So, Are You Taking Pictures Now? My Photography Journey
Y'all. If I had a dollar for every person who has asked me this question lately (so, are you taking pictures now?), I'd be a wealthy woman. I'm an admitted serial side hustler since I never have been good at single-tasking, but something about this photography bug has got me GOOD. I thought I'd share a little about my photography journey here because YES, I am, in fact, taking pictures now.
In 2017, when I had my daughter, I took approximately 3521985382 pictures of her first year on my iPhone. Every picture looked different to me at the time (that look! the nose scrunch! the half giggle!), but now I look back and all of my photos of her first year are grainy, low light cell phone pics. Not bad by any means, and I have wonderful (though sleep-deprived) memories of that time, but I felt like I wasn't really doing her cuteness justice. What a mom thing to think haha.Just before her first birthday, I decided to take a photography class (this one! Ailee offers an amazing class about shooting in manual if you're in Houston), and I honestly haven't been able to put my camera down since. I went from taking pictures of my own baby girl and posting them on the 'gram, to capturing babies and families of friends, to a fledgling business. I am so honored to capture the everyday moments and special occasions in their lives, but I think the thing I love most is creating something that makes my clients and friends feel beautiful.See, the way I remember professional photography from my childhood is through those Easter Bunny poses at Sears or when Olan Mills came to take pictures in front of their marbled blue background for the church directory. They were great in their own formal way, and we always got super dressed up for them, but when I look back on those photos, they didn't capture US. They didn't capture my dad's corny jokes or my mom's listening ear. And they definitely didn't capture my sister's silliness because she was too busy sitting still and smiling for the camera! And while I love having those photos to look back on regardless, I really wish we had more beautiful photos that captured my family just as we were.So now, I'm taking pictures of the backyard playtimes, the park dates, and the silly faces because it is all just too precious to risk forgetting. And I am SO honored to be asked to capture my friends' and clients' everyday moments and special memories too.I plan to focus on couples (engagements, holidays, just because), maternity, newborn, and family photography. If you're in the market for someone to snap some pics of you and your special people, you can find me on Instagram, at my contact page, or in my inbox. Or, of course, if you're reading this right now, there's a pretty good chance you already know me in real life, so you can ask me then too :) I'd love to talk about how we can capture the light and love in your life!