IT ALL STARTED BECAUSE OF...

 

...my father and grandfather. Both loved to take photos and videos.

When I was allowed, I would take their camera and do my own documenting. 

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Going into my senior year of high school,

I was uncertain about what to focus on.

God showed me that I truly loved to document people and special moments.

The idea of having my own photography business was birthed out of that.

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In order to do this successfully, I had to start somewhere. I began working at JCPenney’s Portrait Studio. There I learned how to work with people of all ages and come up with poses under time pressure. I spent two years there until I moved to Massachusetts to attend Hallmark Institute of Photography at nineteen years old.

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I chose to live alone in an old house instead of living with a bunch of other artsy (if you know what I mean ;) young adults from the school. I was determined not to have any distractions from pursuing photography as a career.

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I went into Hallmark knowing NOTHING about cameras, exposures, and lighting. It was thanks to this school that I learned the technical, artistic and business aspects of photography. At the end of the year it was required to create a portfolio that was to be judged by three successful, professional photographers who didn't know the students.​

 

When it came time for my portfolio to be reviewed, one of those professional photographers commented, "it is evident that you make your clients feel comfortable in front of the camera."

I had no idea what an advantage that was yet.

 

These photographers scored my portfolio in the top 10% of my class. At graduation, myself and four others out of about 100 in our class, received this award of excellence for that accomplishment.

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All my focus, hard work, and determination had paid off.

 

Upon graduation in 2006, I worked for Lifetouch for a year. There I received an award for being a National Finalist in the “Expressions on Underclassmen” category (meaning, I could get people to smile easily). Though I enjoyed it, I quickly moved on because I knew how God wired me.

I wanted to put more focus on building my own photography business.

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Eighteen years later, photography still hasn't gotten old. This is because...

Photographing

is not just a job for me.

It is a part of me.