Where My Photography Journey Began
When my daughter, Paisley, was almost two years old, I began finding myself unable to remember the things she did when she was six months old. From six months to two years old, she changed to an almost entirely different version of herself. All I had from that time were crummy cell-phone pictures that didn't live up to the magic those moments held. While I will always cherish those cell-phone images, this drove me to pick up my first DSLR and learn my craft.
That was three years ago, and now we are a family of six, including our fur-baby. In this time, I've been able to blossom my dream into reality and use my passion to capture the memorable seasons of life for not only myself but also others.
How I Got Started
My first camera was a Canon Rebel T6. At this point, I thought that buying any DSLR made you a photographer. I planned to pick up my new camera and immediately be able to call myself an "experienced photographer." After a ton of trial and error, I ultimately realized that I would need to put a lot more effort into learning the art of photography, especially on portraiture.
Eventually, I began studying my craft and focusing on what I needed to do to produce images that I was proud to show others. I spent countless hours on YouTube. I practiced different techniques every day. I paid close attention to what the photographers that inspired me were doing. I upgraded my crop sensor to a full-frame DSLR—the Canon 6D Mark ii—and a better quality lens with phenomenal glass—the Canon 35mm 1.4 II.
From there, I knew I needed new faces to practice my newfound skills. I posted on Facebook about model calls and asked some of my friends to model for me. Experimenting with models is what helped take my photography to another level. It allowed me to learn about the things that I needed to improve on, like natural posing, lighting, wardrobe, etc.
After I was comfortable calling myself a photographer, I reached out all over Facebook groups and within my community of friends and family and started finding clients! Word of mouth has been the most reliable asset to marketing my brand and finding my ideal clients. I pride myself on my client's experience, and I think that is something people can't wait to share with their friends. I love going above and beyond to please those that are working with me.
Where I Am Now
In the beginning, I had to focus on learning my camera. I studied the exposure triangle, the settings that would work best for different lighting, and the number of subjects in an image. I had to learn about the best ways to compose a photo to make it come to life. I spent a lot of time studying how to envoke natural emotion out of my clients. I mastered an editing style that is very specific to my taste, and then I learned how to style my clients to best suit location with regard to my editing style as well. Combine all of the different aspects of how I photograph, and this sets me apart from other photographers.
There are so many steps in this journey that lead to where I am now. It all started with the inspiration from my daughters and has blossomed into a career that I never imagined possible.
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