An Hour With Elisheva

In Focus: A Conversation with Elisheva Moe

ShutterSpire Magazine recently had the pleasure of working with rising teen fashion model Elisheva Moe for her own media day. We spent several hours filling out her portfolio with a lovely and diverse collection of looks, covering several genres her agency requested. On the day of her shoot, our own Tommy Butler was her photographer, but today, he’s her interviewer. It was our second time working with Elisheva, and it’s always a special privilege to capture her talent. We sat down with her to discuss the recent shoot, her burgeoning career, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

ShutterSpire Magazine: It was wonderful shooting with you again, Elisheva. It seemed like you really enjoyed our time shooting together, and you've had fun posting the images on your socials, which we love to see. How would you describe the experience you had during this last shoot?

Elisheva Moe: It was like shooting with my best friends. I loved it. I felt like I found a found family shooting with you guys, and it was so much fun. I always feel comfortable with you, and I know there’s never a photo that you would release of me that I would feel uncomfortable with. I know that I'm always safe with your camera and your view, and that's what I very much appreciate.

I've worked with photographers that I don't feel as comfortable with. And so, to work with a photographer that really prioritizes safety and comfortability is great. You're very professional, but in a comfortable, friendly way, and that's what I really appreciated. I walked away from the shoot feeling really, really good about myself. I still look at the photos and I am having so much fun posting them. There are so many songs that I’m like, “OMG, that’s perfect to go with it,” that I just absolutely had to post. I was just very comfortable, and I truly feel like I found a really good connection with you guys.

ShutterSpire Magazine: We’re so happy that you feel safe shooting with us. That is the most important feedback of all. As a photographer, it's my goal to make sure you not only feel respected but that you also feel beautiful in the images.

Elisheva Moe: We all have insecurities, but that's what I appreciate so much about your photography and your art. You can see the beauty of the photo, the beauty of the person. I also just love the way you see me. I love the way that you use the camera for artful purposes, and that’s what I love to do.

ShutterSpire Magazine: We had a lot of fun making art. It was neat because you trusted us to create something different—images that were dark and grainy, dramatic, and maybe even a little blurry on purpose. We found these beautiful, cinematographic looks together. The sun in the grass, the textures of the tiny flowers, and the little circles of light (bokeh) in the trees… it just looks so magical.

Elisheva Moe: It does! My friends and I were joking, and they were like, “These are gonna be your wedding photos.” I totally agreed because they have that fairytale kind of magic. It’s just so beautiful.

ShutterSpire Magazine: It definitely was fun. Let's talk a little bit about the career moves you're making, because people will be interested to hear. What projects do you have going on right now, and what do you have on the schedule for the rest of the year?

Elisheva Moe: Well, this week, I'm working as an extra on the movie Her Monster. It’s about a girl who has a monster kind of attachment to her, and a cult leader is interested in taking that entity and using it for his own will. I was one of the cult members with a mask on and everything. It was really fun. They are also talking about having me do a voice line for a part in a school scene, which will be super fun.

As for modeling, I'm still trying to get jobs and I do auditions very frequently. In October, I'm going to LA for LA Fashion Week to walk for The Fashion Closet. I was supposed to walk last month but didn't end up getting to go, so we are definitely doing it in October. As of right now, that is really all we have planned.

ShutterSpire Magazine: That’s still a lot! You need that empty space in the calendar for yourself—to recharge and avoid burnout, which is a huge thing, especially in this industry.

Elisheva Moe: Oh, 100%. A lot of the time, you are working back-to-back days for 14 hours on end, and it can get very tiring very quickly. Having those days that you can take priority in your personal life and in yourself are probably the most important.

ShutterSpire Magazine: What advice would you share with people who are on a similar journey but maybe not as far down the road as you have traveled? What advice would you give to the Elisheva from last year, and to other young people in that situation today?

Elisheva Moe: My number one piece of advice that I always try to give people is to have grace with yourself. There are a lot of days that mentally you're just not in it. Whether you're trying to get jobs, doing auditions, or modeling like I am, you have to have a lot of grace with yourself, because if you don't, you can't have grace with anyone else. Just like the saying, "If you can't love yourself, you can't love others." It really is so important to prioritize yourself and your mental health.

Prioritize positivity, your energy, and keep moving forward. Don't give up. Even if you are stacked with things, and you feel really depressed and lost, you don't think you're in the right direction, and nothing's working out—just keep going. Keep auditioning, keep sending in things, keep talking to people, keep making connections. You need to build a connection with people, and that's what's really important, in personal life and in the industry.

Elisheva Moe (continued): There will be a lot of speed bumps. You might get insulted, you might have people say something that makes you think about it quite often. You have to really just have grace with things and accept it. Because what you might really hate about yourself, especially in the modeling world, other people might love. That might be what gets you bookings. If you hate being a bigger girl, like I am, there could be agencies that are looking for that specific body type. If you have very, very dark skin, or very, very light skin, there are agencies looking specifically for that. There's always a feature that you hate about yourself that somebody else loves and would kill for. That's why I truly just say, have grace with yourself, because there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

ShutterSpire Magazine: That’s so well said, especially your comments about the importance of being friendly and building connections. As someone who makes decisions about who to cast and publish, I can tell you that after you meet your standards of quality and artistic merit, the next question is always, "Is this person easy or hard to work with?" Building those good friendships and professional relationships of trust is so important. You're absolutely spot-on there.

Elisheva Moe: Thank you so much, Tommy. I really appreciate all this.

ShutterSpire Magazine: It was a pleasure. Thank you!