Why I Chose Photography

Photography has been one of my biggest passions for some years now, but it took me until I was eighteen to find this fondness. Ironically it was a few months after I met my fiancé so my life completely flipped around in the best way imaginable.

I've always loved art. I never have really felt much confidence in my drawing abilities though. I put a lot of time into digital art, learning about colour theory, composition and looking at work photographers created to use as references for my drawings.

I wouldn't say that the idea of photography was really a big secret. While I was growing up, my mom would take pictures of everything from me and my brother playing on a trampoline to every single thing we did on family holidays. Not to mention the family and event photographers she would hire to record how we've grown or to capture a birthday party - I just never really thought about being the one taking the dozens of pictures that she would frame and put up on the wall of our staircase.

My mom's was the first camera I ever picked up. I had considered taking my own reference images pretty often so I didn't have to use other people's work, but it never really was more than a thought. I've had a lot of experience with mental health issues, and was having a pretty bad day when I borrowed her camera. I wanted to just go on a walk and take pictures of things that I thought looked pretty so I could learn to appreciate my surroundings and just make myself feel better. Looking back, those images don't look like anything special. I didn't know anything how camera settings worked or what makes great pictures. The camera was on full automatic mode for both exposure and focus. But holding it just felt good. I was in my element for the first time in weeks.

From there I would take whatever opportunity I could get, like joining my parents

when they went out to walk our dogs so I could snap shots of them and pretty flowers that I came across. My obsession grew quicker than I ever thought it would. I started researching, watching videos, reading blogs. It's like my whole world just became about photography. I even dropped out of my university law degree because I realised I didn't want to be a lawyer, I'd found my passion.

I think it was about a year later that I got my first camera. It was a Sony a5100. I'd take it everywhere with me and take pictures of everything. Like date nights with my partner or a little back garden campfire with a few friends. My love for taking pictures just kept growing and growing.

It was about mid way through 2019 when I decided this was going to be my career path. So I did more research, watched more videos. Every waking moment if I wasn't at work or spending quality time with my family I would be either studying or practicing. I hadn't found my niche yet - I was just taking whatever opportunities I could. About two months after I decided to pursue this passion, I got offered my first 'job' if it can be seen as one. My dad's friend wanted some pictures of her daughter for her second birthday so we did a test shoot to see if I would get on with her and just to meet the parents. And we did get along - the daughter took a liking to me and her mom loved seeing her laugh and have so much fun that she hardly even realized the photos were being taken. I had so much fun that day - it made my career path feel so much more real and achievable.

I didn't get much from that job - only thirty pounds. I was told by everyone to keep my prices low because I'm a beginner and I lack experience. So I listened and took their advice over the many professionals online who always say to never undervalue your work because it will make it harder for you to get fair pay in the future, and harder for them because people begin to expect dirt cheap prices. And I would consider my decision as a mistake if I didn't personally know her and didn't learn anything from the experience - I didn't really care about the money because I was getting to do something I love.

Because I had so much fun that day, I began to think that maybe family photography was my niche. That changed when I had a family shoot for my older brother and his children. It was chaos. The kids wanted to play with the Christmas gifts that accidently wound up with their nan because 'Santa got confused' and my brother was getting frustrated with them running off every five minutes. I didn't know how to handle the chaos. Kids will just be kids and you can't make them do something they don't want to because of the tantrum that would likely follow. But we still got some fun, goofy pictures that my brother now holds dearly. That made me realize family shoots weren't going to be my thing. I couldn't really connect with it. And all the photographers I had come to admire such as Jessica Kobeissi and Brandon Woelfel built their career around portraiture and fashion. So I decided to give that a go.

It was hard finding someone who was willing to shoot with an aspiring photographer that only ever taken portraits of her best friend, her partner and at times his sister or nephews. But eventually one of my work colleagues agreed. I don't think I'll ever forget that day - it reignited the spark I felt when I first found photography. I used some of the props I purchased for the photoshoot I did for my Dad's friend and just had fun with it. We walked around searching for nice backdrops and sceneries we could play around with, we spoke a lot, we had fun. It was just a great day. I learned a lot about posing and working with people. Most importantly it gave me my niche. The way Jade (my lovely model of the day) worried that about how she looked but then how surprised she seemed at how great she looked in the pictures and the surge of confidence that rose in her - I wanted to make everyone feel that way. I set my eyes on a new, more clear goal. Fashion photography.

And that's where I'm at now. Learning everyday, setting up my business, meeting incredible people. I've never been more excited to put so much work into something because I know if I can make more people feel the way I made Jade feel that way while simultaneously helping businesses and fashion designers it's going to be so worth it.

Tell me something about you! What's your passion, how did you find it? Are you keeping it close and personal or are you planning on sharing it with the world and turning it into a career? Contact me and let me know!