Earlier this week, I had the privilege of working with Ashley, a 10-year-old from Spotlight Dance Company. She’s been dancing since she was 3, but has been a part of the Spotlight family for the past 3 years. After doing my previous ballet shoot with Brittany, it was crazy to see such a similar level of determination, maturity, and expertise from a 10-year-old. Just from spending one day with her I could already tell this girl is gonna go places!
We made multiple stops around Sudbury, from both the aKaiserPhoto and Spotlight studios, to the beaches and bleachers at Laurentian University, with a bunch of other places in between.
I knew of a creek that would work perfect for a specific photo we wanted to do, but… we all left a little sandy.
As we complained about the sand getting everywhere and it burning our feet, it didn’t stop Ashley. She even came up with her own pose that we all ended up loving!
Next, we went tree climbing. Well, not for real, but I did have her lay in a tree and it was not the most comfortable… This pose was challenging, but of course Ashley pulled it off. Little ‘professional-in-the-making’!
Downtown was a ‘for sure’ on our list of locations. I wanted Ashley to do a similar hanging photo on the scaffolding that her teacher Brittany had done with me back in the winter. Knowing that she looks up to her teachers, I thought it would make her feel extra special to have done a similar shot.
I found some train tracks that aren’t being used anymore, which turned out to be a really cool location because of how appealing the leading lines of the rails looked. These are our favourite shots from this location…
We made a quick stop on a boardwalk to do a fun jump shot. She was given the idea and executed it with perfection.
Brittany had told me how amazing Ashley was when she freestyles at the studio. So, we thought it would be a good idea to bring her somewhere where she could dance freely and just do her own thing while I’d capture those ‘carefree’ moments that all kids have. To be a kid again…
Getting close to sunset, we headed to Laurentian Beach for a silhouette shot. Of course with our luck, we had a full day of intense sun and heat (bad for photography). Just when we actually wanted the sun for our silhouette shot, the clouds rolled in… boo! But we still nailed it! Bringing Ashley’s strength and balance in definitely made this shot a cool (and easy) one!
To end the day, we hung out at the bleachers by the Laurentian Track. Brittany had been there with me all day to help Ashley out with her dance poses, but at this point she wasn’t needed anymore haha! She chilled on the sidelines as Ashley and I did some modeling shots. She owned them, all on her own! There wasn’t much I had to tell her. She’s a natural!
I had a blast working with Ashley, she is definitely one super talented young lady. I can’t believe the level of professionalism that came out of this 10-year-old, which definitely shows through all the photos. I’m sure this will be a long-lasting memory for Ashley.
It was nice to give her a polaroid photo that she could bring home knowing she was the only person who has that photo. Even though she probably didn’t really know what a polaroid photo was, especially with my camera being so old, it was extra special and rare to see a print in front of you in that exact moment – no editing, no deleting!
Special thanks to everyone involved:
Makeup – Dana Lajeunesse
Hairstylist – Justin Fraser
Studio space – Spotlight Dance Company
Dance teacher – Brittany Cashubec (and blog corrector :P)
Monique Touchette – Mother (and reflector holder lol)
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