Student photography at Heritage isn’t uncommon, especially with the Photography class you can take with Mrs. Wells after taking your Art class. Two students in particular have branched out from this and made photography around Heritage a hobby, and even a full-time business on the side.
Kevin Trestrail is a 17-year-old senior here at Heritage. His love for photography began when he watched some edits that piqued his interest. These edits online really inspired him, and it bloomed an interest he didn’t know he had prior to this. “It’s a creative process that I didn’t even think I could get into, because I’m not even good at art,” Trestrail said.
It started with taking pictures of nature around his house and getting a feel for the camera and photography in general. He fell in love with his hobby after this, and it helped him get into editing. He got the idea to support his school by going to sporting events and taking pictures. By February 2025, he went to a soccer game for the first time after getting his license to take pictures and get the experience. He loves to give back whenever he can to our school, and even though he hasn’t made this an official side hustle yet, he’s definitely getting there. “I’d love to do senior sessions and solo sessions, whatever they need,” he said.
Another student photographer is Josh Stone. Stone is 17 years old, and he’s also a senior here at Heritage. He started to get into photography when he was injured in baseball. He still wanted to go out and support his team, so he picked up the camera and started to, initially, photograph his friends.
After he showed off his skills, he was invited to take pictures at Gordon Lee, and got paid for his work. It sprouted into a business after that, and he started posting where he would be every week, which brought in more clients. He now averages around $1,000 a week with his photography, with his usual profits from a Friday night being $300-$400 of straight profit, getting around 8-10 clients every Friday. He quit his job to focus on photography, and it’s his primary form of income right now. To set up a session with him, you can DM him on his social media @stonemedia1 and speak with him over text to set up a session.
Overall, photography at Heritage isn’t uncommon, but these two boys have gone above and beyond, and they’ve found ways to make this a profitable hobby. Although they might not be going into a photography field in the future, this is a great source of income, and they both recommend this to any other high school student. “I definitely think if you don’t know what to do, but you want to get started doing something on the side, then you should start sports photography,” Stone said.
