By ASHLEE GRAHAM – IHS is home to a ton of gifted students inside and outside of the classroom. One of those students would be junior Grace Woolslayer. Woolslayer takes photos through Digital Media Production for the school, as well as for recreation outside of school. Her photos are highlighted every year in yearbook and appear regularly in the newspaper.  

Senior Talia Mastalski states, “Grace is a truly talented photographer. Anyone scrolling down Instagram could tell you that! She has a really good eye for composition and color scheme. Whether she is using a professional lens, her iPhone, or a Polaroid camera, her photos always turn out amazing.”

Grace has been a part of the DMP program for all three years she has been in the senior high. Her passion for photography blossomed from her grandfather, who had a passion for photography, and from her mother who had a camera as well.

Senior Tian Schiera says, “Grace’s photography is outstanding. Her ability to capture the true essence of the people she photographs is remarkable! I’m very lucky to have such a sweet and multifaceted human in my life.”

Woolslayer is very thankful for the DMP program, because it has taught her a lot of skills that she uses for photography today. Mr. Puskar has taught her how to work the camera and how to get the best possible photo she can in the class, as well as provided professional grade lenses for her to use outside of class for projects and for her own personal use.

Being the talented photographer she is, Woolslayer has won a 2nd place award for the NIE photo competition in the sports category. The winning photo was a picture of senior Josh Mbogo during a swim meet.

Junior Abby Walker says, “Grace always amazes me with her photography skills. She always knows how to get the perfect shot by adjusting the settings on the camera and changing the lenses that she is using. It’s so cool to watch her work, because she always has such a vision for her photo shoots!”  

Woolslayer says that her favorite thing about Digital Media is the way that it challenges her to become a better photographer. The class pushes students to go outside of their artistic comfort zone and photograph things that they would normally pass by. Grace has a usual focus on taking portraits of her friends and family, but the challenges of the class push her to capture things that she normally wouldn’t.

[Photo by Grace Woolslayer]

Photo Caption: “Grace takes a selfie with her camera.”