Through all the stress of high school, creating art is a way for students to escape and express themselves. In this edition of the Lincoln Log, the Student Artist spotlight will be highlighting Lila O’Leary’s (‘27) photo. She took this photo on March 10th, 2025, right here in Lincoln’s courtyard. This photo, which was captured during Mr. Snyder’s 5th period Photography Beginning class, is an action shot capturing Anita Nordwall (‘27) running. A light leak overlay was added to the photo as part of the assignment.
Lila has enjoyed taking photos of scenery around her, especially while traveling, as well as group photos of family and friends. Before attending photography class, she wasn’t familiar with using Digital Single-Lens Reflex cameras (DSLR), a bigger type of camera, used more for professional use. She was, however, experienced using her iPhone camera and compact digital camera, a much simpler, smaller camera used for more recreational use. This familiarity helped Lila branch into different styles of photography, while still challenging her to work outside her comfort zone.
During the week in photography class that this photo was taken, students were assigned to take photos in different settings and design – some outside, some action shots, then adding a light leak overlay to the best. This photo was inspired by Anita running across the courtyard, for her peers to be able to capture action.
Once Lila had gotten good photos to work with, she picked her favorites to edit. For this photo, she selected a light leak from google to overlay the shot.
Lila has enjoyed learning different styles of photography in class such as natural lighting vs artificial light, using light leaks, black and white, and action shots. Her favorite was finding natural light to shoot in. “I liked having to shoot in complete natural light without any artificial light in the photo,” she expressed when sharing her favorite styles.
Beyond photography, Lila enjoys hanging out with her friends, shopping and traveling. She also enjoys doing her nails, trying out different themes and designs. Exploring and learning photography has been a positive new experience for Lila that she is excited to continue.