Yearbook now accepting photos from Samo students

Sam ReamerStaff WriterIn an effort to increase student participation in the creation of the yearbook, the Samohi Nautilus has created a new section in which they will include pictures submitted from students, primarily via Facebook.Students will be able to submit these pictures by liking the yearbook Facebook page (“The Samohi Nautilus”) and then tagging yearbook in pictures they wish to submit for consideration.“We know that there are a lot of amazing activities and moments in students lives that are unique to Samo, and due to circumstances beyond our control we’re unable to capture them,” yearbook adviser Amy Chapman said. “Moments like backstage just before opening night of a musical, or the ride home on the bus from a game that secured the CIF victory.”Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Dana Ritchie feels that allowing students to contribute to the book will help improve it.“The point of a yearbook isn’t just to record the year and document what happened, but to document the things that you really want to remember,” Ritchie said. “We want people to have input in the yearbook. Having a 38 person staff make a book for 3200 kids isn’t realistic to be able to capture everyone.”Yearbook staff photographer Linda Gordon also thinks that allowing students to contribute their photos enables the yearbook to utilize student photographers who are not on yearbook.“It’s a great way to get amazing photos and I think there are a lot of talented photographers at this school,” Gordon said. “Since cameras are so available to kids it’s really nice that more kids are taking pictures and documenting their experiences and the fact that we can use those photos now is great.”Ritchie also says that student involvement in the yearbook will not only widen the scope of the yearbook, but also strengthen Samo’s connection to the yearbook.“If we have students put their input in, everyone has a stake in the book, and it’s nice to go in and see your photos,” Ritchie said.Samo sophomore Betsy Mebane feels that, as a student, it gives her the opportunity to help influence her representation in the yearbook.“It’s a way to try to ensure you will be in the yearbook with a friend that you like or a friend who you want to be in the yearbook with,” Mebane said. “Since you get to pick what photos you send in you obviously already like the photo of yourself.”According to Chapman, photos submitted for consideration will not just be considered for the new section, but for the entire yearbook.“This idea was born out of the need for this project that we’re working on, but the reality is if we get good photos and have a place in another part of the book then clearly we would use that,” Chapman said.However, according to Chapman, the student submitted photos will still be held to the same standards that staff photos are held to.“It’s the same screening process that we use for the book in general. We need to make sure that it represents a large variety of kids. We will limit the number of times people appear,” Chapman said. “We will be looking for photo quality and also for appropriateness.”According to Ritchie, even though the yearbook will contain some student photos, it will still mainly be comprised of photos taken by yearbook photographers.“Our photographers were chosen because we have confidence in their capability to have a vision for what the look of the book should be in terms of photography, and because of that we want their photos to make up the larger portion of the book,” Ritchie said. “We want to still play on the element of surprise in the book that students get from turning a page and seeing a picture of themselves that they’ve never seen before as the main focus on a page.”sreamer@thesamohi.com