There are many creative people at LASA, and some of them choose to express it through photography. While some may keep their work private, others have chosen to share it through platforms like Instagram for people to see. 

Senior Aubrie Edmond has a photography account under the handle @aubriegraphy. She said that while Instagram is an ideal way to share photography, utilizing the platform adds to the anxiety of putting one’s work out to the public. 

“It’s easy to say that Instagram is the perfect platform for sharing photography, but for me, there’s a lot of stress involved with putting myself out there and sharing my work,” Edmond said. “I always wonder whether or not it’s good enough and compare it to other stuff that I see.”

Junior Lilli Long runs a photography account on Instagram called @lillilongphotography. She said that Instagram can have pros and cons when it comes to sharing any kind of art but thinks Instagram is still a great platform for it. 

“I definitely think it’s good for reaching people who you think are potential target audience members or people you want to reach in an artistic community, so it’s really fantastic for the making connections aspect,” Long said. “I think what you could consider a downside is just audience outreach. If you would want to share your art with a large number of people, it can take a long time to develop a following of people [to] actually show off that art [to], but I feel like that involves a lot about meeting new people in the first place, so I think there are definitely pros and cons.” 

Junior Sam Fischer also has a photography account, @samcphotos. He said that he thinks that Instagram doesn’t present any cons for him because he uses his account as a more casual way to share his photography. 

“One pro is that it can help motivate me to take more photos,” Fischer said. “I don’t really think there are any cons for me. I could see how it would be hard if I was more serious about photography or trying to make money off of it, but since I do photography very casually, Instagram is just a good way to share some of my photos with other people.”

Senior Ella Neff said that she enjoys using her Instagram, which can be found @eknphoto, to share a style of photo people might not otherwise see from her. Neff takes photos for LASA’s yearbook, but she uses her account as a space for more artistic photos, rather than photos just for documentation. 

“In the yearbook, you see the sports photos, the academic photos — very cut and dry,” Neff said. “There’s not much room for artistic expression — really, the goal of the yearbook is to document the year and show the students rather than express your creativity. I like being able to show a different side of my photography and a more creative side of myself, rather than just the rational, ‘Here’s a photo of someone playing soccer,’ the photos you see in all the yearbooks and in the news and stuff. I wanted to do something more creative, and I use Instagram as a way to do that and to show people that I’m a photographer for yearbook but also that this is a passion of mine. This is a hobby I don’t just do because I’m in the class.”

Long said she thinks that Instagram can also help people overcome anxiety about sharing their art. Despite the downsides, Long expressed that Instagram provides a unique opportunity to put one’s work out to the world. 

“I feel even though it has pros and cons, it does force you to become comfortable with sharing your art no matter how you feel,” Long said.