How did you become a photographer? It’s the number one question people ask me. I’m happy to share my story with you. So grab your cup of coffee or choice of drink, sit back, relax and read on…..
Back in 2008 I was given a Canon d30. This camera was one of the first “home grown” DSLR cameras from Canon. Right away I was smitten (I didn’t know otherwise). I was taking this camera to the farmer markets, photographing my cat, I was even practicing my depth of field on rocks. Yes, rocks! I was photographing everything. I even signed myself up for a community recreational photography class.
That winter I booked my first family session for $75. Oh man, I was SO freaked, intimidated, feeling not good enough. You know all those feelings. I remember talking with my brother before I went into my shoot and he said, “You have to start somewhere. Remember this day in 2-3 years.” I went into the family session and it lasted literally 15 mins. *Gasp* haha. Just for funsies, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and take a look at my first photo session. Oh, look at that, I can’t seem to find it. Oh darn!? Sorry about that (???)
Anyways…moving right along. After the photo session, I knew that I wanted more of this photography world. I went home and searched the internet finding the best way to learn. I was certain that I would be attending Art School for photography for $xx,xxx. I was quickly talked out of that! Then the idea popped in my head to shadow a photographer. I went on craigslist (because thats where you look when you need to further your education) and came across a wedding photographer in need of a assistant. Doing weddings was probably the furthest thought in my mind to photograph. I ended up contacting this gal, chatting and we hit it off right away. To speed up this story I shot with her until the wedding season of 2010. I even upgraded to the Canon 40D. Then of course like every other photographer I was stalking photographer blogs. I ended up contacting Miss Laura Ivanova as I really wanted to expanded my knowledge of wedding photography and wanted to pick her brain, period. I remember before I met with her she asked me to bring some of my work with. At this point, I never printed images from a professional lab nor did I have work that I felt was good enough to show. You could say that I had a mini panic attack (I’m sure Laura is laughing if she’s reading this hahaha). I also had very little time to get any type of professional prints. I did the unthinkable and took my images to Target. *gasp*. Trust me, I was MORE than embarrassed. I remember my parents saying, “If she’s a true artist she will see your potential and not care that you printed your images from Target.” It was a wonderful meeting that led to me becoming her second photographer for the 2010 wedding season. That later turned into me being an Associate Photographer in 2011 as well as second shooting her weddings. 2012-2013 I was strictly Associate shooting as well as booking my own weddings. It was beyond my wildest dreams of a learning experience. I traveled to some amazing destination weddings from St. Louis, MO to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. With all of those experiences, it has truly formed the direction, the person I am and the business I own. And I am beyond blessed by this journey and honored to be photographing love stories.
