This weeks topic will be my reflections of how this whole thing started. I look back 6 years ago to that oh so very lucky shot I got of my then 3 yo son. He was overlooking Fall River Lake at sunset me armed with my little 2.1 mp HP camera. Which was a great camera for a consumer then and took some great photos for me in it's time. It was then and there that I decided that I could tell stories with photos. I was intrigued with the whole thing and motivated to get more great photos. But how? I didn't know the first thing about why that photo ended up being so great I just knew everyone loved it. So I kept doing my best to take great photos everytime but alas still didn't grasp that technical side of the whole process. So me being the pioneer woman I am set out to learn everything I could via the world wide web. I am here to tell you there is so much out there you can learn it is unbelievable. A cornucopia of information just waiting for those who seek it out. 2 years after that first realization of a glimmer of skill I purchased my Kodak mid level point and shoot camera. I was in heaven all new settings 5 wonderful mp of resolution and a sporty looking little camera body. This is where technicality met skill I was learning about light and settings and applying them to the photos I was taking, to say the least my photos got better and better and I started getting friends asking me to take photos of their kids. But, was still stuck outside as the inside studio style photos still eluded me. Not enough light not enough knowledge to really produce a wonderful studio photo. Then in 2007 my breakthrough so to speak I found the DIY web sites how to produce enough light in an indoor studio setting. I was really rolling and by Oct I was doing rock bottom cheap sessions for close friends and family. I finally built up my portfolio to a satisfactory level I started getting more paid sittings and then what would you know a business was born. Nov. of 2007 a wonderful person decided that I had great skills and needed that elusive expensive new camera that I had been wanting forever. So an investment later I was purchasing a camera and some lights. This is also the time in which I built my first backdrop stand. It was big and bulky but cheap and got the job done. I spent countless hours taking photos of my kids and their stuffed animals (which don't complain when you have taken 100+ photos and want to keep going) hours of moving lights changing settings and tweeking all the small details of shooting in a studio. By mid 2008 I had done some really great sessions taken some really great shots but low and behold the recession hit and no one has the money to buy food and gas let alone get photos of their family so things were feast or famine. I went months between shoots taking all kinds of small jobs little league basketball and baseball filled in gaps nicely. Then I decided in Oct 2008 I had to get a real JOB to help out my family but, with the understanding that all involved had to deal with me being gone if I had photo sessions in my off time. I have to say almost 2 years later my business is finally at a point I should have been at when it all started and I just keep getting better. I continually learn new tricks and poses. I frequently surprise myself with shots that were unexpected but take my breath away and will never get tired of seeing the smiles when I deliver prints to a family I have done work for. I feel blessed to be able to capture life in a way as to provoke happiness in my fellow humanity. With much sadness and sorrow that there is in this world I am happy I can give back moments that will forever be remembered in the form of a photo.
So this is my story I am just as enthralled with photography as I was 6 years ago and I haven't looked back I am eager for the future and what it has to offer. My goal is to one day be published in some form and will keep working toward that goal til I reach it. I also want my own studio that is not located in my home and one that is sufficient enough to allow me to quit my JOB and do photography full time.
Today's photo is a wonderful barn in Halstead, Ks I am partial to barns. Enjoy.
Today's Photo Tip: Ok not so much a tip as an affirmation. You do not have to have the best camera or equipment to take great photos. You need what we call an eye for it. Seeing things differently or thinking outside the box. Some of the best photos are taken with everyday consumer cameras not pro grade. In fact not too long ago I saw a friends photo taken with a disposable camera and was one of the best photos that told a story that I have ever seen. This photo was a lucky shot so admitted by the taker but now he has a photo that will give him a memory of that moment for the rest of his life. So don't fret if you have a consumer point and shoot camera even one with low resolution as it is who is behind the camera not the camera itself that results in great photos.
