Lily Meng’s photo portfolio

25 photos taken using a camera, smartphone and lots of patience and laughs.

Nina Meng ’21 puts her hand on the wall of colorful handprints in the set designing room. The handprints add a splash of color to the otherwise colorless wall.

“Smile! Stand there! Pretend to be looking off into the distance!” Those were words I knew all too well from my many photographer friends. I was always the one in front of the camera, posing for my friends so they could get the perfect shot. After observing them snapping pictures, I thought, “I could do that. It looks easy. You just click the button to take the picture, right?”

Nope. After starting this unit, I quickly discovered that I was wrong. There was so much more than just clicking a button. I learned that there were different camera settings, and experimented with shutter speed, aperture and ISO. I took pictures from different perspectives, recruited my sisters and dog as models and attempted to find the beauty in every day objects. It was definitely a challenge to get the perfect picture, and I had the utmost respect for my photographer friends who made this task look easy.

This project helped me open my eyes to the world and realize that there is beauty in everything, even a pencil or a brick wall. For my event, I went to a Chinese Language and Culture class in North Liberty, where I got shots of the teacher and students, as well as the different activities they did. For my free form, I decided to use my dog as inspiration. I found myself covered in dog slobber with treats scattered around me, panting as I tried to get him to stay still. I also found myself outside, trying to use the sky as a backdrop for a portrait, hands turning red from the biting cold and whipping wind. I had to endure many obstacles to get pictures for my portfolio, but the experiences and memories were definitely worth it.