Feature Friday with Karey Nobles Photography!

Karey of Karey Nobles Photography was the winner of last week's 'superhero' challenge.  Read on to find out what kind of gear she uses, how she describes her own work, and how she got started.  Of course, we've included some more of her gorgeous work to look at too!

1. Please tell us about yourself…
I’m Karey and I live in Virginia with my husband and our three kids, ages 5, 4, and 2. I love my family, my faith, and I'm living my dream as a stay-at-home mom. Our youngest and oldest (the girls) came to us through adoption and I’m passionate about all things having to do with adoption and infertility. In what seems like a former life I was a TV news anchor, but now I’m lucky if I get to wash my hair. If you ask my kids, they say my ”job" is taking pictures, although it’s actually just my hobby. But they know my camera is never far from me.

2. Can you describe your style in 3 words? Why those words?
Journalistic, relational, emotional
As a former reporter, I definitely approach photography with a journalist's eye. My kids are my subjects 99% of the time and I really try to document our lives in a real way (even though I’m a sucker for a good posed shot too). I’m finding it also means capturing their relationships, whether it’s my daughter playing with my son’s ear as they read a book, or jumping on their father when he comes home from work. How people connect with each other in that split second can evoke so much emotion. 

3. What sparked your passion for photography?
I discovered a love of painting as a child, and for years my “thing" was creating detailed paintings from photographs. The whole time I was secretly jealous of photographers - they didn’t have to deal with a mess or clean-up, and while it took me days or weeks to finish a painting, they could create beautiful art in just seconds (little did I know what actually went into it before and after the shutter was pressed). Once babies were in the picture, painting just became too difficult. But I still needed an artistic outlet, and I knew I wanted pictures of my kids. So I bought my first DSLR, and learned it wasn’t as easy as I had thought! 

4. What's in your camera bag right now?
Although it’s on my kitchen counter and not in my bag, I shoot with my Nikon D610, which lately has a Tamron 28-75 on it at all times. An 85mm 1.8 and a 35mm 1.8 (which I used with my old cropped sensor for years) are actually in my bag. 

5. What is your dream shoot or project?
My dream shoot would be one where my kids are cooperating (even my rambunctious two-year-old!) and the lighting is perfect. We'd be surrounded by beauty, maybe a field of wildflowers with mountains in the distance. And I'd have some of my wish-list lenses to play around with. But, really, it's all about the happy kids.

6. What are some of the misconceptions you had about photography and photographers at the beginning of your photography journey? Have they changed, and how?
As I mentioned earlier, I thought it was going to be so much easier than painting. It’s different, but not easy! I had no idea how much was involved from the technical side.

7. What advice would you give to newbie photographers? What advice do you wish you'd been given at the very beginning? 
The best thing I ever did was to find a community. I’m blessed to be part of a small group of photographers who are all moms and friends and we learn and grow together. I can't recommend it highly enough. So join a group, or start one yourself, and ask lots of questions.

Follow Karey's beautiful work here:

Facebook