Photojournalism
While my instincts were to reach for a pen before a camera, my role as editor-in-chief forced me to get comfortable with the different forms of journalism, including photos.
​Here are some examples of photos I took while out and about, whether on the job as a reporter or in the community as a student.
Massive protest
Students gather in the atrium at the beginning of fourth hour to support the gymnastics program. The protest featured hundreds of students showing support for the LHS and Free State gymnastics teams. "This sport is so important to a lot of people," junior Sophia Zogry said. "We just want to be treated like every other sport."
Brand new library
Light shines on the brand new LHS library. As a part of the school-wide construction project, the new library is integrated with the main atrium and commons area with seating where students can work and congregate. “I definitely like the layout more now,” senior Alyssa Barger said, “because of how open it is, and the glass brings in a lot of light.”
Stolen sign
During the height of the "devious licks" TikTok trend, students stole a detour sign from an opposing school during a sports game and brought it back to LHS, where it sat in a parking lot for weeks.
Poetry reading
Sharing her work, teacher Melissa Johnson holds a poetry reading at Watson Park in association with The Raven Book Store. “I was nervous,” Johnson said. “Even though I have done a lot of readings, I am nervous every time.”
Pleading to stop thefts
Teachers leave messages on a hallway whiteboard pleading with students to stop thefts amid the height of the "devious lick" TikTok trend. “It feels like we’re back in school for the first time in 15 years, and we’ve come back to a building that’s close to being finished, and the first thing that happens to it is it gets desecrated," history teacher Jeffrey Lyster said. "I hate how negative behavior is not confronted, not only by adults but also by peers.”
Closed off bathrooms
Closed off, a sign alerts students of bathroom closures to avoid further damage from the TikTok challenge.
Adopt-a-family collection
Student Council members organize donations collected by second-hour classes during the Adopt-a-Family campaign. LHS adopted 25 families, totaling to thousands of dollars in donations.
Choosing photos for print
Even though I didn't always have a camera in my hands, as editor of the print newspaper I had to become comfortable with choosing photos to run with stories and integrating them into the paper.
Here are some examples of different strategies I used to best incorporate photos into our newspaper.
Choosing the right photos
Both of these spreads were very photo oriented. For the homecoming spread, I wanted to choose photos that brought out the emotions and excitement that highlight homecoming week, especially this year after not having most of the activities the year prior.
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And the mural spread was all about color and finding photos that told different stories from different parts of the mural
Photo of the month
These two photos were two of our photos of the month, which run on the back cover of every issue of the newspaper.
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I choose these photos because they both gave off lots of color and energy, as well as being a great representation of student life at LHS
Using deadspace
In our print paper, every inch is gold. I always strove to make sure we made smart choices when analyzing photos on how they could fit into a page and how we could fit other content around them.
Cutout backgrounds
Oftentimes the best way to integrate photos into the page and avoid long blocks of text is with a cutout photo.
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These are some examples of where photos with tons of dead space in the background were cutout to help them flow into the page.