Photo courtesy of Will Follett
BY MOLLY ADAMSON
First-year advertising major Will Follett has gotten involved on campus right away, joining photography club and creating an Instagram account that captures all of Drake.
Follett runs the Instagram account drakeu365, an account dedicated to posting one photo each day that shows off different parts of campus.
Follett got the idea for the account while he was out jogging during the summer.
He brought the idea with him when he began college at Drake and acted on it his first day on campus.
He doesn’t remember when his passion for photography began, but his parents always had cameras around. They gave him his first point and shoot camera when he was in the fifth grade.
“Everyone can take a picture of a sunset or a flower, but the fun part is figuring out how to make your photo stand out from everyone else’s,” Follett said.
Follett’s talent has not gone unnoticed at Drake.
The Instagram account currently has more than 350 followers.
First-year Grace Lipscomb, a business finance major, met Follett on the Chicago Bus Trip, last March.
“He’s very persistent with his photo taking, he’ll never let a photo opportunity go by,” Lipscomb said. “No matter when you’re walking with him, morning (or) night, he’ll stop to take a photo. I think that’s what makes him such a good photographer.”
He noticed that there was no mention of the club online, so he reached out on the Facebook page of the Class of 2020 to see if there was any interest.
After getting a large response, the former president of the Photography Club contacted Follett saying that he would be too busy this year to run the club and asked if Follett would be interested in taking over. He said yes.
As the president of the club, Follett hopes to teach other aspiring photographers that they should never be afraid to share their work and offer any constructive criticism to other members of the club.
Sam Fathallah, a junior advertising major, also shares Follett’s passion for being behind a camera.
Fathallah was involved with Drake Photography Club last year, and reached out to Follett to talk about their passion.
“Will takes photos with an iPhone, which is really notable,” Fathallah said. “If you go on his Instagram, it looks like everything was taken with a professional camera. That’s a testament to his talent for framing and being able to understand how to tell a story.”
Fathallah thinks students should embrace Follett’s attitude.
“Do whatever you want and don’t listen to what other people tell you,” Fathallah said. “The more you allow your creativity to have space the further you’ll go. Don’t look for somebody to be your mentor, be your own mentor and create your own style.”
So far, some of Follett’s work has focused on buildings such as Cowles Library and the bridges in front of the Quads, as well as photographing student subjects.
Follett has his own bit of advice to give to anyone who wants to get into photography.
“The minute you start forcing yourself to take photos, you should stop doing what you’re doing because then you’re doing it for someone else and not yourself.”
