The haunting of Cherokee HS: a photo gallery walk

In honor of Halloween, CHS photography students displayed their spooky photos during a gallery walk on Wednesday. While this event was originally scheduled for October 30 in light of Halloween, it had to be rescheduled due to the storm.

After studying photographers like William Mumler who were some of the first to use double exposure to produce “spirit photography” in the 1860s to trick people into thinking they were being photographed with spirits of deceased loved ones in a lucrative scam–to studying more modern techniques in either fall or spooky-themed photography, students were then assigned a variety of choice board options sorted by difficulty level from which they would pick and produce two spooky or fall-themed photos for a gallery to host peers and staff.

Students took original photos using props, backgrounds, and lighting given by Mrs. Teasley to add creepy effects, though several took their photos from home. Various effects such as double exposures and slow shutter speeds were applied to a variety of focal subjects based on the professional photographer studied to inspire each project choice. The students then edited, critiqued, and polished their photos for the horror gallery walk on Wednesday.

The gallery was open all throughout fourth period (during the photography class). Students were instructed to be able to discuss questions about how to re-create the work, if students or staff wanted, what equipment and editing techniques were used, and the themes/styles represented.

In addition to the class’s photos, the photo club and some guest contributions were also featured. Admin, teachers, and other staff members stopped by, along with Ms. Coulter’s art class.

Some students created both Halloween photos and fall-themed ones. Maddie Howe poses with her work. [Makenzie Bird]

Supernatural effects were created through platforms such as Snapseed, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and the DSLR’s multiple exposure feature. Images like levitating objects or people, ghosts popping out of floating frames, and dark faces in windows were featured. The work demonstrated an incredible level of creativity.

Photo 1 student, Sophia Melbourne, featured her photo “Division” that uses slow shutter speed on a DSLR and edited in Lightroom to create this eerie appearance.

Those not in favor Halloween were also given a fall-themed option. Autumn leaves were used as accents to decorate portraits and fill towering trees with color. Some featured forced perspective where leaves created the appearance of wings.

In total, there were over 60 photos on display outside of the North Gym and cafeteria. Many of these are on display at the bottom of the screen for viewers to browse through.