Sophomore Chase Kuhn came to RJ Reynolds with little knowledge of photography but signed up for the class because they were art credits. He quickly discover that he belonged behind the camera, not in front of it.

Photography is a class that is unlike any other. Students get opportunities to use state of the art equipment that are not offered at other high schools in the county. 

“Probably my favorite thing about taking photo is access to Photoshop, a nice computer and a good teacher because I have none of those at home,” Kuhn said.

Photography teacher Phil Benenati recognizes the skills that Kuhn has built using these programs.

“He has a “good eye” and seems to visualize what he sees as his finished product using Photoshop as his tool to reach his goals,” Benenati said.

Students and faculty at RJR look forward to the projects of photography students that are hung on the walls of Reynolds for everyone to see. Photographers often get other students to model in their projects.

“A favorite project that I’ve done in this class would definitely be the movie poster project because it’s really fun to try and find people that look like famous actors and then recreate a spoof of what the original poster was,” Kuhn said.

Photography students learn about how to properly use a camera and what elements make a good photo but Kuhn has developed his own opinion on this.

“What makes something a photo worthy is up to the photographer,” Kuhn said. “Things that really stand out in my opinion are all over, it can be a leaf or something on the leaf like a water droplet.”

Chase has become well versed in the programs available for photography students and enjoys being able to edit photos.

“I really like experimenting with photos so a lot of my work has extra stuff done to it after I take the photo but I like to keep all of it 100 percent original,” Kuhn said.

Students are able to take some artist liberties in their work. Often times, after taking a photo, they then go and edit it to take it’s appearance. 

“Chase has always added a creative twist to his photography, beginning with Photo I,” Benenati said. “He seems to favor the unusual and always interested in solving problems to achieve a certain look in his images.”

If one thing is for sure, it is that this is just the beginning of Kuhn’s journey with photography.

“I definitely plan on doing photography even after the class is over,” Kuhn said. “I really love it and could see myself doing it as a living.”