Assignment 11: Photo Essay

The Anniversary

A collection of photos from our Friday night anniversary celebration, from getting ready at home to exploring Kansas City’s holiday lights.

A collection of toiletries, makeup, glasses and hair accessories sits scattered across a counter in our master bathroom at our home in Olathe, Kan., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, as I get ready for a night out. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

Carter Winfrey, 22-year-old VCU student and boyfriend, enters the inconspicuous doorway of The Wise Guy in downtown Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

A bartender works behind a dimly lit bar as televisions show a football game during our anniversary dinner at The Wise Guy in downtown Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

Rigatoni alla vodka pairs with a lemon Italian soda as the main course at The Wise Guy in downtown Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

A decorated Christmas tree glows in the grand foyer of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

After dinner, Winfrey walks in an empty museum corridor at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

A detailed marble relief depicting figures in flowing robes is displayed in the ancient art collection at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

Winfrey looks up at a large Chinese mural and accompanying sculpture in the Asian art galleries at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

After leaving the museum, we headed down to the Country Club Plaza to look at the Christmas lights in the rain, which were turned on just yesterday, in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. ©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

We ended the night with a look onto Brush Creek, where holiday lights from The Raphael Hotel, Autograph Collection, reflected off the water in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.©2025 Rubyanne Moley/SMU

Since our eleventh assignment fell over Thanksgiving break, I had the honor of getting to shoot my pictures in my hometown of Kansas City, Kansas. At first, I wanted to capture the experience of Black Friday shopping, which I make my family endure in a yearly tradition of consumerism. Yet, when I took those photos--capturing the wait in line, the chaos in-store, the aftermath--all of it felt unmotivated and bland compared to the photo essays we saw in class. So I scratched those and switched to a piece with emotion and one that I'd look back on in thankfulness with my Boyfriend and I's 6-month anniversary date night.

What I did right: For using a phone, I feel like my photos came out crisp and well-composed. Some of them, if it weren't for a lesser quality, you would believe were taken with a professional camera. There is movement in my essay, with people moving, water rushing, or cars whooshing past, which contributes to the storytelling element. There is a beginning (getting ready in the bathroom), a middle (dinner), and an end (a late-night "museum heist" and Christmas light stroll). As a whole, the essay has more emotion than the Black Friday one and feels complete.

What I did wrong: I wanted to use my 2014 digital camera to take the photos, but I quickly realized that in dim lighting with no flash, they came out blurry and low resolution. I didn't want to use flash in these environments, as it took away from the mood and feel. Therefore, the first image in the series is a photo taken with a digital camera while the rest are phone. Next, some of my photos lacked people. I also struggled with making the photo well composed, as I tend to lean towards "perspective" photography as if it were through my eyes.

How I fixed it: I made sure to lean back very far when taking my pictures, which isn't something I'd normally do when using my phone. I switched from my digital camera to my phone. I did edits on the exposure more than usual with this assignment to compensate for the iPhone's camera quirks. This consisted of white balance, exposure, contrast, and warmth.

This was an intriguing assignment that was made difficult by shooting on an iPhone when I thought it would be easier! People definitely didn't stare as much as they normally do when I have my clunky camera, which was nice. I wish I had taken more photos than I did, but the ones I did take turned out well. I also got a lot of adorable photos together that I will cherish for a lifetime.