Many students at Freedom High School have various interests that set them apart from their classmates. Among those students is Chase Crews, 12, photographer for local artists as well as some of the biggest names in music, like The Chainsmokers.

Crews began to first explore photography when he was asked to take pictures of his family’s cat for an upcoming Christmas card.

“My mom came into my room in a panic,” Crews stated. “The deadline for our family card was in a few hours and she realized that she had never gotten around to taking pictures of our cat, Martha. Since she had to go to work, I was now in charge of the picture.”

A few weeks after the panic with the cat picture, Crews’ friend, Jack Wood, asked Crews to help him photograph the upcoming Chainsmokers concert.

Wood was already an established photographer in Florida, while Crews was looking to gain experience.

“I felt really out of my element since I had only fiddled with photography once before,” revealed Crews. “After a little, I began to become distracted from the music so it turned out to be a pretty good night and I got some cool pictures as well.”

Crews has photographed for smaller venues, as well.

“Photographing a concert for the band Miroux was an experience I’ll never forget because it was the first time I was able to decide what to shoot on my own.”

According to Crews, it was difficult to choose what to shoot, as well as where to shoot, for this concert.

“I decided that I was going to focus on the lead singer, as that’s what people usually want to see. I also took pictures of the other band members like the drummer and lead guitarist.”

The stress brought on while shooting is so great that Crews may become too distracted to shoot.

“The pressure of getting the right pictures can be stressful sometimes as you want to please the band as well as the fans.”

Crews ultimately hopes to continue photography into college and to get recognized by a big-name photography company.

“Hopefully photography can turn into a career for me and help pay different fees in college.”