Photojournalism

In sixth grade, I sparked an interest in photography. The next year I went to a journalism camp at MSU and took a photography class. I had so much fun and couldn’t wait to apply what I had learned.

For a while, sd cards were full of two things: pictures of plants, my siblings, and animals (mainly my dogs.) It became a hobby and a time-passer through middle school.

But freshman year when I joined journalism, one of the first assignments I did was a photo story of a climate change protest downtown. I left school early that day with a friend, also new to journalism, and we headed to the diag with two cameras. We left there with hundreds of photos of people and dozens of interviews. And with each person we talked to that day, it felt less intimidating and more possible.

Now as a senior, I have covered many events throughout high school: opening ceremonies, graduations, theater performances, sports games, business openings, rallies, and more. I have also explored portrait photography for my own articles, other staff members articles, recreationally, and for story packages.

Photojournalism is essential to truly capturing a story because it allows the reader to truly see the story: the action and reaction.