All Work and some Play

By Andrea Ochoa-Pineda

The second year Digital Photography students at Lambton College work hard as soon as their
fourth term starts.

Second year student Elizabeth Hunt photographs her assignment partner Gina Robertson's business portrait at the Lambton College Digital Photography studio in Sarnia, Ontario on Monday, January 23, 2016. (Andrea Ochoa-Pineda / Lambton College)

This term presents a lot of challenges, but it’s probably also the most fun. This is the time to
prove yourself, explore your own art further, and start working on your business. During the last
term in the Digital photography program, students are expected and taught how to build and
expand their business.

Second year students gather in the middle of the Digital Photography studio while others make use of the 5 individual studios to execute their portrait assignments at the Lambton College Digital Photography studio in Sarnia, Ontario on Monday, January 23, 2016. (Andrea Ochoa-Pineda / Lambton College)

As part of this business plan, they’re required to help each other out with their business
portraits. Second year students are assigned partners, with whom they get together to discuss
each other’s ideas for their own business portrait. During this exercise, students act the part of
both photographer and client to their partner, which not only helps immensely with their
interpersonal skills, but also gives them further experience in the realm of portraiture and
handling a client.

While students remain within the comfort of meeting with their own peers, this assignment also
brings its own challenges. Since their peers are also photographers, their expectations might be
higher than any average client.

For this assignment, students are required to photograph their peers in two different set-ups;
one formal, meant for business, and a second one that expresses their personality better.

Second year student Atena Abdorazagh works on post-production while fellow classmate Sarah Barry photographs her partner Eric Davison at the Lambton College Digital Photography studio in Sarnia, Ontario on Monday, January 23, 2016. (Andrea Ochoa-Pineda / Lambton College)

Whereas the business portrait is more of a professional photoshoot with a strict dress code, a
straight forward lighting set up, and traditional posing, the second portrait has almost absolute
creative freedom for both the photographer and their peer model to work with. In the second
portrait, students are encouraged to dress casually in a way that represents who they are as a
person more than who they are as a photographer, or entrepreneur.

Isabella Malik-Lidstone poses for her business casual portrait, while classmate and assignment partner Dana Sorensen photographs her at the Lambton College Digital Photography studio in Sarnia, Ontario on Monday, January 23, 2016. (Andrea Ochoa-Pineda / Lambton College)

While the first portrait urges the students to create something more traditional, the second
allows them to be flexible and explore their creativity, not only in the way they can dress or
pose, but also in the way the lighting is set up.

Second year Digital Photography student Erin Percival focuses on finishing assignments during the free time after her photoshoot while fellow classmates work on their own assignments at the Lambton College Digital Photography studio in Sarnia, Ontario on Monday, January 23, 2016. (Andrea Ochoa-Pineda / Lambton College)

Students in Lambton College’s Digital Photography program are professionally trained to
photograph with the best technique and professionalism, but they are also constantly motivated
to explore their own passions and creative endeavours in each and every assignment.

Only taught by the best, and continually inspired by their mentors, students in this program can
and will go to great lengths to achieve a beautiful product that they can be proud of and that
their respective clients will love.

Second year Digital Photography students Elizabeth Hunt and Gina Robertson waste no time to team up and put away the equipment they used for their photoshoots at the Lambton College Digital Photography studio in Sarnia, Ontario on Monday, January 23, 2016. (Andrea Ochoa-Pineda / Lambton College)