With the end of the school year approaching, I was asked to do a portfolio of my growth and reflect on my second year as a photojournalist in The Feather. As I searched through my photos, I couldn’t help but notice the rapid growth of quality and efficiency in content.

At the beginning of the year, my love for photography was still in its beginning stages. Some experiences, such as Homecoming night, tested my skills. This event challenged the speed at which I could change camera settings in different lighting while still making my subjects comfortable. 

Another school event that dramatically stretched my abilities was FC Serve Day. A team of Feather photojournalists and videographers piled in a car and traveled to each worksite to capture the day. Visiting each of these locations required different lighting, angles and perspectives, depending on the job. I learned how to make each photo differ while visiting similar jobs to capture uniqueness.

I also learned how to master the skill of a quick edit. Last year, I would take on a photoshoot or school event, upload the images to The Feather’s Instagram, then the rest of the photos would sit on my memory card for weeks on end before I finally edited them. This year, my photography mentor, Kori James, taught me about efficiency, or in her words, “Time is money!” Now, I am able to bust out a photo job in no time, while still preserving quality photos to add to my professional portfolio.

I am very thankful to have learned these lessons from The Feather as I am now able to carry this knowledge over into my professional job. As I attend Peoples Church, my youth pastor, Marcus Marshall, offered me the opportunity to take photos on Sundays around the church. I capture the goings-on around the church, from informational booths, missions fundraisers and Sunday school, to main service worship, sermons and behind-the-scenes. On top of this weekly job, I have also been offered a summer internship at the church taking photos and helping run the Peoples Church Instagram account five days a week. From this opportunity, I hope to pursue photography as a career in the future and grow my professional account, aubreymicaphotography.

Some advice I would leave for future photojournalists is not to be afraid to make mistakes. I have made almost every mistake in the book, and it only made me a stronger and better photographer. 

I would like to thank senior editor and friend Bella Johns, ‘22, for always encouraging me to keep working and remaining patient with me through the year. Thank you for tagging along on photo jobs just to support me. You will be missed in The Feather lab next year!

I would also like to thank Greg Stobbe and James for teaching me the ins and outs of photography, writing, interviews and The Feather as a whole. I treasure each memory in The Feather, even though this year did not go as expected. (Learn more in Developing a photojournalist).

I am forever thankful for the lessons I learned in The Feather over the past two years and I am excited to see what God has in store for my senior year.

For more photos, visit the media page.

For more articles, read Double the talent with the Adams duo and Feather staff steps into editor roles.

Below is a slideshow of photos I took inside and outside of The Feather over the last year.

From left to right: proudest photos, action shots, headshot, first photos and group shots.

Gallery • 12 Photos

Sophomore Paige Deffenbacher performing 'Love Song' at the annual Valentine's concert.