I’m a dancer, choreographer and photographer from Portugal, and photography has been part of my creative journey for years.

I’m raising funds to make a major upgrade to my photography equipment and take the next step towards working professionally in fashion, editorial, events, ballroom culture and performance photography, with the long-term goal of working at Paris Fashion Week.

This campaign is not only about buying a camera. It’s about investing in the tools I need to turn years of experience, practice and passion into a professional career.

My Journey

My relationship with photography started with a Canon 1000D.

It was a simple camera, but it was where I learned. I spent time understanding light, composition, timing and, most importantly, how to look at people and movement through a lens.

A few years later, I became curious about analogue photography and bought a Canon A-1 before travelling to Paris. I only shot around five rolls with it, and eventually made the decision to sell the camera and use that money towards my trip.

While in Paris, I invested in a Canon 50mm lens, and photography continued to become a bigger part of my creative life.

I eventually moved to a Panasonic GX9, mainly because I needed a faster camera that could keep up with movement. Its shooting speed allowed me to capture around eight frames per second, which made a huge difference when photographing dance and performance.

I have now been working with this camera for around five years.

Five years of learning, experimenting, photographing movement, people, performances and creative projects. Five years of trying to get the most out of the equipment I had.

Why Now?

My current camera has been an important part of my journey, and I’m genuinely grateful for everything it has allowed me to create, but my ambitions have grown.

I want to move further into professional photography, particularly fashion, editorial work, events, ballroom culture and performance.

I want to photograph people in motion, backstage moments, artists, dancers, performers and fashion, and eventually take that work to Paris.

At this stage, I need equipment that can keep up with the level of work I want to pursue.

Why Photography?

Dance has strongly influenced the way I photograph.

As a dancer and choreographer, I understand movement from the inside. I know what happens in the fraction of a second before a body changes direction, when an expression appears, when a pose reaches its peak, or when a performer gives everything to a moment.

Photography allows me to capture those moments.

I’m interested in the space between movement and stillness.

The emotion, attitude, identity and energy that can exist inside a single frame.

That is the kind of photography I want to continue developing.

What I’m Raising Money For

The main goal is to build a reliable professional photography kit that I can use for paid work and creative projects.

My planned setup is:

• Canon EOS R6 Mark II - camera body;

• Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM - main professional lens;

• Godox V1-C - flash for events, portraits and low-light work;

• 2 × 128GB SD cards - for professional shooting and simultaneous backup;

• 1 × additional battery - for longer shooting days.

The RF 28-70mm f/2 is particularly important to me because it gives me the versatility of a zoom while maintaining a fast f/2 aperture. This is especially useful for events, backstage work, performances and low-light environments.

The two memory cards are also important because professional work needs redundancy. I want to be able to photograph an event knowing that my files are being safely backed up.

What Your Support Means

Your contribution would help me make a significant investment in my creative career.

Whether you contribute €5, €20, €50 or more, you are helping me get closer to having the tools I need to take on more demanding photography work.

For me, this is not simply an equipment upgrade. It is an opportunity to take something I have been developing for years and give it the professional foundation it needs to grow.

If you can’t contribute financially, sharing this campaign is also incredibly valuable.

Where the Money Goes

My fundraising goal is €5,500.

The majority will go directly towards the photography equipment listed above. The remaining amount allows for differences in retail prices, taxes, shipping and small costs associated with setting up the equipment.

I want to keep this campaign transparent, and I will share updates as the equipment is purchased.

Where I Want to Go From Here

My goal is to build a sustainable career combining photography with the creative worlds I already belong to.

I want to work with dancers, performers, artists, designers and fashion creatives.

I want to photograph editorial stories, backstage environments, events and ballroom culture.

I want to take my work beyond Portugal, particularly to Paris, a city that has already played an important part in my creative journey.

Paris Fashion Week is one of the long-term goals I am working towards.

I know that a camera alone won't create a career.

The work will still come from me: learning, networking, creating, showing up, taking risks and continuing to improve, but having the right tools can make it possible for me to say yes to opportunities that I might not otherwise be equipped to take on.

Thank You

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Photography has been part of my life for years, and I’m at a point where I feel ready to take it seriously as a professional career.

I’ve learned with the equipment I had, made difficult choices to keep moving forward, travelled, experimented, failed, learned and kept creating.

Now I’m asking for a little help taking the next step.

If you choose to contribute, thank you for believing in me and in what I’m trying to build, and if you share this campaign with someone who might connect with my story, that means just as much.

Thank you for being part of the next chapter.

With love,

ELLA / Fiyah