Photography Teacher Leaves Solon High to Pursue His Dream

After 12 enriching years, Thomas Usher is leaving to pursue his dream as a professional photographer concentrating on senior portraits.

Usher said he will now devote his time to running Usher Photography in his hometown of Medina.

Usher said he wanted to become a professional photographer for a long time. He said he stuck with teaching because it provided steady income and he enjoyed the program's open-ended creative projects.

"Students can discover where they have made mistakes, learn from them, try again, and fix them,” he said. His students have always had the chance to re-submit a project if they are unhappy, or want to improve grades.

But Usher said he feels that student priorities are changing and he sees the writing on the wall with budget cuts in the school district. He decided it was time to follow the dream.

“It’s pretty sad that Mr. Usher is leaving, because he’s the funniest teacher I know," said Erin Himes, a sophomore at Solon. "Even though he repeats some of his jokes, they are still funny."

“He was my favorite teacher all through high school," said 2004 graduate Irina Katsman. "He was one of the goofiest people I ever knew, but incredibly nice and you could tell that he really cared about all of his students."

Usher’s studio is in Medina. It is a wide open space with about three separate rooms; his office, a sales meeting room, and a dressing room. Usher redesigned the space himself, and equipped it with living room furniture right across from his shooting studio where parents can sit and watch their senior’s photos being taken.

His latest project is called "The BFF Shoot" (for best friends forever, of course). It's a promotional photo shoot with three members of Solon's 2012 graduating, Abby Grossman, Sidney Adelstein, and Leah Fein.

This shoot had the girls throwing brightly colored tissue paper, blowing bubbles, painting, and spraying silly string everywhere. Be sure to check out Usher’s blog for more pictures and to see the BFF You Tube video.  

The BFF Shoot is about capturing the essence of the girls' friendship. Just like with all of Usher's portraits, his ability to capture the personality of the seniors makes his work stand above the average photographer.

Usher said he gets creative inspiration from mentors at senior photographer conference events. He’s excited to start executing some of his ideas.

Ultimately, Usher’s goal for his business is, “To be the greatest darned senior portraiture in Northeast Ohio,” said Usher.