I never planned to be a photographer. My dream as a child was to be on the news. It's true. I wanted to be on The Today Show someday. Katie Couric was my hero. So I went into college as one of the only girls with a Speech Communications major. Many of my friends were art/design majors so I spent a ton of time in that building. But I just never thought it was really for me.
Years later my daughter was born and I pulled out an old film camera that I used a few times on vacations and started playing with it. After a year or so of taking photos of Bella, friends started asking me to take photos of their children. From there I started my business slowly but surely. I can remember going to an art fair and bringing samples of my work. Looking back I realize how brave I was because that work is pretty embarrassing. Or maybe I was just oblivious to how bad those photos really were. But whatever it was, I put myself out there.
And to all of you who are just starting or who want to start but don't think you have the natural talent- you can get better. You will get better if you just keep going. I wanted to quit more times than I could count because I failed more times than I could count. Like really failed. Like I can remember one session where every photo was blown out completely. And I can remember writing notes on my hand on how to use the manual setting. Every session felt like the first day of school: a mixture of nerves and excitement. And then there was the comparing. I was constantly looking at other photographers blogs and trying to copy their work. They were the pinnacle to who I wanted to be as an artist.
Now I wish there was some major aha moment that I can recall that I had the big turning point. I just kept going. And I got better. At some point it just became second nature to know exactly what settings my camera needs to be on to get the right shot. The comparing stopped. I started to ask myself: what do you like? What represents who you are? And I began to get my inspiration from other sources than from fellow photographers. I truly don't believe I became an artist until I allowed my work to be my work.
So to all of you who want to give up, just keep going. Keep painting. Keep taking pictures. Keep dreaming. Sometimes it is staying in the mediocrity of the everyday that makes you great.
So just to keep it real... Here are a few of my first photo sessions ever with my digital camera. These are around 10 years old...
