By Annette Aucamp

Throughout her time at Granada Hills Charter (GHC), senior Mariana Gatus has risen through the ranks of the Tartan Yearbook photo team, leaving a lasting legacy through her dedication to photography and leadership. 

Gatus’ passion for photography began when she started taking pictures for the GHC softball team. Posting her photos online helped her connect with other photographers and members of the yearbook staff, eventually earning her the role of the team’s official school photographer.

Her journey with Tartan Yearbook began during her sophomore year as the sports editor, where she managed the photos for the sports section and created the “Senior Nights” page. The following year, she stepped into the role of Photo Maestro, teaching yearbook students the fundamentals of photography and preparing them to contribute to the yearbook’s photo content. Now as a senior, Gatus holds the position of Photo Editor in Chief. 

“I oversee every single part of the yearbook that involves photography and editing as well as themes and ideas,” Gatus said. “ I lead the entire class when it comes to building cameras and teaching them about every aspect of photography.”

In her current role, Gatus is not only the head of the photo team, but also one of Tartan Yearbook’s four editors-in-chief. She has honed her leadership skills, transferring her expertise to her peers and guiding them to execute her vision. 

 “Being in yearbook has taught me how to do different kinds of photography,” Gatus said. “With my Yearbook experience I’ve photographed academic teams like Mock Trial, traveled with softball and taken photos at their championships, and photographed the fall play every year.”

Yearbook advisor Graham Mazur credits her for much of the photography team’s success.

“Mariana steers that ship that is Yearbook photography,” Mazur said. “The yearbookers have to navigate the sea and get to their goal by the end of the year and Mariana is one of the Captains of the ship. It only made sense to make her an Editor in Chief.”

Through yearbook, Gatus transitioned from iPhone photography to mastering professional cameras. In addition to this, she has discovered the real discipline that is needed to be a photographer.

“People think that when you’re a photographer, every photo is amazing but in reality, true photography is getting one amazing shot out of 200 photos,” Gatus said. 

Outside of yearbook, Gatus works as a freelance amateur photographer, a business she started during her junior year when people began requesting her services. 

“It started off with photographing homecoming pictures and birthday parties which eventually turned into prom photos for the seniors last year,” Gatus said. “This then expanded into athletic media days where I would do the photo shoots for the softball team. Now, as a senior, I am contracted to do photos for the soccer, softball, and basketball teams.”

Although she doesn’t plan on pursuing photography professionally, Gatus is confident that she will be able to use her photography skills to her advantage and is excited to work towards a career in sports analytics.

“I love sports photography and having the chance to do photography for sports in college or professionally would be amazing, even if it’s not my end goal,” Gatus said.