Everyone has a reason for what drives their passion. I’m a multi-passionate photographer, meaning I enjoy photographing all kinds of things. But my main focus when it comes to my business is weddings & portraits. I’ve chosen to hone in on these categories the most because I feel it’s what I do best and how I’m able to best serve my clients. Excited to share my “why” with 3 reasons for why I’m passionate about what I do!
1) Photography allows me to express my creativity
Ever since I was a little girl, art and being creative has always been a big passion of mine and something that brings me great joy. As a child, I was always crafting, being creative with nature, painting, drawing, taking pictures, etc. I had a big imagination and would spend hours just creating things! The best Christmas gift I remember receiving one year was an art desk, it had a built-in tracing light, room for all my markers & paint brushes and more. My parents filled it with all kinds of fun artsy materials when they gifted it to me and I was so thrilled, I still remember how excited I was to see that Christmas morning.
Photography has always given me a creative outlet. Back in the day, I took pictures with a disposable camera all the time. Yep, the kind where you only get one shot and then you don’t get to see them until weeks later when you finally get your film back from being developed! I remember going through lots of those disposable cameras and my parents would only let me get them developed every so often, so it was always a big surprise to finally get photos back that I had taken months ago. I will say being able to take photos with my digital camera now and see the result instantly is a lot more fun and easier to get a great shot!
I also really love the editing portion of photography, which is something I know isn’t many photographers favorite task of the job. I do all of my own editing in-house. If I need extreme edits to fix a photo I may outsource a photo or two here and there, but besides that when you get your photos taken by me, I’m the one who goes through and makes the edits on each and every photo. I get so excited finishing with a shoot that I just cannot wait to get home and start the edits, it’s so fun to see the final product of the photos and really see them “come alive” in editing. It really would take all the fun out of it for me if I were to outsource all my editing!
I also do not use any outsourced editing presets. I started out with photography using presets I had either found online for free or purchased. But as time went on and I really got into perfecting my craft, I felt like I struggled getting exactly what I was going for with presets. I really wanted to learn my editing software so well that I wouldn’t need to use presets that other photographers had created. I now create my own presets and start from scratch on each session!
Some childhood memories, spent many of my days fulfilling my thirst for creativity
Not from my retro disposable cameras, but some film I actually developed myself in high school! I remember thinking my photography was so good back then, we all start somewhere!
2) Building relationships & trust with my clients, and making shoots fun!
Feeling confident while getting your photo taken is hard for a lot of people, I know hard for me too and I still always feel a little awkward! At the end of a shoot, I love hearing “that really wasn’t so bad, actually kind of fun!”, especially from husbands during a family shoot or the guy during an engagement shoot. It makes me so happy to hear that I was able to make a photo session feel comfortable and actually enjoyable for even those who hate getting their photo taken. I strive to make every shoot feel very laid back, like we’re just hanging out while taking pictures. When you’re comfortable and having a good time, that is when we’re going to get the best, most natural looking shots.
I truly do look forward to getting to know each and every person I take photos of. In this business, I do roughly 70% of my work from home so I don’t get a lot of human contact, getting out and shooting is how I am able to do that. It’s enjoyable and my favorite is when I get to see clients who come back from year to year, I’ve built great relationships with people like that and always look forward to catching up from year to year!
3) There’s something sweet & magical about capturing a specific moment in time
“We should be so thankful for something as sweet as a photo, because it’s not just a photo, it’s a priceless moment captured in time, something that makes it easier for us to return to that fond memory.”
Those tears your mother shed while seeing you exchange vows with the love of your life on your wedding day, the way two people look into eachothers eyes during an engagement session or the glow a mother-to-be has during a maternity shoot. I love all of it. If things get real sentimental, you may even catch me shedding a tear behind my lens. To be honest, capturing those precious moments is the best. Knowing that person who experienced that specific moment gets to treasure it in the form of a photo forever is amazing. We should be so thankful for something as sweet as a photo, because it’s not just a photo, it’s a priceless moment captured in time, something that makes it easier for us to return to that fond memory. Even if I hardly know the people I’m taking photos of, life’s precious moments always pull at the heart strings. I genuinely get so excited for people when happy moments occur, or feel the emotions they feel when something tenderhearted is happening such as a father-daughter first look on her wedding day.
A few of my favorite sentimental moments captured below!
Since picking up my first DSLR camera in 2015 and going from “I’m just going to use this to take photos of my family” to now shooting wedding days and families for a living, I’ve come a long long way with photography. It’s brought me freedom, a better work life balance so that I am able to enjoy more time with my own family and really there’s just nothing better than being able to pay the bills doing something you really, truly just love. I pour my heart out into this business and my photography and really feel like I was meant for this, atleast during this season in my life. So thankful to God for allowing me to enjoy such a gift and be able to bless others with it.
