE VALUE
For our January photo issue, we chose to tell the stories of facial insecurity, and how Jefferson students came to value their faces. We decided to feature a pair of identical twins, as we were interested to know how each twin's facial insecurities compared to the other's. For the photoshoot, I ventured into their home to take mirror shots, magazine shots, and profile shots. After realizing that we needed more perspectives, I also conducted a photoshoot with a senior who was willing to discuss his facial insecurities.
*Note: As these photos were taken for the January issue cover story, other members of the tjTODAY editorial board helped with the captions.
BOYS' VARSITY BASKETBALL
With an ever-moving blob of arms and legs, basketball is among the most difficult sports to shoot. Still, from my positioning behind Jefferson's hoop, I've managed to capture a number of photos that I can say I'm proud of. Rather than follow the ball, I try to capture players' faces and the emotions brandished across them. As seen in the last photo, I've also captured interesting snapshots of the halftime events.
As historian, I take photos of Model United Nations (MUN) club events to post on social media and other club forums. Given that I am a club officer, my work is technically not photojournalism. Nonetheless, while shooting photos of MUN events, I adopt pretty much all the same principles that I do during tjTODAY photoshoots. I shoot from a different angle on every photo while remaining careful not to disturb the event that I'm covering. The results have been some of my best photos to-date.
MODEL UNITED
NATIONS
DRUMLINE & INDOOR
GUARD
Following multiple failed attempts my freshman year, I finally completed a successful photo gallery in April that year. The trick, as it turned out, was learning how to shoot in TV (aka shutter priority). Even as members of drumline and indoor color guard moved at rapid speeds, I adjusted the shutter speed to capture their movement without any noticeable blur. I also set the ISO so that the camera worked well with the lighting in the gym that day.
