PHOTOJOURNALISM
Although my focus is mainly on writing and design, I strive to experiment in all areas of staff — including photojournalism. After watching and being inspired by other photographers, I captured the following moments:
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
During the spring of 2019, I picked up a Canon for the first time to shoot a girls' soccer game. Although I struggled at first with settings and where to stand on the field, I got the hang of it to produce these pictures. Although they were never published, I learned the importance of gathering information for captions, which I would work to improve the next time.
NOT-SO-NORMAL FINALS WEEK
To go along with a staffer's story about a unique virtual finals week, I photographed some students at my school while they studied for finals. I drew a heavy emphasis on the captions this time around by conducting interviews that allow the reader to gain knowledge from each photo. This time around, I kept the photos dark to add the lonely and stressful tone that these students experienced during finals season.
MUSICAL
REHEARSAL
Our school's dark auditorium was the perfect spot to practice my dark-location photography. The photos to the right were featured in an Instagram feature about how the theater department coped with social-distancing guidelines for the musical this year.
TRIVIA NIGHT
I attended the first in-person StuCo event of the year with one mission: capture emotion even through the masks. Although this proved more difficult than I thought, I shot these moments for a photo story.
PHOTOS IN STORYTELLING
Photos play a huge role in my reporting and writing process. No matter what story I write, I always take "visual notes" on my phone while observing so I can look back later and share the experience through words.
In the age of smartphones, I've encouraged other staff members to use this technique too — Canon cameras are great, but iPhones can capture the same moments and help inspire writing. Although these "visual notes" aren't my strongest work photographically, they help me remember key details.
BLM PROTEST
As the protestors marched down the street to the BLM rally on my street, I attentively watched and reported for my news story. These pictures I took were incredibly helpful when recalling details about the crowds.
EXPLANATION
"A parking lot in the Prairie Village Shops was set up with a stage and “Black Lives Matter” banners for the rally, where 18 speakers shared words and insight about the movement. A few of those were members of the East community, and the others included a variation of Kansas City students and locals."
APPLICATION
