I’m gonna be honest with you: some sessions feel like work, and some sessions feel like a gift. Mara’s was a gift.
I first encountered Mara years ago – not behind my camera, but at a music recital in a room full of seats and nervous energy. She was very young, standing up in front of a new audience, about to sing a big, brave song. I remember watching her and thinking: this kid has something. There was a quiet vulnerability in the way she stood there, and an even quieter determination when she began to sing.
Over the years, through Delta Youth Theatre, I’ve watched Mara become one of those rare people who makes every room better just by being in it. She is talented and humble in equal measure, which, if you’ve spent any time in the performing arts world, you know is not as common as it should be! She’s intelligent. She’s beautiful. She’s thoughtful in the way that actually means something, the kind where you can tell she’s really listening to you. She was always the first one at a rehearsal to smile at a new face. She has been an extraordinary role model for the younger performers at DYT — including my own son.
When Mara arrived at Centennial Beach in that red dress, I was genuinely speechless. The evening light was doing what it does best out there in summer – that warm, low, golden glow that makes everything feel a little bit like a dream – and she walked right into it like she’d been doing it her whole life. Statuesque and poised. Completely, effortlessly herself. She held herself like a model, but she felt like Mara – warm, present, easy to laugh with.
Mara is heading to SFU next year to do incredible things. I have absolutely no doubt about that. She is the kind of person who doesn’t just find her path – she makes it better for everyone who comes after her.
We will miss her dearly at DYT. The younger kids will feel her absence even if they don’t know exactly why things feel a little different. That’s what it’s like when someone like Mara moves through a space: you don’t always realize what they were giving until they’re on to the next chapter.
Mara, it has been a great privilege to watch you grow up and shine like the star you are. Thank you for trusting me with these beautiful photos. I can’t wait for you to show the world what you can do!
Interested in a sunset grad session of your own? I shoot a limited number of sessions at Centennial Beach each summer. Get in touch here
Eran Sudds is a Tsawwassen photographer who specializes in fun & natural sessions for you and your entire family. She is available for maternity, newborn, family portraits and headshots at locations in South Delta, or anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Contact her to book your session!
