Wayne State attracts a new warrior

Phillip Edwards recently enrolls in Wayne State's Criminal Justice program to become a correction's officer and plans to get a head start on classes this summer. 

Phillip Edwards

   Phillip contacted me recently because he heard I recently transferred to Wayne State, and wanted me to show him around campus. He is a family friend who received what he described as "his calling," to become a corrections officer. Upon hearing this, I thought it seemed like a great fit for him, as he's been through the system himself and has strong, first-hand experience of what it's like to deal with. He's always been smart, tough; yet compassionate, therefore he has the makings of a great officer. I also found this as an opportunity to take his portrait! I showed him through the Welcome Center and also took him to the Majestic Cafe on Woodward avenue. 

   I expected portrait photography to be quite easy. Posing in front of the camera and capturing someone's personality didn't seem hard, to me. I've always been able to help put people at ease...Although, I realized that if I were to take a total stranger's portrait, it would be highly beneficial for the both of us to take five minutes or so to simply chat and get a sense of one another in order to warm up for the shoot. Then, I could better guide them at what type of angle to take or what type of facial expression to play off of. It's important to read their body language and be sensitive to what they seem both comfortable and uncomfortable with. 

   I found two things to be challenging: the shadowing, and a steady hand positioning (without a tripod). I chose not to use a tripod because my instructor wants us to establish comfort without one, which I totally agree with, It took me a minute to get the camera lined up at a proper vertical angle. Afterwards, I was kind of disappointed with the position I put him (in the frame) because the distance between his shoulders and the edge of the frame were slightly disproportionate. I should have taken the picture with him centered in a wider frame, to give myself the option to crop it more. Instead, I got confident in being able to center him in the frame, and then realized during the editing process that he wasn't quite in the center where I needed him to be. 

   I'm looking forward to practicing this type of photography more, as I think it may be a good fit for me.