Editor's Note: The Times-Reporter is profiling one senior from each of the school districts in Tuscarawas County coinciding with graduation. They were nominated by school administrators.
GNADENHUTTEN ‒ Last year, Natalie Holbrook, a student at Indian Valley High School , ventured into photography for the first time, taking pictures at a track meet.
"My first pictures weren't that good, but people liked them, so I kept up with it," she said.
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Since that time, Holbrook, 18, daughter of Cheryl and Jeremy Holbrook of Newcomerstown, has started her own business, Natalie Holbrook Productions. She does freelance photography and video for customers, everything from senior photos to events. But her favorite thing to photograph is sporting events.
"Most of the time you can find me on the sidelines taking pictures for sports. That's my favorite. I take those pictures, and then I sell them," she said.
Why sports?
"In high school during your senior year, when I take pictures of kids, that's something that they'll always have, a memory that they get to have. So, it just captures that, instead of just having it as a memory," Holbrook said.
She went to the state wrestling tournament this year in Columbus and took dozens of photos from students all around the state. "That was probably my favorite, because there is so much emotion happening, and I got to capture it all."
During her senior year at Indian Valley, she has participated in a work-study program. She takes classes in the morning and late afternoon. During the mid-day, she does an internship with Photographs by Sarah near Tuscarawas. She has learned a great deal about photography through the internship.
Future plans
She plans on going to college, where she will likely study digital media production to make herself more marketable. She wants to continue to work as a freelance photographer, or possibly even work for a professional sports team taking pictures and video.
Holbrook is also taking a class through Indian Valley on drone photography. She is getting ready to take a test for certification through the Federal Aviation Administration. She hopes to have that in a few months.
However, her immediate plans don't include branching out into wedding photography.
"Doing pictures for weddings is stressful. That's scary," she said. "With video, the photographer poses them, but you just video what's going on. The main thing that you've got to get in video is just the first kiss. Pictures, you have to be on it. What if you're taking a picture of the first kiss, and it's blurry? Then what do you do? I'm not ready for that yet."
'I found that media was kind of cool'
Holbrook took a long road to get to her love of photography. She started announcing for girls basketball games during her freshman year. "I found that media was kind of cool," she said.
Her sophomore year, she was on the sidelines at Indian Valley football games, filming every play. That eventually led her to a job with Claxon Communications in Coshocton, a company that livestreams sporting events in conjunction with local radio stations.
"I started learning about cameras, and I'm like, this is kind of cool. I could really do something with this. I saved up all my money from working that and bought a camera," she said.
Other activities
Her other activities at Indian Valley include being part of Braves Nation Communications, where she took pictures on the sidelines during football games and did post-game interviews; involvement in Trust Tribe, a club that does social and emotional learning with kids; and membership in the Pep Club. She is also her class president.
What advice does she have for future freshmen?
"Enjoy every moment. It feels like it was just the first day of school a week, now graduation is coming up. So, it sounds cliche to enjoy every moment, but seriously, soak it up because after that, real life hits. It's scary, but I'm excited," Holbrook said.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Senior Spotlight: Indian Valley's Natalie Holbrook looks to career in photography
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