C.H.S. has always been and is continuing to be, a diverse community. It is full of people from all different walks of life. Even though we are an increasingly diverse school, sometimes it is hard to celebrate and appreciate all of the different people we have in our C.H.S. community. To combat that issue, the photography program here at C.H.S. has held many photoshoots specifically aimed towards highlighting our diversity.
When asked what prompted this year’s photography projects, Mrs. Wilson gave credit to a worldwide event called “Help Portrait”; a project that helps bring attention to people in need by taking their picture and then printing it and handing it out as a gift. “We wanted to give back to the C.H.S. community by taking these sibling portraits and distributing prints so that students could possibly give the portrait to a parent or loved one for a Christmas present or other holiday gift,” says Mrs. Wilson. This is the second year they have done this project and it is an easy way to celebrate the students here and give a gift that could last forever.
This year, a new photography project was brought up by a photography student and Mrs. Wilson loved the idea; “The Building Bridges project was an idea from Lamia West (12) … Lamia tossed out the idea of photographing friends- and the idea was born!”. The idea of this project is to capture diversity within the friendships and thus, the school.
All of Mrs. Wilson’s projects are important to her, “I get super excited about these kinds of photography projects. First off, they are fun for everyone involved. I think they are great experiences for my photography students, but it’s also a way for the photography program to impact our entire school community. These projects also help celebrate things about our school or the greater Charlottesville community through a language that everyone understands: photos! I also think that it’s a great opportunity to get students, who may not be involved in other things, to be a part of something. Next year I plan to have a photography project for Black History month celebrating African American hair and hairstyles!” Next year’s project will be a big step towards celebrating the diversity and culture of many C.H.S. students.