Rollins explores the world of photography
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Since graduating from Chrisman High School, Robbie Rollins began taking classes at Eastern Illinois University, studying Family and Consumer Sciences Education with a minor in Personal and Family Financial Literacy. He is also part of the EIU Housing Staff as a Resident Assistant (RA).
“I have the amazing opportunity to go around the state and do leadership/team building workshops at difference conferences,” Rollins told us. “I just recently was asked to do my first keynote address in February. Then about a year ago in May, I started exploring the world of photography.”
Rollins was introduced to photography through his sister, Sonja,while in high school.
“My sister would always take photos, edit them, and share them with all her friends,” Robbie said. “I thought that it was a cool hobby to pick up, so I bought myself a camera with some gear and have been exploring this hobby.”
Rollins’ camera of choice is a Canon ESO 4000 D and his favorite subject to photograph is landscapes.
“From storms to sunsets, to even pictures of the moon,” Rollins said. “I have recently started working on taking photos of people.”
When taking photos, the edits on the print is just as important as the angle and subject matter. The first step Rollins takes is determining what type of mood the photo releases, then he looks to how he can adjust the lighting.
“Sometimes there may be too much light, so I have to lower the exposure and sometimes I may adjust how bright the white and blacks are.”
Once the light/exposure is adjusted, Robbie starts on some of the colors, depending on the mood of the photo.
“If I am working on a sunset, I will adjust the yellow, orange, red and blues, then I move over to effects,” Rollins said. “If I am wanting the photo to stand out more, I will increase the clarity.”
Though these are the main steps of editing, it all comes down to what the photo looks like when it comes time to edit. Some photos may be hard to edit, while others may just take a few minutes.
With everything that Rollins has going for him at Eastern, now and once he graduates, he’s unsure about continuing photography full time once he graduates, but you will always see him with a camera.
“I see myself always taking photos, if you see me, you will see my camera. I am going to start working on taking photos of people and hopefully, will start working with some families around the surrounding communities.”
Rollins’ goal is to bring the enjoyment that he gets from taking photos to those he photographs.
“Everyone has an item in their household that tells a story. This is how I look at photos. When I get an excellent shot, I try to picture what you would do with it or the story of how I got that photo,” Rollins said. “Just seeing the joy that these photos bring others bring happiness in my life.”
