Cancelled Prom Began

Cancelled Prom began as a way to shed light on High School Seniors who could not celebrate their Prom due to COVID-19 concerns in the summer of 2020. Much of the daily news focused on food shortages and the death toll but I was interested in the students and the people of my community. My younger cousin was also scheduled to attend Prom that year. Our family was disappointed that she was not going to be able to celebrate. Then I began to think about the people in my local community. I was interested in how I could highlight them and that's how this project began.

Black and white man dressed for prom

Demareyo Tittle, 19. Delta 400.

I remember

As a child I remember seeing family members attend prom and it was always a big deal in my family, when it was one of our turn. I remember the shiny cars, beautiful dresses and some of the most memorable send off celebrations you can ever see. It was really unfair that these students worked really hard all four years but could not attend because of the pandemic. The more I spoke with students the more I realised how much the cancellation impacted them.

Faith Dearing

Faith Dearing, an 18-year-old Senior, wore her sister's prom queen sash to the photo shoot along with the dress she planned on wearing. "For two years I waited to run for prom queen to fulfill what my sister did when she was in high school but now I won't be able to", Dearing said.

Black and white portrait of a young girl going to prom

Faith Dearing, 18. Delta 400.

Elena Russey

Elena Russey, 17, also wore the dress she planned on wearing. "I saw people laughing at memes about our prom and graduation being cancelled and it really made me sad" Russey said.

Black and white portrait of a girl go to prom

Elena Russey, 17. Delta 400.

The Student's Families

The student's families also played a big part in my images because they were the support system for the students. I wanted to show that the families were also impacted. The families were always so excited when they saw their Senior wearing their outfit. Many of them thought they would never see their student dressed in it. For many families it was a circle moment for the student to have the opportunity to be dressed.

The Power Of The Camera

The power of the camera is that we are able to meet our communities because of it. We have the opportunity to meet people we could not have otherwise. So whenever I can I thrive to work on projects similar to Cancelled prom because I believe it would otherwise go unnoticed. One of the most memorable moments of the series is meeting Buie Family. After photographing their daughter the father gifted me a photo book. This was one of the first times that I felt comfortable accepting a gift while working in the capacity as an Artist.

Portrait

Jordan Buie, 18. Delta 400.

This series is a reminder that even in times where bad seems to be all around us, it is up to us to still find beauty in the world. I always tell people that in order to capture the world in a beautiful way, we must first see it as beautiful.