Photography Fantasy! The Magic Behind Lawrenceville’s Media Teams

Five Star Graphics Profile: Hale Brown '23
Riley McKibben '25

Hale Brown ’23 was the first to break onto the sports media scene at Lawrenceville with his business, Five Star Graphics. Armed with just his camera, film equipment, and laptop, the V Former has taken his passion for photography and turned it into a successful pursuit, churning out commitment posts, hype videos, and high-quality photos.

Brown started Five Star Graphics just over a year ago. “I made my buddy Andrew’s graphic when he committed to [University of] Notre Dame last September,” he recalls. The post is the first on the Five Star Graphics Instagram page, complete with a dual image of the athlete on the backdrop of the Notre Dame campus and the University’s classic blue and gold color scheme. After this initial favor, the requests started rolling in: “Everyone asked him where he got it from, and I made it into a business.”

Even though he’s only got a year under his belt, Brown’s been made busy with the work he’s gotten himself into, with the Fall Term being a particularly packed time. “When we’re in peak commitment season, I make up to seven or eight [graphics] per day,” a substantial number for a high school student who is also involved in several extracurriculars on campus. 

When asked about the other big name in graphics on campus, Prism Visuals, Brown kept it diplomatic, saying, “I think what they’re doing is super cool, but I think the difference between them and me is I focus more so on the business aspect of the creative industry.”  

For him, photography isn’t just a hobby anymore, it’s a way of helping out his community.  “I work with five or six club lacrosse teams that I [make] graphics consistently for, but I take any and all customers.” These customers get Five Star service from Brown without having to pay the prices of professional organizations. It’s a relationship that benefits both parties, demonstrated by the fact that Brown has managed to get in touch with some more big-time clients: “We do graphics from time to time for Princeton University’s Mens’ Lacrosse team,” he said. 

All in all, Five Star Graphics is a passion project for Brown, and it’s one that he seeks to keep going into the future. “The beauty of it all is that all I need is a laptop and my camera.”

Prism Visuals Profile: Etta Schar '23
Sneha Kumar '25

Athletics are a huge part of the Lawrenceville life. Whether you are a new II Former or a seasoned V Former, a majority of students participate in at least one interscholastic sport each year. Recently, sports media has taken hold of athletes, coaches, and schools alike; here at Lawrenceville, one example of sports media is Prism Visuals, a photography account currently run by Etta Schar ’23.  

Schar has always had a love for filmmaking and photography, but her interests flourished when she took Gil Domb’s P’17 filmmaking class during her III Form year. Since then, she has added a variety of photos and videos to her portfolio, mainly through Prism Visuals, where she posts both action and fun photos of different teams. Schar explained that she got the name for the account from a prism camera lens, which “produces a different kind of image.” Schar’s vision is to create an account that, like prism lenses, produces high quality and unique images. As a result of working with the Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse team this past Spring Term, Schar said that she wanted to “highlight a larger variety of sports.” Over the summer, she reached out to Associate Director of Athletics Nicole Stock for help setting up her Instagram, and since then, she has photographed various fall sports on campus. Schar looks at the home games for the week and tries to attend games where she hasn’t photographed the team playing before. While photographing, Schar aims to capture team moments such as huddles or celebrations, as well as candid and action shots of the players. After going to games, Schar sorts through nearly 500 pictures in order to find around 20 to edit and post. Though Schar describes this process as sometimes “difficult,” she says it is worth it when she sees athletes “get excited when they see themselves in different pictures.” Schar posts these photographs to Prism Visuals’s Instagram account, usually using a photograph of the whole team as the cover picture. So far, the account has highlighted the Boys’ Varisty Football team, the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team, the Girls’ Field Hockey team, and the Boys’ Water Polo team. “Making sure that people get the photos they want,” Schar said, has always been a really important part of Prism Visuals. 

Currently, Prism Visuals mainly focuses on athletics, but Schar is looking to move into other aspects of Lawrenceville life. She plans to start with taking V Form Pictures, which are special personal photos for this year’s V Formers that will appear in this year’s Olla Podrida. Looking ahead, Schar hopes to pursue filmmaking in college and expand beyond sports. Still, she loves photographing sports here at Lawrenceville, especially the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team. If anyone is looking for a photographer to flick them up, Schar is the girl to call.