portfolio 2014-2015 MEGHAN JACKSON
meghan jackson 3223 Creek Shadows Dr. Kingwood, TX 77339 Jacksonameghan@gmail.com 713-392-7573
Dear Mr. Newkirk, I am writing to you to apply for the editorial internship, specifically in photography. Ever since I have lived in Houston, which has been about nine years, I have watched my mom read the Houston Chronicle. When I was younger, I would always look at the pictures and I would like to proudly say how that has inspired me to work with photography. I would specifically like to work with the staff at the Houston Chronicle to gain experience and do something that I enjoy doing. Currently, I am on the yearbook staff at Kingwood Park High School. Some of my photos have been featured in the yearbook and our school newspaper, the KP Times. I feel like my work with the staff at Kingwood Park and outside of that will be helpful at the Houston Chronicle. Thank you for your time and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me with the information given above. Sincerley, Meghan Jackson.
meghan jackson 3223 Creek Shadows Dr. Kingwood, TX 77339 Jacksonameghan@gmail.com 713-392-7573
Education.
>Two years and Kingwood Park high school. >Graduation- May 2017. >Significant high school studies- advance journalism yearbook 2014-15.
Experience/Skills.
>Journalism for two years in middle school. >Intro to journalism 2013-2014. >Yearbook staff 2014-15. >Skilled with knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.
Activities.
> 1 year on yearbook staff. > 1 year as an student athletic trainer.
References.
> Megan Ortiz - Yearbook adviser.
self evaluation I was first introduced to journalism in seventh grade, when I had to choose an elective and I choose journalism because it sounded like the least horrible option out of all of them. At first, I took the class hoping it would be easy but I ended up enjoying it more then I thought that I would. I didn’t take journalism again until eighth grade and I wasn’t fully introduced to InDesign and Photoshop until the next year in high school. This year was my first year on the yearbook staff and I learned a lot more then I thought that I would have. I have learned the importance of meeting deadlines, how to use Photoshop, and a camera. I believe this is the only class that has truly taught me how the real world works. It has helped me with my other classes; such as turning things in on time and respecting deadlines. While the skills that I learned in Adobe might not help me out in the future, by giving me the real world experience I will be better prepared for my future outside of high school.
reflection #1
of my best work
reflection #1 My most significant piece was the pink out spread because it was the one spread where I felt like I met all my deadlines and was actually proud of the piece as a whole. It wasn’t the most difficult spread that I have worked on this year, but it definitely wasn’t the easiest. I interview almost everyone featured on the page and, at times, that was the most difficult part of finishing the spread on time. During the process of working on this spread, I learned more about the people in our school and the struggles their families have faced- which is the main reason that I enjoyed working on this piece the most. Everything about working on this particular spread was enjoyable, which is something that I didn’t feel while working on the other spreads. When I first started working on this spread, pictures for all the pink out events were already taken. One of the only design issues that I came across was trying to fit the pictures that I wanted to on the page. Luckily, I was able to fit pictures from the ceremony, the halftime show, and the pep rally. The only other issue that I came across was scheduling interviews, especially the one with the head football coach, but I was able to interview him and the other students who I could never find before the story was due. What I learned from working on this spread was how important it is to portray emotion. Even though most of the pictures don’t show how emotional the pink out ceremony was, they do portray the solemn atmosphere. After working on this spread, I tried to put as much emotion as I could into my other pieces. In the final product, I am most proud of how the story came out and how well filled out the page is. It isn’t too cluttered and there isn’t too much white space- I was afraid that I would have encountered this issue during the making of this spread, but luckily it all worked out. I am also proud of how many people I was able to fit onto the page, both teachers and students.
final draft
Whats mine: Captions, story, layout, and one of the photos.
reflection #2 of A PIECE THAT NEEDS WORK
reflection #2 A piece that I believe needs more work is the girls tennis page. When I first started working on the page, I lacked photos and a story angle. The story was soon worked out, even though I believe it could have been more interesting, I was already going to miss my deadline so I had to go with what I had. The photos that I did have were shot through the fence, so they were blurry and not good enough quality to go on the page. After asking some other people on the staff and in the intro classes to shoot for me, I got enough photos to put on the page. The only other issue was that I was lacking knowledge to write captions, so I had help with writing them at the very last minute. I spent most of the time that I had to work on the boys tennis page, which wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be either, and I believe that is why the girls tennis page wasn’t as great as I wanted it to turn out. In conclusion, I believe that this page could have been way better if I would have put a little more effort into it. The only good outcome that came out of working on this page is that I learned how to manage my time more wisely.
final draft
Whats mine: Some captions, story, and sidebar.
reflection #3
of my photos
This was one of my photos that was featured on the Silvers Star page in the yearbook. What I like about this photo is the angle and the way that the photo showed the audience watching the dancers perform.
This photo is one of my favorite photos that I took during the baseball season. I don’t know exactly what was happening, but I love how the picture captures the players reaction while he was in action.
Out of all the photos I took during the baseball season, this is one of my favorites. The angle is probably the reason why. I was able to get the pitchers face and the ball in the photo, which was lacking on the baseball page originally. This photo was featured as a dominant photo on the baseball page in the KP Times.
reflection #4
of my year on staff
reflection #4 As a member of the 2014-15 yearbook staff I believe that I didn’t help out as much as I could have. This year, as a whole, was the busiest year that I have ever had. While I believe that I was some help with taking baseball photos, which is the most notable thing that I have done on the staff. I wasn’t able to shoot during football games, due to the fact that I had to work on the field during the games. I was slightly disappointed because football seemed to be the biggest thing to photograph. I also had trouble with making deadlines and sometimes felt like I was hurting more then helping. If I was to ever be on the yearbook staff again, I would meet my deadlines and try to make more time.
the end.