I think we know ourselves pretty well when we are children. To me if feels like so many of us go back to our roots; to the goal we wanted to achieve when we were younger. When I was five years old I wanted to be a mom. I didn’t have a specific job in mind, I just knew I wanted to be a mom. Here I am 16 years later, preparing to welcome my son into the world.
Unlike motherhood, I’m not sure when I wanted to become a photographer. I don’t even know where I got the idea from, but I’ve had a passion for photography for years.
I remember being 13 years old with a point and shoot camera attempting to capture everything I saw. Obviously at 13 years old, I wasn’t very good and most of my photos turned out to be a bunch of blur. I lacked the knowledge of how to work a camera and wasn’t very dedicated at the time. I would get so frustrated because none of my work would come out the way I saw it in my head. Like most teenagers, this was just a phase, so it didn’t last long.
Over the years, I would get little bursts of motivation here and there for photography. I even asked for a camera for Christmas my freshman year of college. I got back into it for a while there, but I knew nothing about my camera settings. If you had mentioned exposure, ISO, or any of those important things to me at the time I would have looked at you like you grew a second head! Even then, photography was still just a hobby.
In 2015, I got my first “real” job at my local dog shelter. I started taking photos of the dogs, attempting to capture their personalities. I wanted potential adopters to be able to see the dogs the way I did, so they would be adopted into their forever families. The shelter had a Canon Rebel T5, and at the time, I still knew nothing about cameras! I would just point and shoot. When a photo would turn out semi- decent, I got so happy! Yes, I could do this! But it wasn’t enough for me; I wanted them to be better. I loved working with the dogs; animals have always been one of my passions. I knew that I could do better; for them. So that’s when the research began! I learned about lighting, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc- everything that makes a photo good. Taking pictures of the dogs quickly turned into my favorite part of the day!
I have since left my job at the shelter, but my passion for photography has stuck around. I am still trying to find my niche, but I still love pet photography. Photographing animals is great and I love capturing moments with a pet and their human. I would love to dip my hand into newborn photography and weddings! To be able to capture a newborn’s first days with mom and dad or the best day of a couple’s life would be amazing.
I have many plans for 2018, one of which is to intern with a local photographer! I also have exciting ideas for upcoming shoots. I am still learning and constantly growing and I would love for photography to become my full-time job this year