Elyse Mertz (she/her) is a NYC/NJ based photographer who constantly studies movement, gentle or gritty. She reflects on the limits of the body regarding its emotional and physical potential. In her work, Mertz seeks to capture humanity - whether through portraits, dancers, or performances. She uses the camera to create the clarity and chaos reflected in our ever-changing bodies and lives.

 

As a self-taught photographer, Elyse is contstantly pulling from her artistic background to aid her craft. She has studied under Rose Eichenbaum at the Art of Photographing Dance Workshop at Jacob's Pillow in 2017 and 2019. She has learned and extended her visual language under Whitney Browne since 2017 at Jacob's Pillow and in Browne’s "Experimental Photography", "Seeing Light" and "Creative Composition" workshops in 2020.

 

Elyse is currently photographing for Works and Process at the Guggenheim, Center for Performance Research (CPR), and Princeton Youth Ballet. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Dance Magazine, Playbill, and the Glasgow Gallery of Photography. She has photographed at Lincoln Center, City Center, the Joyce, Sarah Lawrence, the Ailey Studios, and Rutgers University. Elyse has photographed for Kayla Farrish, Hervé Koubi, Dancers Responding to Aids / Broadway Cares at the Fire Island Dance Festival, and so many more incredible artists. Elyse is your girl for: rehearsal documentation, live performance documentation, creative portrait sessions, headshots, event photography, and engagement or family portrait sessions, and more!

 

Elyse received her BFA in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University in 2017. She is an ©ABT Certified Teacher and received her 200-hr Yoga Certification in 2016 with the OM Factory. She is an active educator at Princeton Dance and Theater Studio and with Notes in Motion; teaching ballet, modern dance, creative movement and yoga to youth. She has also studied with Little Flower Yoga to further her knowledge of teaching children.

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