Photographer Gives Back and Captures Inspirational Photos for a Dancer With Cancer

As photographers and videographers, we have the power to use our cameras to change people's lives for the better. In this video, see how photographer Jordan Matter gives back to the community and captures incredible images of a dancer who struggled with cancer. 

World renowned dance photographer Jordan Matter started a series of portraits called The "Unstoppable" series. In this body of work, he aims to showcase people who were struggling through cancer or bullying, but were persistent and determined to keep their dreams of dancing alive. In this video, Matter shares the inspiring story of Aliyah Petrone. He met her during her fourth round of chemo therapy and promised to photograph her when she recovered. The results are truly inspiring and beautiful to look at, displaying hope and determination. 

This story truly hit home for me. Watching this video made me realize the power of photography and inspired me to go out and give back to my community. It inspired me to give people who need a stronger voice one through my work. It was a truly humbling experience. So, the next time you see someone who inspires you, take a few minutes out of your day and take their portrait and share their story with the world. An act that seems so mundane to us can in fact change that person's life forever. 

Eli Dreyfuss's picture

Eli Dreyfuss is a professional portrait photographer based in sunny Miami, Florida. He focuses on making ordinary people look like movie stars in his small home studio. Shortly after graduating high school he quickly established himself in the art world and became an internationally awarded & published artist.

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4 Comments

I have often thought that if we (the USA) went after cancer in the same way we went after the moon in the 1960s, it would become one of those old diseases that people used to suffer from long ago.

This was magnificent! What an incredible person!

there's a lot of current science out there that's exciting; new techniques that look to eradicate it once detected by certain cells is amazing work. #scienceIscool gene mapping has already demonstrated it's value in breast cancer. not exactly a "unified theory", but excellent nonetheless. #fuckcancer

getting back to photography... great share and props to everybody involved (including the photographer of course).

Very lovely, and I'm very happy such a young, vibrant person has the opportunity to live out their dreams.

A while back I was approached by a cancer survivor woman asking how much I wanted to photograph and retouch an image of her that would convey how she felt like she had died and been reborn with a new life, and wanted to convey the feeling of having such a massive weight removed from her life. I didn't charge her a dime...