Michelle Sharp is our Teen Artist of the Week!

Every week, we’ll feature a teen artist absolutely crushing what they do. For all the teen creatives out there, share your portfolio with us at [email protected]. Yes, we know this week’s “illustrator” is a photographer ☺ 

While I almost exclusively shoot portraits, I don’t have any one particular style—I like to try a little of everything. One of my best friends has been my model for almost four years and she has been the one to help me put all my crazy ideas to the test. Out of everything I’ve tried so far, I like my ballet, underwater, and fashion shots the most.

My fascination with dancers came from taking ballet classes my whole life. They are beautiful athletes who make their sport look effortless and visually stunning. All the models in my dance shots are friends from my dance studio that I’ve grown up with and watched improve over the years. They are all extremely talented and willing to try any idea I throw at them, including ruining a pair of their pointe shoes to have an underwater dance shoot.

My underwater images are extremely special to me—they represent a whole new and beautiful way of taking portraits. They are definitely challenging; conditions underwater are unpredictable and hard to control without lots of equipment. Regardless, I love taking on the challenge and seeing the amazing results.

My biggest dream is to be a high-end fashion photographer—you know the one that goes to Paris fashion week and shoots for major designers for Vogue and whatnot. This is why I have been moving away from all other types of portraiture besides fashion. It is a completely different realm of photography that I have become absolutely fascinated by, and I cannot wait to see where it takes me.

Michelle Sharp is an eighteen-year-old photographer. She was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley but goes to school at UC Santa Barbara. To see all of her work, you can check out her Instagram and Facebook.