The Face Behind The Lens

My story

Growing up, I was an avid sleep-away camp girl. While I loved camp, I’m not quite sure camp loved me. I’d often put my counselors in a panic as I was known to disappear. I would lose all track of time taking photos of my friends goofing off in our most sacred place. The nostalgic scenes that we created are some of my favorite moments that I get to relive every time I rediscover the photo albums tucked away in my parent’s home.

My eye for photography grew with me; and I began branching out from my hideout in the woods. Before graduating from high school, I graduated from my little yellow Kodak cam. With my new DSLR, I spent my month-long senior project as a second-hand photographer for high-end weddings at venues like the Ritz Carlton. Were my photos as glamorous as the decor? Hell no. At first many of my photos were blown out, but with time and proper exposure to the field, I learned and continuously improved. It wasn’t long until my camera became an extension of my eye. It reminded me of when I was learning a new language & I began dreaming in it. 

After living in Israel the year after high school, I was given the incredible opportunity to work at Cronkite News while pursuing my degree at Arizona State (forks uppp). I loved creating content, interacting with people in their natural surroundings and sharing their stories. But in some ways, I felt like my creativity was limited. There were too many rules. As a free-spirit, I wanted to use my own aesthetic flare to tell a story based on an occurrence’s aura. I wanted you to feel like you were there. However, an emotional experience is not the priority of news. I decided that working in a newsroom was not a career path for me, but maybe my side-hustle was. This “side-hustle” (of taking senior and family portraits and working private events independently) took strides. Preserving your memories is what I’ve grown to live for. I already possess the luxury of having the skills, education and equipment to document my own life. Let me share that luxury with you!