By Megan Happel
Published on April 6, 2022
The Scientific and Technical Communication major at Michigan Technological University (MTU) requires its students to create and present online project portfolios that encompass their time at the university before they graduate. The realization that many of these students rarely ever take photos of themselves, especially while doing these projects, spurred the Society for Technical Communication: Student Chapter to come up with a solution. Awkward Photoshoot Day was originally based on the concept of club members going out on campus and awkwardly taking photos of each other using their smartphone cameras and/or rental cameras from the university. However, the scope of this event grew when the STC Club decided to collaborate with the MTU Photography Club and open the event up to all students.
Awkward Photoshoot Day provided an opportunity for students to get free professional headshots and staged working photos. For this event, the clubs rented out Room 244 in the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library and used a large, freestanding whiteboard as a studio backdrop for professional headshots. Some photographers manned the impromptu studio space while others were free roaming, following students around the building for staged working photos, group photos, and headshots with varying backgrounds. To emphasize the “awkward” part of the event and have a little fun, one photographer even brought a camera with a fisheye lens to take silly, deformed pictures of volunteers.
The event was held on Sunday, February 6th, 2022 and a total of 39 people expressed interest in attending the event, whether through RSVP forms or as volunteer photographers and event hosts. Awkward Photoshoot Day lasted for two hours and provided a variety of photos for approximately 22 different people. In addition to this, Davi Sprague, a member of the STC Club, decided to film the event and turn it into a mini documentary, or featurette.
Overall, this event was a success and both clubs had a lot of fun hosting it. We hope that it is a tradition that carries on throughout future iterations of the clubs.
Comments