Irish dancers are cute — that's a given.

But sometimes, as a photojournalist, the most visually obvious situations can be the toughest to photograph. As cute as those little girls with big, curly hair may be, we photographed them dancing last year, and the year before, and then on St. Patty's Day, and then at the school's Talent Show ...

I attended the Wisconsin News Photographers Association Conference in Madison this weekend. One of the speakers — international freelance photographer Ami Vitale — said something that came to the forefront of my mind this morning. She said, "I don't even like to repeat myself, much less repeat other photographers." By that, she meant, "Work a little harder to get a photo you've never seen before."

If I walk away from an assignment with a photo I've shot the year before, I get crabby. There are always new moments to be found. If I can't find them, I'm not doing my job.

Last week, the Irish dancers visited Ronald Reagan Elementary School, New Berlin. I got there just in time to see the big, curly hair bouncing all over the stage. These girls are super talented, I thought. If I were to just stand in the back of the crowd and take normal dancing pictures with my telephoto lens, I wouldn't be giving them the attention they deserve. After a few minutes of watching, I found my way backstage. The atmosphere was completely different. These girls were excited. I ended up using a photo of one of the younger dancers running off stage to hug her coach, just seconds after she finished her routine. To me, it's a moment less obvious to the crowd — a moment that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Nikon D3, 19 mm, 4000 ISO, f2.8, 1/400, Manual
Grace Kramer, 5, runs off stage and hugs her teacher after a St. Patrick's Day performance Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at Ronald Reagan Elementary School, New Berlin. Grace is a student at Cashel Dennehy School of Irish Dance, with locations in both Wauwatosa and Hartland.