Freshman captures the teenage experience behind her lens
October 21, 2020
For years, Sarah Barker’s father encouraged her to pick up a camera. She dabbled here and there, going through a PicsArt and VSCO phase that many pre-teens shared. Her eighth grade year, though, she decided to expand her limits, capturing the school year on a film camera.
Now, freshman Sarah Barker finds a creative outlet in photography and collaging, using her artwork to share her uniquely personal and authentic messages. She includes an emphasis on subjects that she think will be beneficial to others.
“I think it’s important to share things about yourself and say things that are important and meaningful, not to just you but to other people,” Sarah said.
The photographer finds inspiration in the people she surrounds herself with. The beauty she sees in her friends and family is one of her biggest motivations to capture photos.
“I really feel like a lot of times you don’t even have to have the best camera or whatever, as long as what you’re shooting is pretty,” Sarah said.
Most of the freshman’s photography is done on film cameras. She doesn’t feel the need to use lots of equipment to achieve the perfect final product; film and a printer scanner are enough to achieve the finish she likes for her collages.
“It adds a sick effect where it looks like a magazine,” Sarah said. “It looks like it’s actually handcrafted, and so I think it’s interesting.”
Our generation, it’s all moving onto digital, and I think it’s so important that we take actual hard copies of things — Sarah Barker
Sarah shares her pieces on Instagram and submits some work to magazines. In August, one of her collages was included on a postcard in All My Friends Zine, an online and print magazine created by teenagers.
In an era of digital media, Sarah finds joy in sticking to the basics. While film photography might not be the most popular among teenagers today, the underclassman incorporates it into her unique style of photography to create a final product everyone can enjoy.
“Our generation, it’s all moving onto digital, and I think it’s so important that we take actual hard copies of things,” Sarah said.
Photography is not the only way Sarah expresses herself creatively; after her freshman year, she plans on taking broadcast media and audiovisual classes so that she can learn more about working behind the video camera. She also enjoys singing and music in general, along with writing.
“There are so many things that interest me, but photography is probably the main one,” Sarah said.
