Meet WVCSD’s Artist of the Week: Shi Woo Lee

Shi Woo Lee’s photography caught WVHS art teacher Anna Penny’s attention from the moment she first saw it.

“I had my eye on Shi’s work right away. Ever since our first assignment, and even the practice work that came before it, his work was obviously above the level I would expect from someone at his age,” said Penny. “He puts his best work into every single project, and with a lot of hard work along with a lot of natural creativity, he just keeps getting better and better.”

Lee is a junior this year, and his class with Penny has been the first time he has studied photography academically. Until now, Lee has been largely self-taught since he first picked up photography as a hobby at the age of six.

“When I was six, maybe seven, my mom would take photos and I thought she was really good at it,” said Lee. “She had this old digital camera around, and I picked it up and took photos along with her. That’s how I started. I just kept taking photos and got better and better on my own camera.”

In addition to following the creative lead of his mom, he also devoured how-to videos on YouTube. “I usually go for a ‘street photography’ aesthetic,” explained Lee. “I think it’s cool, going into the city and seeing people in everyday life, then catching that in photos. It’s really interesting; kind of like taking stills.”

Working with Penny this year, Lee said he has already gained new knowledge and techniques that have upped his photo game.

“Like, the concept of the rule of thirds,” Lee said. “I didn’t really pay attention to that much in the past, but since I’ve learned it here and started [composing] that way, I realize how much better it looks. I’ve been [applying] that to all my photos.”

Penny said she’s not just a fan of Lee’s work, she’s an even bigger fan of his love for the art and the work ethic he applies to his creativity. “He’s been photographing non-stop since he was six, seven years old,” she said. “There’s a reason he’s as good as he is right now!”

“A lot of people say, ‘it’s natural talent,’ or ‘you just have a hand for it,’” said Lee. “But, it’s just practice. And not even just in photography. Anything, art, literature, math; it’s all just practice. You just pick it up. I just kept taking photos. That’s how you get better.”

As juniors do, Lee has begun looking ahead to what he might want to study in college, and where. He said he and his family have their sights set on West Point, where he said his path would probably take him down a different road than photography.

“I’m thinking engineering would be really cool, mechanical engineering,” he said, making a point not to exclude his favorite hobby from the future. “I want to keep getting better, and I think I’ll always do [photography] as a side hustle. There might be a point where I could do it as something bigger.”