Senior Show Photography Skills for Final Project
Sarah Belkas favorite pictures hung up in the school during the senior showcase for Mr. Prescott's Photo 3 class. Photo courtesy: Sarah Belka
What’s with all the pictures in the hall?
By: Kaden Severn
Senior photography students at Madison High School have completed their senior portfolios. After taking three years of photography classes, the students were given the task of picking a theme, style, and creating a 10 photo show of that theme. Photography is a very demanding class. It requires hours of out of class shooting, setting up, and editing. The seniors work is displayed in the main hall of the high school.
In order to get to the final trimester of the Photography course taught by Larry Prescott, students must take 3 years of photography classes. Photo 1 is an intro to photography class only 1 trimester long teaching the basics of photography composition, color, and other concepts. Photo 2 is a year long class that begins teaching juniors the more advanced techniques of digital manipulation and studio portraiture. Photography 3 is only for those serious about photography. Photo 3 students learn commercial skills to use for photography careers such as lighting on location portraits, commercial type photos, advanced Photoshop and post processing skills.
Seniors had full creative control of their show with no assignment requirements other than the pictures be of high quality and the show being unified it look and style. Over the past 3 years the seniors have all developed their own unique style and you can really see the diversity and individuality in each of the 7 students work.
“The seniors did very good work this year. There was a wide variety of themes and styles so that’s good. I’m proud of these kids and how they have developed their skills.” Larry Prescott said.
Several of our reporters chose their favorite series and interview the photographer. Following are their articles and samples of the photos.
Women In The Wilderness
Story by: Brielle Hammond
Photographer Sarah Belka choose the theme “Women in the Wilderness” for her senior show.
“I choose my topic because I like the dramatic effect when you bring girls in dresses in the nature, and set a dramatic light on them,” said Belka.
She took girls from our school out in the wilderness in fancy dresses. Then she lit them with a light to make a dramatic effect. She would coordinate the background with the dress to make the coolest effect.
“I like the outdoors so I wanted to do it in the nature,” said Belka.
With all the photography projects Belka has done portraits is her favorite. Her project was exploring beauty in carious setting in nature.
Sports Composites Takes Sports to a Whole New Level
Story by: Brayden Johnston
One of the more impressive photo shoots this year was done by Kaden Severn. His theme was sports composites, meaning he would take shots of athletes in the studio and place them in backgrounds to change the mood to be more serious.
“I absolutely loved the dramatic lighting, the HDR style, and the change from the typical portrait photography I had grown accustomed to. As soon as I finished that first composite I knew that I wanted more.”said Severn.
This was a big assignment for Severn because this is a huge step towards what he wants in his career as a professional photographer.
“My dream job is to do these type of shots for a company such as Nike. I believe that sports are more than just games. The untraditional lighting and contrasting colors help show the emotional connection that the players have to their sport,” said Severn.
And if these photos are any indication on how far Severn is going to go in life then he is going to have a long career.
Horror In The Viewer
Story by: Branden Edelmayer
Caden Atkinson’s Senior photo shoot was definitely eye catching. Caden catches his viewers in a way no one else’s photos did. He sparked a feeling in the viewers by creating dark and gloomy photos.
He got his idea from horror movies and decided to use it in his pictures.
“I wanted the photos to speak to the viewer,” Caden said.
By: Shaylee Severn
Senior Caden Atkinson’s horror themed senior photography project is turning the heads of students at Madison. He created nine haunting photographs of demonic figures and gory faces. Atkinson’s theme was inspired by old horror movies.
“Anything that makes the viewer feel uneasy or frightened was my goal. I wanted the photos to speak to the viewer, and leave an impression in their head,” said Atkinson
Caden hopes to continue to share his photography and use it to make people think. He wants others to not only enjoy his work, but to receive a message from it.
“I like darker photos because they get people’s attention and interpret them in different ways,” said Atkinson.
Skateboards and Action Shots
Story by: Sam Goff
One of the seniors in that show was John Turcotte a senior who has taken all 3 photography classes. For john’s photos he chose to take photos of people skateboarding.
Turcotte said he was inspired, “because i have always enjoyed skating and photographing that would be something that would be really enjoying for me.”
There are only seven seniors in the whole show each with their own shooting style. When asked his favorite photo from his show he responded with “ I would have to say the one with the R2D2 and all the graffiti because i like the way the board is in focus and the guy is not.”
His favorite type of events to shoot are sports. The senior show is a great way to show how talented and all of the potential that the seniors have leaving high school.
