Victoria Befumo always puts forth her best effort, so when she took up photography, the Huntington High School sophomore went about mastering the art form and the results have been simply splendid.
“I’ve always loved taking pictures since I was little,” Ms. Befumo said. “I love capturing moments because you can look back on them and remember how you felt during that time, when you were with those people, at a specific place, or just having a genuinely good time. I am very much excited to continue my photography throughout high school with Mrs. [Pamela] Piffard next year in Advanced Photo and senior year with Advanced Placement Photo.”
Ms. Befumo’s creativity has been on full display this year with every assignment. She has grown into one of Huntington High School’s top photographers.
“I was originally using my own camera that I had; a Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, but I wasn’t thrilled with the quality of the images or shooting portraits with it,” Ms. Befumo said. “I’m currently using a Cannon EOS Rebel T5. It has improved my photos and has helped capture all the small details as well. We use Adobe Photoshop for editing and that is also the program that we are continuously learning how to use.”
The teenager is taking a nice mix of sophomore year courses, including some on the honors level. “My electives go toward photo, of course, and also band,” Ms. Befumo said. “I also take Honors Italian with Mrs. [Natalia] Kopshti. I’m really looking forward to my schedule for next year. I will be in AP Seminar, College Pre-Calculus, Italian 4 Honors, US History, Advanced Photo and Computer Graphics. I’m excited to take Computer Graphics because I want to use and expand on what I’ve learned and will continue to learn in photo and apply it.”
Ms. Befumo is planning on taking a college level course next year with through an opportunity she has been offered through SUNY. She is looking forward to taking Introduction to Entrepreneurship. “I’m so excited to take this course because I possibly want to study marketing and public relations in college,” she said. “I think this is a great start to try out and learn what will be useful those business classes.”
The sophomore gives her photography assignments the time they both deserve and demand. She takes her work seriously and the results have been impressive.
“I do enjoy planning my photography shoots with friends as models because it makes the whole experience much more enjoyable and positive and I normally end up getting better pictures if I am having a good time with it,” Ms. Befumo said. “I find when I use objects, instead of people and when I’m alone shooting in my house, I don’t like the end result nearly as much.”
Instead of class assignments being looked up as a burden or chore, Ms. Befumo views them as an opportunity to grow as an artist and also to have fun with the process.
“With Mrs. Piffard, she has been assigning us to make vision boards before our shoots, which help me a lot because I’m a planner. I try to get an idea or an end image in my head and think of creative ways how to reach that to the best of my ability.”
The teenager is comfortable and confident and she knows who she is and want she wants.
“My goal with photography is I truly just want to create art that I enjoy looking at,” Ms. Befumo said. “I don’t care if anyone else likes my pictures, because art is subjective and I know that I have my own visions that I’ve successfully achieved. Obviously if I receive criticism on a technical standpoint, yes, I want to edit correctly to the best I can. Sometimes unless someone can think or see the exact same as me, they might not like every single one of my pictures and that’s okay! I’d much rather take photos that I love for myself rather than trying to get anyone else to like them.”
