Glitter falls over the model’s face as she poses in front of a jet black background. As she contorts her body, photography student Emily Maynes ’15 lines up shots, trying to capture the perfect moment.

While adjusting the focus dial on her camera, Maynes asks the model to face the back wall and look back towards the camera with a stern face. Maynes pauses to wipe some blue glitter off her camera lens and refocuses on the model.

Minutes later Maynes enters her pictures into the computer, loads Photoshop, and gives her picture an undertone of magenta.

Maynes came to Harvard-Westlake as a ninth grader and quickly became involved in the photography program. As a freshman, she enrolled in the Introduction to Photography class, which introduced her to the world of creative photography.

“That class taught me the basics of how to express myself through a camera and I have loved taking pictures ever since,” Maynes said.

While Maynes focuses mainly on photographing people, she is also interested in light exposure photography, which uses light sensitive paper and various objects to create an image. Her favorite rule of composition is symmetry which Maynes uses to add or take away balance to a picture to express the mood, she said.

Maynes considers Richard Avedon and Michal Pudelka, both famous for their fashion photography, her role models in photography. Pudelka’s editorials, “We Children of the Zoo” and “Grow Up!” influenced many of the photos she took last year, Maynes said.

“I don’t have any particularly favorite photo that I have taken, but I do like to draw inspiration from any and every artist I can find,” Maynes said. “I think that to be the best you have to learn from the best.”

Maynes is currently enrolled in Photography I, which focuses on developing students’ skills and allowing them to express their emotions through their photos. This class has become a passion, as Maynes also takes photos outside of school to further develop her skills and creative process.

“Sometimes I just wait for things to show up and inspire me.  I like to do this in a place with a lot of people around; however, you’d have to ask my imagination where I get most of my ideas because I don’t really know,” Maynes said.