Riley Scott: After years of experience on staff, I have raised and redefined my standards for photographic perfection

It’s perfect. 

That’s what I naively told myself after capturing my first in-focus photo during a varsity basketball game on my Nikon D7200. My sophomore self had just joined staff earlier that month and was having trouble taking pictures that weren’t blurry, let alone a photo that was visually interesting.

But little did I know, the picture needed to be cropped, straightened, exposed and almost all of my settings needed to be changed. According to Tate, It was nowhere near perfect. 

Until that first critique, I was always satisfied with my photos. I never spent a lot of time cropping or editing on Adobe Photoshop, and I rarely arrived to shoot with a developed plan for the sake of getting a good photo. 

Tate’s critiquing led me to be more scathing of my work, which made me a better photographer — and that’s something I’ll always appreciate. 

His voice is in a constant loop when I am shooting at games or events with my Nikon Z6II: “Constantly move around,” “Look for the reaction instead of the action” and “Play around with your settings and try out different lenses.”

My expectations for myself skyrocketed. To improve, I’d often resort to YouTube crash course videos that would help me understand how to utilize my current camera body. 

Up until my senior year I had a DSLR, a camera that reflects light using a mirror. Now, I have a mirrorless camera, where light goes directly through the camera, meaning settings differ. Understanding my camera was a large component that contributed to my growth as a photographer.

I never thought I could capture the perfect image — but I learned despite never being completely satisfied with even my award-winning photos, there was always room for reflection and improvement.

The tough love I’ve received from Tate eventually led to me finally capturing a photo that he didn’t totally hate. Any positive feedback I got was a win through my eyes — although I had reached the point where I’d critique myself. 

So, after countless hours in the Journalism room, I’d say there’s no point in over-analyzing your work. Just put in effort and be prepared, and you’ll take a “not perfect” photo that still feels like a success.