Photojournalism
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My journey
In all honesty, photography was not something I thought I would find myself doing, much less enjoying, when I signed up for the class. I've never been super "artsy" or had an eye for design. And for that reason, I avoided the camera, with its hundreds of buttons and settings, until I absolutely couldn't anymore for a deadline. Soon enough, like with most things journalism-related, I realized that 1.) it wasn't actually all that difficult once I tried and that 2.) it was actually really fun and rewarding. Whether it be a sports game, seniors painting a mural, or a talent show, photography gives us the chance to capture a moment in time and share it with the world. Sometimes it's a bit blurry, grainy, or dark, but most times, it's the perfect way to tell a story. While I am certainly no professional, my growth over the years and increasing confidence with the camera is definitely something I am proud of. Over the years, I've also made it a personal goal to incorporate photos and visuals into my articles whenever possible and encourage my fellow editors to pick up the camera, no matter how inexperienced they think they are!
Some galleries!
In addition to the camera, I was also a staunch avoider of sports when I first entered the Ghostwriter. I've never been particularly athletic or super into watching sports beyond the occasional World Cup or Super Bowl. Looking back, this is ironic considering most of my galleries fall under the sports category. While I may not always understand every play or sports term shouted from the sidelines, the camera and I do understand the parts that are universal: the emotions. From the excitement after scoring a goal to a celebratory high-five with a teammate or a cheering fan behind-the-scenes, I love capturing these special moments. I've suprised myself by even covering wrestling (a sport I still will never understand) twice!
Click through the pictures for the link to the full galleries with captions!
WA hosts wrestling invitational, goes 2-2
Boys’ Lacrosse scores a 12-4 victory against Newton South
Girls' Field Hockey triumphs over Wayland 3-0
Unified Basketball successfully hosts first-ever students vs. staff match
Photos and videos: Students reveal skills at WA Talent Show
Wrestling hosts first super quad meet of the year
Photos: Girls’ Lacrosse opens season with 18-10 victory against Nashoba Regional
Senior artists leave legacy through murals
Twomey takes on gardening, initiates sustainability conversation
In addition to the usual lighting and angle considerations, two things I always keep in mind are "what's going on behind the scenes?" and "how can I show emotion through the photo?"
I've realized that when it comes to sports photography for example, there are often just as interesting moments of cheer and excitement in the stands, during halftimes, from the referees and coaches, the pep-band, or even players on these sidelines. Just as it is important to spotlight all angles and perspectives on a story when writing, I've found that the same applies for photography, which has immensely helped me improve as a photographer.
When it comes the players/action shots, I try to get as close to the action and faces as possible. I've learned over time that different sports require different areas of standing. For example, when covering basketball, the baseline behind the nets is often a great angle, while with soccer, standing on the sidelines works well as well. In addition, learning to adjust the settings based on whether it was an indoor or outdoor game was another area of improvement I found over time, especially with the help of other on-site professional photographers.
In addition, internalizing techniques such as the rule of thirds has been helpful in pursuing more intentional photography.
To the side and bottom are photos where some of the above principles have been utilized.
Photo Editing
In all honesty, I don't edit many of my photos as it's not exactly my area of expertise. Still, having taken the Image Editing elective and learned the intricacies of Photoshop, I've absorbed some simple ways to elevate photos that I occasionally apply through online websites like pixlr.com or photopea.com. This often includes cropping the photos, adjusting the colors, brightness, contrast, and occasionally the saturation.
Our Photos Instagram
We established our photography Instagram account during my sophomore year in an effort to both improve our photos and attract people to the galleries, especially after noticing we got more engagement on our main account when we posted such photos. Over the years, we've established guidelines such as including a caption on every post and posting an excerpt of every gallery taken. Although this mostly consists of sports photos, we are working on expanding to covering all sorts of events.