PHOTOGRAPHY
Community life
Working for newspapers has allowed me the opportunity to take pictures at several community events. On this page, I have included a photo from one of my college’s plays and one from a parade. When photographing events, I look beyond just the basics of what is happening. My goal is to capture the emotions of those present.
When I was photographing the play, I noticed the light hitting just one side of a singer’s face in an interesting way. It was the final play for the theatre program. In a way, how the light hits the singer’s face accentuates the many feelings behind the production. By using a narrow depth of field, I was able to keep the focus on what was going on internally for this singer and the whole cast and crew.
As I photographed the parade, I looked for opportunities to get a photograph that didn’t just look like every other parade photo. I decided to sit down on the ground and shoot up so there was just enough of an angle to make the subjects pop out. As I saw these students walking by, their energy and body language screamed school spirit – capturing the true essence of homecoming.
Sports
Sports photography is always a fun challenge. Every sports game has the same process, more or less, so shooting sports is all about what makes each individual game unique.
At these two football games, I found myself looking to the players in between and after plays. In the touchdown photo, I kept shooting after the player crossed the end zone. The action of him crossing into touchdown territory was exciting, but I knew football players tend to have a touchdown dance or celebrate in a big way. As I kept shooting, the scorer jumped in the air and was lifted by his teammate. The photo feels victorious, just like how the players felt in that moment and after winning the game.
In the vertical shot, I once again kept shooting after the play. The player’s reaction is often more exciting than the actual action. Everyone has already seen hundreds of photos of tackles, but there are fewer shots of the player’s reaction afterward.
Portraits
Apart from event and sports photography, I have also done a lot of portraiture. My experience includes studio portraiture, couples and individuals.
For this couple’s shot, I wanted the photos I took to feel like my clients. I spent the beginning of the shoot getting to know these two and their story. Their love felt sweet and soft, and so I wanted the photos to reflect that. I set my aperture low so these two were more in focus than the background. We had an evening shoot, so the sunlight was still bright but not harsh. To complete the look, I had them pose looking at each other so they were not focused on the fact that they were getting their picture taken.
One of my focuses when shooting portraiture is to include movement shots. These shots feel much more authentic and personal, instead of staged, still shots. For this individual shot, I had her sway back and forth. This added that movement, while also creating a natural soft smile without asking. I positioned my subject so the setting sun created a beautiful glow on her hair.