A-Line Magazine, Texas A&M’s first fashion-editorial and lifestyle magazine, has added its first male photographer to the team in the organization’s history. With the announcement of its spring print issue theme, REM, on Feb. 15., A-Line members across all teams will soon receive their print issue assignments.
Ecology and conservation biology junior Tyler Pfeil currently serves as social media and public relations officer for the A&M Photography Club. Pfeil got his start in photography while he was in high school, photographing sporting events for his high school yearbook. His decision to apply for A-Line was multi-faceted, Pfeil said.
“One [Photography Club] member had previously been in A-Line and they had a good experience so I thought I would try it out,” Pfeil said. “I’m interested in wildlife and nature [photography], but in college, it would be easier to make money off portraits. I haven’t really done any so I thought this would be a good experience … I’ve done sports photography and found sports and event photography aren’t really my thing. I liked that this is smaller but still big.”
Pfeil’s application for the photography team stood out among other applicants, not only because he’s a man applying for a majority-female magazine, but because his portfolio showed promise and creativity, marketing junior and A-Line President Mary Trantham said.
“I met [Pfeil] for the first time through the interview … I could tell he was hesitant to branch out into fashion editorial,” Trantham said. “We will help him grow in a fashion [editorial] sense … we’re also not only fashion. We have lifestyle content and always let our photographers choose what they want to shoot based on the articles we have planned, so Tyler doesn’t have to shoot fashion if he doesn’t want to.”
A-Line publishes one print issue every semester, however, the fashion editorial also publishes articles weekly on its website. Photography chief and marketing sophomore Kylie Dunlap said the best way for a photographer to sharpen their skills is to shoot again and again.
“As photography chief, we do workshops every month to sharpen our team’s photography skills,” Dunlap said. “We’ll work on [Adobe] Lightroom or take photos of each other. When you take photos for online articles and print you learn a lot through experience. I know so many people in A-Line have said they’ve learned so much in a semester.”
After the conclusion of the fall semester, the photography team doubled in size, increasing from six to 12 photographers. Overall, the organization has experienced an increase in total staff members from 65 to 78. Pfeil also isn’t the only male addition to A-Line this semester.
The fashion editorial also accepted a new writer onto its writing team, the second largest team, comprised of 16 staff members. Computer science freshman Nathan Brooks said he believes there is a lot of value in having a male writer a part of a female-dominated magazine.
“I can bring a new perspective into the magazine process,” Brooks said. “I’m here to write articles that I think both men and women can relate to and find interest in, and if I can get some more guys to read A-Line, or maybe even help a few decide to apply in the future, I will be proud of what I have brought to the magazine. I want to contribute to a work of art, I want to be embedded in something that others could find beautiful … A-Line is just that.”
A-Line has undergone changes to rebrand itself as a magazine that produces content for readers of all kinds. Editor-in-chief and international studies senior Gretchen Evans said the magazine continues to grow in content and member input.
“If you look at our branding and the very first print issue we had, the script and font were very feminine, since then we’ve tried to make sure our print issues are more gender-neutral,” Evans said. “We’ve definitely evolved since our first print issue and our upcoming issue, [REM]. We have a wider range of topics now … we’ve opened categories for important topics and opinions. We’re also allowing more input from full staff when, originally, it was the president and editor-in-chief who decided on the print theme. Now, anybody can pitch the print issue theme and everybody votes on it.”
To learn more about A-Line, visit their website and Instagram.
