This Eye of the Gale Student Spotlight focuses on Ethan Edwards, who has built a business taking pictures. Through his camera lens, Edwards, just a freshman, has already acquired a positive reputation for his photography skills.
Edwards explains how his talent in photography could become a financial advantage for him in a future career.
“Photography may be able to benefit me in the future by giving me new opportunities. I could meet new people, learn more social skills, and I [might] even get to attend bigger events the more skilled I get,” said Edwards.
It was really just a fluke that he discovered his passion for photography.
“I got into photography because a couple of the kids in the grade below me wanted photos at a basketball game and I knew my mom had a camera, so I offered to take some,” said Edwards.
“I learned more about photography the more photos I took. The best way to learn is through experience,” he said.
Since then, Edwards has taken photos of athletes in various sporting events. He said that, as he has been gaining more experience, he has enjoyed honing his craft, especially in athletics.
“I feel like it’s easy for me to photograph sports because it is always fun to watch, and I love to get action shots,” Edwards explained.
Word has gotten around the LHS athletic arena about Edwards’ photography, and many athletes have hired him to take photos of them during their games. Jojo Caldwell, a freshman wide receiver for the LHS football team, said he was impressed with Edwards’ photography and hired him to apply his skill in capturing the must-have shots that Caldwell wanted for football and track.
“I look forward to the pictures of me holding the football. And for track, I like the pictures of me on my blocks and just running near the finish line. It’s [the photography is] really good. I like the way that he edits,” he said.
“I really like the pictures of me dribbling against a defender, going in for a layup, and of course, shooting the ball. I love what he does, and I appreciate that he edits the photos instead of just sending them to me raw,” said Wesson.
According to the New York Institute of Photography, a good photographer has to learn to be an expert in the manipulation of lighting to capture meaningful photos of people, places, and things in a variety of settings. While many photographers focus primarily on studio work, others specialize in landscape, others in photojournalism and news, and others in commercial, advertising-oriented photography, just to name a few (“Professional Photography Careers – Photographer Jobs”). Furthermore, the equipment they use can be very technical and expensive. Edwards described the camera he uses.
“My camera body is a Canon EOS RP. For my lenses, I use a Sigma 28-70mm F/2.8 and a Canon EF 75-300mm variable aperture lens,” he said.
Edwards is a young beginner who has already experimented with various shots such as low-angle shots, sequence shots, and tight focus shots with diverse angles and poses, as well as lighting. He has created a business for his extraordinary imagery and mainly uses Instagram for promotion.
“I would describe my style as kind of action-packed, and for editing I like to keep it as natural as possible,” Edwards explained.
To see more of his work, find him on social media and take a look at the gallery of photos here.
