I have always loved photographing things, as far back as I can remember, even back to high school and earlier than that I love the camera, whether I was cheesing it up in front of it, or trying to creatively capture something with it. But, it changed from a hobby to a passion when my baby brother’s first child was born, I took a picture of him; it was when I was looking at that picture that I thought, “Hey, maybe I can do this”
It wasn’t the most stunning picture, but it was the one that made me stop and think. The picture was taken with no flash, and a “point and shoot” camera. The background was actually navy blue, so I converted the picture to black and white.
After looking at that picture, I decided to pursue photography as a career. My husband bought me my first DSLR camera, and I started teaching myself. I started by “practicing” on willing subjects, mostly high school girls, and my children. I tried different lighting, poses, and all kinds of things. I researched things on the Internet when I wanted to know how to do something; I attended workshops, and enrolled in websites online that gave learning tips and tricks. I continued to refine my eye. All of that started in august of 2009.
In November of 2009, I took my first paying job. I photographed a sweet little girl for her grandmother; I charged a whopping $30 for that session. I was scared to death; I didn’t think that the work I was turning back was going to be worth the money that she spent. The grandmother loved the pictures, and I felt accomplished.
In the beginning, I photographed a little of everything, a little of kids, seniors, couples, babies, weddings, bridals. I tried all of it; I found that my niche was with children, so I began to focus my business on children, buying props and accessories that work well with small children.
I continued to schedule sessions, and do lots of them. They all took place in my living room. It was a pain to get everything out of the closet and set it up for each shoot, but I loved what I was doing, and so I did. Before long, that closet became overflowing, and it was obvious that something was going to have to “give”. In the summer of 2010 my in-laws moved in with me. I started doing more newborns, and realized that my family probably didn’t like me turning the house up to 85 degrees every time there was a newborn session, so I began to look for some studio space.
I looked and looked, and thought, “I’m not finding anything that fits my needs”. Then, I found the place where I am now. 305 n sycamore, suite 7. It was perfect, the rooms were just the right size, the ceilings were tall enough, and it was quiet. So, in august 2010 I moved my studio from the house to the “studio studio” as we call it. :)
Once in the studio, I continued to photograph mainly children and families. But, I truly enjoyed every time I had the opportunity to photograph a newborn baby. I found that I was drawn to these sessions, that I felt most accomplished when photographing newborns, and at that time, there wasn’t anyone local who was really photographing newborns. So, I made the decision to focus my business on photographing newborns. I started marketing to mothers of Newborns and I began to buy props and posing materials and even backgrounds that would lend themselves to newborn photography.
Why I love newborns? I get to photograph wonderful people and capture a piece of their “story” for them to cherish forever. Some babies are well planned and wanted for many even up to 20 years before they arrive, some are surprises and blessings of unexpected joy, some are miracles that shouldn’t have survived but did. Each baby has with them their own magnificent story, and I love having the opportunity to capture a piece of that story on film.
So, where do I see the “business” in the future? I would love for 80% of my sessions to be newborns and for the older children and families to be the exception to the rule. But regardless of the subjects in front of my lens, I find it most important to “give back” so I see myself setting up “specials” that benefit organizations or partner with other businesses. I enjoy giving sessions away to help organizations raise money.
Professionally, I hope that I will continue to grow and always learn new techniques. I hope that someday I can “build” my dream studio which will include a large sink for cleaning up those “birthday cake” sessions, and it will also have a “sleep room” where parents of newborns can get some much needed rest while I photograph their children. Yes, I dream big, but I have faith, that god will lead this business down a road that honors him!
