Isabella de la Cruz

When people see my photographs, I want them to reminisce about when they were younger and experience their childhood emotions again, because as people get older, they tend to forget these emotions.  I use both black-and-white and color photography, but it truly depends on the subject matter. With my photography, I want to convey feelings of love and a sentiment most people lose or sometimes forget deep down.

Nostalgia is important to me, especially in photography, because it’s usually passed over in our daily lives. The way I show nostalgia in my photography is through childhood sayings or places where a kid made the best memories or the closest friends. On other occasions, I like to create a feeling of suspense in my photographs as evidenced by dark corners, hallways, or late nights. 

I try to take pictures of anything that gives me the feelings I want my audience to feel. I want to remind my audience of the close and intimate relationships in their life, whether friendship, kinship, or romantic relationships, by photographing couples and groups of friends. However, some days people are my subject, and other days my subject is anything I can find. I like being spontaneous with my work because when things are planned it can get boring. A photographer I’m inspired by is Park Sung Jin; in his images no one smiles, creating suspense. The lack of a smile leaves me wondering why they are not smiling, especially if they are with people they spend time with. 
Isabella de la Cruz, b. 2009 
Forever Us, 2024 
Digital inkjet print  
16 × 20 in.

Isabella de la Cruz, b. 2009 
Shattered Layers, 2024 
Digital inkjet print  
16 × 20 in. 

Isabella de la CruzIsabella de la Cruz is fourteen and a freshman at Humanities Preparatory Academy. In school she’s involved in the cooking, travel, and art and jewelry clubs. Isabella tries to be as involved as possible because she likes to offer help. When she’s not in school, she likes photography, cooking, baking, and writing, all of which are comforts for her. Isabella has also competed in swimming and golf for many years. In the future, she wants to continue helping people, and is thinking about career paths like nursing or therapy.