Attention all students: There is yet another opportunity for you to become involved in ChardonHigh School through the new photography club. This group was formed with the intent of teaching any interested students how to use a camera and the techniques for taking good quality photographs.
The club’s founder, junior Vince Farone, clarifies, “My goal in creating this club is to give creative kids a chance to learn more about photography and to be opened up to a new type of art that Chardon doesn’t have a class for.” His favorite part of photography is, “being able to create stories and life with a photo. To me, photography can be considered a type of writing because each piece speaks a million words.”
Club advisor, Miss Fisher explains, “I wanted to create photography club because there are many students who love taking pictures, but cannot be on yearbook staff, due to scheduling conflicts. I am passionate about photography and want to be able to teach all interested students about the art form.”
Miss Fisher also notes, “It does not matter if you do not have a camera or if you do not know a lot about photography; anyone can come and learn more about taking photographs. And you won’t know if you like photography if you’ve never tried it before. You have nothing to lose, so why not come out and try it?” In fact, the next meeting will involve a lesson on the basic workings of a DSLR (modern) camera, such as shutter speed, modes, and camera terms in general. Students interested in photography club will also be able to borrow the school-purchased cameras for yearbook. “We do not actually use the three DSLR cameras year-round for yearbook club, so they should be valuable resources for photography students,” Miss Fisher discloses.
She is also hoping that once students learn to use DSLR cameras, they can ultimately take pictures which could be featured in the yearbook. The small staff of yearbook would certainly appreciate the help, as they are faced with the daunting task of designing more than 200 pages. Somewhere down the road, photography club members might be able to earn a discount on their yearbooks by taking pictures of activities and sports that will be featured in the yearbook.
In the future, members also plan to learn in depth about Photoshop, have professional photographers as guest speakers, and take group expeditions to locations for photo shoots. Ideas were also tossed around about assigning an open-ended prompt or subject each week of which students would use their own interpretation to take pictures outside of the club. The next week, members would return to share their work with the class, and their peers would then offer feedback. In addition, students will be encouraged to submit their photos for publication in the yearbook as well as to local and national photography competitions that students will consider participating in. One thing is for certain, Miss Fisher notes-there will always be snacks!
At the first meeting on October 30, participants seemed very excited and eager to dive in to learning more about photography.
Vince Farone says any hesitant students should keep in mind, “It is extremely fun to get into and a wonderful stress reliever to be able to learn an art and get better at it!” Both students and staff members are welcome to join. The meetings will be every Wednesday after school in Room 3 (off of the library) until 3:30.