Picture Perfect

Getting up at 6 a.m. during Long Weekend break probably isn’t a student’s idea of fun.

When Idia Enoma ’26 was offered the opportunity to take photos at the iconic New York Fashion Week, she didn’t mind the early alarm at all. As it so happened, Idia’s sister, Yuki ’22, a sophomore at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, had been hired by clothing and jewelry brand Tara and I to take video at the show.

“She knew I would be home for the Long Weekend and asked me to come with her,” says Idia, who has excelled in photography since arriving at MHS and is always looking for opportunities to add to her portfolio. “The company looked at some of my photos and gave me the okay to photograph at the show.”

It meant getting up around 6 a.m. and catching a train into the city. First, there would be backstage photos, followed by the show, which began at 12:30 p.m. and lasted 2 hours.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to do a different type of photography,” says Idia, a Photography II this year. “I usually take my own photos, so I can go with the flow and see what I get. For this, I was taking photos for someone else, which added a little pressure, and I definitely tapped into a more technical side of photography.”

Idia was also using a different camera, so she did her homework before-hand, brushing up on her technical skills. She began the day taking behind-the-scenes photos of models prepping for the show.

“It was definitely hectic, but there were lots of opportunities for photos,” she says, adding that for the first part of the show, she sat near the front row and photographed the runway. “The room was kind-of low-lit, so I had to mess with the camera settings in the middle of the show, and I was a little worried I was not going to get good photos, but everything turned out fine. In the moment, though, I was stressed about the lighting.”

Overall, Idia says she most enjoyed the energy of the day.

“Everyone was very passionate about what they were doing, but they were also supporting each other,” she explains. “I never felt awkward being there with a camera, even though I was the youngest one there. I was expecting some people to not be friendly or talkative, but they were very communicative with me. Even some of the other designers talked to me, so I definitely felt comfortable.”

It was not the first time Idia has been recognized for her photography. Last year, she was one of two MHS students with photographs selected for an online exhibition curated as part of the “We The Place” National High School Open Call, sponsored by the BFA Photography and Video Department at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Read more!

“What I enjoy most about photography is what I envision in my head and how I want the photo to come out is something I can make happen,” she says. “I feel like photography comes pretty naturally for me, and it is something I enjoy doing, even if it is work.”