Lessons from a High School Photographer
As I sit on the softball bus on the way to Choctaw Central, I can’t help but think that this whole AHS photography experience is quickly coming to an end. I have experienced some absolutely insane things, had some of the best times of my life, and would have done several things a little differently. That is why I find myself writing this letter to you, the future “Luke Flippo,” the next photographer.
Let me explain how it all began. Ever since I was 3 or 4, I have hated photos and cameras. I hid from the photos and covered my face in all of them. I got to high school with much of the same mentality. I got a girlfriend, thanks to a little help from Davis Helton, and she was on the yearbook staff. She brought me to a basketball game that she needed to cover, and I carried my mom’s cameras along because she was a hobby photographer in my brother’s childhood and had good equipment. I turned out to be pretty decent at taking those basketball photos. They circulated around the school, and soon everyone was asking me to be at every game. Before long, I was on the team buses and even dying my hair blond with the baseball team for the playoffs. Creating and documenting these memories has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I transformed my personal identity. No longer was I just a tennis player: I was a baseball player in the dugout in the playoffs, I was a soccer player in the hotel the night before the state championship, I was an actor at the first AHS stand-alone play in years, and the list goes on. Photography allowed me to step into the shoes of so many people that I never could have been able to relate to otherwise. I have been able to experience high school from so many different angles, and it has changed the way I think, act, and interact.
This whole thing has gone by so fast, and it will for you too. This letter is simply going to list some of my personal experiences and fast tips to enjoying the most fulfilling time of your life.
Be Attached
Whenever I started taking photos, I tried to stay as third-party and neutral as possible. My whole idea was to simply document what was going on. I never wore Amory colors, and I tried not to associate too much with the players. I thought I could get better photos that way. I was wrong. I couldn’t keep that mentality for…