Student Project Details

Name: John S.
Grade: 11
WTSA Event: Photographic Technology

Current Post-High Plan(s)/Career Goal(s):

I want to go to college and major in zoology or marine biology (or something related).

Why This Event?

I love photography and was excited by the opportunity to compete in a competition about it.

The Design Brief

I had to submit five photos in a "photo essay" along with a description of the camera settings, how I edited the photo, and how it connected to the theme (which was photo essay). The photos had to tell a story together. I needed to have: one color, one black-and-white, one macro, one still life, and one miscellaneous.

Toolset & Engineering/Design Methodology

I used my Nikon D3200 camera, three different lenses with maximum zooms ranging from 55mm to 400mm. I only used Adobe Lightroom for my editing.

Overcoming Challenges

The most difficult thing about making my submission was finding a connecting story. I'd never thought of how I could use 5 unrelated photos to tell a cohesive narrative.

WTSA State Conference Experience

Hearing "IDEA High School team 1" called for the finalists in HS Animatronics was awesome, and it was also amazing when they got third place.

The Veteran's Brief (Advice for Newcomers)

Read the guidelines document over and over. Run your submission by as many people as possible and have them check it against the guidelines for your competition. I saw so many incredible submissions get disqualified simply because someone missed a single line in the guidelines and didn't add particular minute details.

Future Competitive Goals

I will be submitting for Photographic Technology next year. I'm also interested in (but not decided on) Dragster Design, Children's Stories, and Video Game Design.

Click here to view the full Project Portfolio (PDF)