Headline suggestion : Dawson Tragedy – What reporter Véronique Prince had to say 8 years later
Véronique Prince works for TVA as a reporter and she covered the Dawson shooting 8 years ago. She was called on site as soon as the first gun shots were fired, and after all this time, she still has vivid memories of the event.
1. What worked well for you on this assignment.
I would say that I had the weather on my side. By the time it was my turn to shoot, it had stopped raining and the sun hadn’t come out yet, so I didn’t have to deal with harsh shadows hitting my subject’s face. Also, although my subject told me she was not photogenic, she was very relaxed when she arrived at school and she was pretty easy to shoot.
2. What would change in your approach if you had the opportunity to go back and do it again.
If I could change one thing, I would pick a less popular spot, or at least have a plan B. I did have a plan B in case I wasn’t able to shoot outside, but if I had known everyone had picked the same spot as I did I would have chosen somewhere else. Fortunately, I was able to find another composition that worked even though it wasn’t my initial idea.
3. Any information you would like to contribute to accompany your image.
I was really glad to try a different type of lighting than what I had planned for the shoot. I ended up picking one of those images because I really liked the backlight. I found it more interesting than what I had planned.
4. What did you learn about this type of photography.
I did learn that it is important to photograph the subject in a way that reflect his/her personality. If I had shot someone else, maybe I would have trying funkier poses, but given the reserved nature of my subject and the kind of job she does, I didn’t want to make her pose in a way that would be really out of character for her. Yes the photos might be simple, but I find it fits the subject very well.
5. What did you learn about yourself as a photographer from doing this assignment?
I did learn that I must try to be more open to trying more things as I’m shooting, like different kinds of lighting I had not planned beforehand.
Kim Hurley 