When feeling a lack of control and need for escape, Gigi Robertson turns to what makes all her stress from the day fall right off her shoulders – her camera.
“There’s nothing at all I don’t admire about it. I enjoy it all down to packing my camera bag,” the 15-year-old incoming sophomore said. “There’s a comfort in hearing the shutter close, feeling the button click; there are so many things you can do with what you’re gripping in your fingers.”
Gigi’s main hope with photography is to keep growing and ultimately to achieve great things. That pursuit helps keep her on a path paved with promises of reward for her focus and dedication.
Dedication paid off when her photos won superior honors at the Texas Association of Journalism Educators last fall. She was the only freshman in her school to place. “The whole TAJE experience taught me that I’m always capable of something greater, something stronger than I am now,” she said.
Gigi is moving into her second year as a staff member on her newspaper at Argyle (Texas) High School, moving up from reporter to sports editor/anchor.
“I mainly focus on taking pictures at football games because I grew up around football and it’s something that I know”, she said.
Her favorite thing about sports photography is being able to capture so much raw emotion in people’s faces as they play. She has attended every game in all sports at school, taking pictures and writing articles when teams competed in state championships.
One reason she has become so dedicated is the influence of her parents who have urged her to take charge of what she wants to achieve, pushing her to be the best she can be.
With her parent’s support, Gigi has curated a talent for photography, developing the skill as a creative outlet.
“I don’t really have a grip on anything in life, no one really does, but I do when I take pictures,” she said.
Taking photos gives her the control over what she’s doing, over something potentially impactful.
She can focus on the pictures and get her sense of escape, she said.
One of the biggest passions for Gigi aside from photography is her family, specifically a bright blue eyed 3-year-old, her younger brother, Titan.
“I had started taking pictures at 12 or so, and the first thing I did was photograph Titan when he was little with the digital camera that was a gift from my parents,” she said.
Her little brother helps her stay on track about herself, she said, a daily reminder to enjoy the things she loves. She refers to him as her own little light that brightens her back up on her darker days when even the flash of a camera can’t do the job.
