For the Humans of Sarah Lawrence: A Student-Curated Instagram Portfolio
@thesarahlawrenceportfolio
Taking inspiration from the social media phenomenon, Humans of New York, an initiative to photograph anyone and everyone and get a sense for who they are through meaningful conversation, sophomore Oliver Jin decided to start a similar account on instagram strictly for the streets of SLC: @thesarahlawrenceportfolio.
“Obviously Humans of New York is kind of the pop culture icon of this type of work, but I feel like there is a lot of work that is built on conversations,” said Jin.
Jin feels that an account like this holds the potential to be a catalyst for a more community-centered culture here on campus through highlighting some of the students and their interests. Not only does he hope for this to aid the student body, but him personally as well, considering he feels that running the instagram has already forced him to step outside of his comfort zone.
“I feel like this is my way of sharing human stories in this community. I run into too many people that I’m too shy to talk to, so this is my excuse to meet people and do it through media,” explained Jin, who concentrates in photography at Sarah Lawrence.
Oliver is someone who likes his space and his boundaries, but when he has his camera, he feels he is more inclined to approach new people and broaden his horizons.
“It is so much easier to meet new people when you have something to do, and I have been using my camera to start conversations. I kind of feel naked without my camera,” joked Jin.
The project is currently focused on fellow Resident Assistants, since Jin himself is an RA. The primary goal is to promote the position as a whole, and also to showcase friendly faces that are here to aid you around campus as well.
When speaking of the process of profiling a new person on the page, Jin said his primary concern is creating an organic conversation—the casual yet intentional toneis the biggest tool he uses to capture the essence of a person in their portraits.
“It’s kind of a lengthy process. I try to have about a 45-minute conversation that leads to a somewhat personal place, because the pictures are really led by the conversation,” spoke Jin.
In the future, Jin hopes to not only shine a light on the people being photographed, but also utilize other photographers on campus and use the account as a space to highlight their portrait work.
“As of right now, I am limited in my capacity as a photographer since portraits are not my expertise,” admits Jin.
As someone who wants to continue to focus on photography as a career path, Jin feels like this account is the perfect stepping stone to the kind of work he hopes to pursue.
“I really want to go into photography as a career—maybe photo essays or a documentary street photographer—but whatever I do, I want it to focus on humanity,” explained Jin.
As the year progresses, Jin hopes to find a more steady posting schedule consisting of about 1–2 portraits a week. To follow along on his journey, make sure to give him a follow on instagram at @thesarahlawrenceportfolio.
Zoe Kuhlkin, ‘23