Then and Now
Wow, this is a fun but also challenging topic to write on! A lot of it is because I can’t exactly pinpoint when my photography journey started, but also because I had a little jumpstart in the game with how many generous mentors gave me advice before starting.
As I’ve written in blog posts before, I have always loved photography and the chance that it gives me to share what I’m experiencing with people who can’t always be with me. It wasn’t until I got my own engagement and bridal photos back though that I felt deeply inspired to pursue portrait photography. I talked my husband’s ear off about how neat it would be to get into, read mountains of articles, talked to my own photographers and photographers who I admired, and educated myself in every way possible to determine whether or not this was for me.
And thank the heavens that it was. My husband surprised me on our first Christmas together with my first DSLR, and I jumped in with both feet. I took pictures every chance I got. I was able to get a lot of practice when I left the country for a few weeks in the spring of 2017. Several families, couples, and individuals graciously let me practice taking their portraits, which allowed me to figure out how to light my subjects and edit. Every time I was uploading new photos to my computer, I was studying each one, analyzing the why’s of whether I liked it or not, or why it was just OK. And every time I had an opportunity to get back outside and shoot some more, I had valuable experience, the positives and the mistakes, that allowed me to grow and nail down my art even more.
Now that I do have a couple years under my belt of being in the photography business, I have the consistency and education that allows every client I serve to trust me, their photographer, in the way they deserve. I love that photography is my journey, and I love that I’ve had this chance to reflect on my couple years of progress to truly see how far I’ve come!
I’ve got some fun then-and-now photos below that I thought I’d share!