“You take such beautiful pictures! Thank you so much”

- Cyndi G., mother

Sarah first caught my photographer’s eye a year ago as a talented actress in a middle school musical called Bye Bye Birdie, so I was looking forward to her first high school performance.

2020 has been different in many ways. We all wanted to preserve some normality in our lives while making sure that we ourselves and people around us are safe and healthy. One of the brilliant examples of resilience and perseverance was the “War of the Worlds” play staged by Sewickley Academy in the school plaza. The fall weather was mercifully warm and it didn’t rain once!

The school wanted the actors’ headshots and action shots for the programmes and billboards. While photographing all that, keeping the students socially distanced and safe was of paramount importance at all times. We set up professional studio lighting outdoors and invited actors for their shoot at scheduled times. They took off their mask only when they we in front of the camera.

As for the show, the stage was designed to ensure social distancing. The actors were creative by matching their masks to their outfits, and took them off only when it was their turn to speak on stage.

Some of my favorite images from the show were of Sarah. She gave an outstanding performance, throwing it all into her role. Her polka-dot dress perfectly suited to her role and the matching face mask completed the ensemble.