This shoot is a memory that I’ll always look back on and cherish.
In a lot of ways, this was the first time I had worked with Neriah directly, but I have been photographing her on stage for years. She also holds a special place in my heart for the time spent alongside my daughter during her first year of dancing as the teacher’s assistant. Zoey still reminisces about their time together to this day. It is one of the ways Neriah’s amazing personality has shown me over the years.
I’ve had the best time watching her perform in The Lion King, Clara’s Dream, and numerous recitals where the little ones look on from the doorway in awe.
As I’m sure you can imagine, this project was something I had been looking forward to for a long time. It allowed me to get to know a fantastic performer on a personal level.
Never before have I had the opportunity to get to know the person I was taking photos of. Shooting performance is fantastic, but there’s a lot more going on, a lot more subjects to capture, and more to see. In short, I can’t sit and chat with everyone without being a significant nuisance.
I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world, I learned so much.
I learned how many things we have in common, including the love of photography and books.
It was hard for me not to see how amazing this young woman is.
And there were the ducks… which we jokingly said would be adorable to have a photo of. Little did we know they’d follow us around for a few minutes…
