As a photographer, I am always excited to try something a little different or new, and the cover shoot for this month’s 225 was one of those times. We had a vision for what we wanted the cover to look like and what it would imply, and the challenge was just making the shoot actually happen. However, to make this illustration happen, I would need some different equipment and some models to make the scene come to life.
Writer Adrian Hirsch and I worked closely to pull the shoot together and throughout Adrian’s research/interviewing process. We traveled to several schools, talking with and photographing students about bullying in Baton Rouge.
The cover shoot was a little more complicated, though, and we ran into many stop signs before finally finding The Possibility Project, which had a location that had lockers and students who were more than happy to help us out.
The students were perfect for the shoot — all being high school ages and all having a performance background — and they contributed ideas as we started shooting. And we got many, many wonderful images, some of which are being featured in this month’s magazine.
This is one of my favorites that didn’t make it into print:
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION. Ebony Sylvester, from left front, a home schooled senior, stands next to her locker as Baton Rouge Magnet High School students Morgan Bicknell, a freshman; Brittany Dykes, a senior; and, BreAnna Smith, a freshman, look her direction at the BREC Teen Center on Sat., Mar. 3, 2012. The students are involved with the Possibility Project. Each Saturday, these teenagers attend a workshop that combines issue-oriented discussions, training in diversity, conflict resolution, leadership and community activism, instruction in the full range of performing arts and the creation of scenes and writing. The teenagers write, produce and perform an original musical based on their lives and their ideas for change. (Photo by Erin Parker / 225)
To read Adrian Hirsch’s article on Bullying in Louisiana and the Baton Rouge area, click here.
kim - this is a very powerful photo!
amanda - Agreed! This is so powerful. I knew right away what the photo was trying to capture.