by Anna McClure | Jun 13, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment
Following a successful first set of photoshoots, rising sophomore Sarah Johnson is preparing to continue her project in which she hand makes costumes and then photographs students from the theater department in them. During the spring semester, Johnson completed several shoots of various Disney characters at locations around Nashville. The characters included Alice, the Mad Hatter, Belle, Ariel, Tarzan, and Jane. “The first round went really well. Johnson said “I was blessed with actors willing to give a lot to the characters and work very well with an amateur photographer to create magic for a few moments, enough to capture and share with others.” Johnson faced several challenges along the way, including hand sewing costumes after her sewing maching broke and photographing Lacy Hartselle underwater as Ariel. Johnson purchased a waterproof camera case, which had a built in floatation device. “I had to physically push the case underwater and hold it down while trying to take pictures and not resurface. Johnson said “Each time we went under, we only had about a 7 to10 second interval to get pictures before I was pushed to the surface again. [Lacy] worked equally hard, trying to swim with her legs in a tail and keep her wig on, all while looking like a princess.” An additional challenge she faced was directing the actors about what to do and how to pose. She often gave them free reign as their characters and captured the moments as they happened. Despite the challenges involved, the end results have surpassed Johnson’s expectations. “I’ve loved every one thus far. Johnson said “Each character or set of characters...
by Anna McClure | Mar 14, 2015 | News Slider
For some, coming to college means leaving behind the novelties of childhood, but not for Sarah Johnson. Johnson, a freshman theater major, intends to bring Disney characters to life by hand-making costumes and photographing students in the theater department wearing them. Johnson had the idea for a similar project four years ago, but felt she did not have the resources and skills necessary to bring it to life. “When I came to Lipscomb and got into the theater department, got a little more into photography and had a nice camera, I started taking pictures and I started seeing the talent that all these different people had,” Johnson said. “Instead of using models, I thought that it would be interesting to see people, who for or a living or for a hobby want to act as characters, to take on the characters that they love.” Johnson is planning to photograph a different set of characters each semester. The theme of this set will be Disney Princesses, but future plans include Toy Story, Disney villains, Greek Mythology and horror sets. Friend and fellow first year theater student, Natalie Risk, has been assisting Johnson with the project. “This is a project that will span our entire four years of college,” Risk said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the last set of pictures we take and comparing them to our first. Seeing the progression and the growth in every aspect of what we do will be a lot of fun to watch.” Together they have made a schedule, acquired materials and picked locations for photo shoots. With fabrics, bedspreads and clothing from Goodwill...
