RUOFEI SHANG ’21:
SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH A LENS
Ruofei Shang ’21 in Salt, Jordan
W
hatever was happening on campus, you could be pretty sure to find Ruofei Shang ’21 in the midst of it. Whether as the highly involved student she was during her four years at King’s Academy, or in her capacity as student photographer for the school’s Department of Communications and Publications, the alumna left her mark on King’s — be it through the images she captured, or through her active engagement in student life. Beyond King’s caught up with Shang, currently a student of sociocultural anthropology, film and Arabic at Boston University, to see how she has kept up with her passion for photography since graduation. You worked as a student photographer for the Department 40
BEYOND KING’S
of Communications at King’s. How has that helped you at university? As a student photographer, I was able to develop skills in multiple aspects beyond photography. I got to practice my event photography skills as I covered on-campus events and activities. It helped me develop skills such as the ability to catch the center of the room, find emotions and other tiny details. On the technical side, event photography is more unpredictable as the participants are not static like in portrait photography — the lighting of the venue could be constantly changing; the photographer does not have control over what angles are accessible. What were the most challenging aspects of being a student photographer? It challenged me to stretch myself photography-wise and workwise. Having to multitask while in school
helped me to be prepared for any spontaneous and busy time in life. Since the photos were handled in a journalistic manner (i.e. ready quickly to be uploaded to news or website features), I developed the habit of uploading my photos as soon as possible. That was very helpful after I started doing photography professionally, as clients are eager to see the end results. Also, student photographer was just one of my many responsibilities at King’s. At university, I stayed involved in student activism and activities, which can feel overwhelming. However, my high school experience helped me figure out the best time-management strategy for me. How have you been developing your photography skills since leaving King’s? I have been exploring different fields (fashion, event, portrait, travel,