Kelly Hernandez Aims To Capture Kennedy’s Good Side

Photo from  Kelly Orozco Hernandez | Orozco uses her photography skills to capture many school events and much more.

From casually snapping photos of fun memories with friends and family, this interest soon turned into something bigger, creating a high demand for Kelly Orozco Hernandez’s (12) photography. Orozco demonstrates versatility in her photos; from sports to performances to portraits, she does it all! Orozco's friends and family convey her passion for this hobby: Her brother, Jesse Orozco Hernandez (10) said, “She doesn't really do it for competition, she just does it because she likes it.” “...It's the fact that she's super passionate about it. Like you can tell she really loves doing photography and it's something she really likes,” Vivienne Diaz (12) said.

Orozco started doing photography on Oct. 25, 2025. She mentioned that she likes to make people happy with the results of her photos. Since then, she has offered to take pictures of people and has been given opportunities to photograph senior nights, photoshoots, and other events. Her work stands out in the way she captures people authentically while offering clients affordable prices.

Diaz said, “She charges reasonable prices. She's not expensive. [You’ll see other photographers] charging $40, but she's pretty cheap.”

“She gets a lot of good angles of people… whether it's their instrument or the sport they're in…” Nelly Gomez (10) stated. “She edits really well too. I think that's another good thing about her - her editing makes people stand out in good ways like enhancing what they're doing in the picture…”

Her friends were asked what were their favorite pieces: Gomez stated, “The senior night at Newark Memorial is really good, like really good; and then she had the day one concert last week… just all of them. Also, her party pictures that she takes are nice too.”

“The Redwood Band Festival and Jazz Festival, those were pretty good. Also the ones from March and Competitions. They were really nice,” Diaz said.

For the past few months, Orozco has been trying to capture moments in senior sports at the end of the season. She expressed the same opinion that the Newark Memorial senior night photos were her favorite, “I was very proud of it because it was my first ever sports event I attended and I got invited to take pictures of [the athletes],” Orozco stated. While also actively participating in John F. Kennedy High School’s band, Orozco’s most memorable moments included taking pictures for the band concerts.

“I have friends and friends that perform... Knowing that it's my senior year, I'd rather capture something that people will remember.” Continuing with her versatile approach to photography, she hopes to gain recognition for her work and be known by others.

After high school, Orozco plans to pursue biology and continue with photography. In giving her final words to someone interested in photography, she said, “Never give up. Learn new things and take advantage of opportunities that are given to you.”