Capturing memories Student photographers share work on social media Emma Tomlinson
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t sporting events, there has been an uptick of photographers. These photographers are not adults, but they are students with a passion for photography. “I first got into photography from seeing other photographers at sporting events,” sophomore McKinley Boland said. “I always saw other photographers at these events and became instantly intrigued with it and decided it was something I wanted to pursue.” Students capture images of athletes as well as the Tiger Cage student section at different events. “I didn’t enjoy sports photography at first,” senior Bella Soto said. “I normally just shot portraits of people, but I think sporting events show a range of different emotions from people. I don’t have to ask people to act happy or act angry—they already look like that. I also think it’s really cool to capture all of those
emotions.” Photos captured at sporting events, especially football, have circulated around social media. Student photographers are posting their work on Instagram pages, which makes the photos more accessible to other students. “I think it’s playing a huge role,” Soto said. “I think it helps me share my images, but also helps promote me as a photographer.” Soto believes more people know about her photography due to Instagram and Twitter. The head coach of the varsity boys basketball team reached out to Soto about her photography after seeing her work on social media. She believes that, without social media, that would not have been possible. “One thing that makes my work unique is that I don’t do much retouch, if any at all,” Soto said. “I love how film looks and if the turnaround on getting film developed was quicker, I’d probably use film
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constantly.” Traditional film cameras can take days or weeks to get developed. The turnaround time is too slow for Soto, so she tries to replicate the film look through editing. She creates her own presets using grain to achieve the desired vintage effect. “I have a set of my own presets that I usually use and then adapt them to the specific pictures,” Boland said. A Lightroom preset is a configuration of settings designed to achieve a certain look or style of photo. They allow photographers to spend less time editing each individual photo and give their work a more cohesive look. There are some presets that are available for purchase, but many photographers like to create their own for a unique style. “I’m all self-taught,” senior Luke Watson said. “I learned editing from YouTube and other
Scan this QR code for links to the photography portfolios and social media of Bella Soto, Luke Watson and McKinley Boland.
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Tiger Times
1. Senior Zach Cox wears a banana costume to lead the banana cheer during a home football game against North Central on Friday, Aug. 20. 2. Senior Luke Watson captures a photo of his dog stopping for a break during a hike in the woods. Photo used with permission of Luke Watson.
September 2021
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