1. Tell us about yourself…
I’m a mother right in
the thick of young family life. I have two small sons, ages 4 and 1.5, and
while my husband and I both work full time, we also chase our vision of the
life we want to create for our family. My husband loves Jeeping, our family
loves being outdoors (so excited to start camping again this year!), and I love
photography.
2. What ignited your passion for photography, and what fuels
it now?
Originally, it was an
image from our wedding with a slow shutter speed that had an amazing effect on
the lightrail train behind us. I wanted to be able to make images like that,
learn how she had made that picture, so I started to learn every way I could.
Today, my passion is in documenting family life in the beautiful, authentic
moments of ordinary days. There is such meaning and emotion in those routine
tasks that you simply can’t see from the inside, and you don’t know that you’ll
miss them until they’re gone. My intent is to disrupt the normal way of taking
family pictures, and encourage families to make images that capture who they
are and how they lived during this season of their life together.
3. What’s in your camera bag right now, what do use the
most? the least?
In my camera bag right
now is my Nikon D610 and Sigma Art 35mm, and generally my Nikkor 85mm as well.
I carry my card reader and often my laptop as well, since I’m doing my
first-ever 365 project this year - it’s easier to keep up with when I can edit
more frequently! I used to have a Tamron lens that I looooved and used
religiously… until I got the Sigma. So that poor Tamron is least used now. Poor
thing.
4. What’s your dream project or shoot?
I would love to
capture a full “day in the life” for a client. Be there when the family wakes
up, stay with them all day through their normal routines, and also capture that
bedtime hustle. (To add one more element to the dream… I’d love to capture a
family’s camping trip or unplugged adventure!)
5. What is the biggest challenge you face as a photographer?
Doubting myself and/or
comparing myself to others, hands down. I’m more confident in my “style” as a
photographer within the last 6 months or so, but I am often comparing myself to
another photographer and wondering if I should do this or that to be like her…
instead of just honoring my strengths and what makes me authentically myself.
6. If you had $500 to spend on photography...
How do you wish you could spend it?
I’d love to fly out to
another state for a photography session with a dear friend’s family!
How would you really spend it?
It’s tough to be away
from my family right now since the kiddos are so little, so I’d probably
reinvest into my education and seek a mentorship to help me learn and grow
beyond taking another online class.
7. Is there any one thing you wish someone had told you at
the very
beginning of your photography journey?
Find
your community. There are photographers out there in the world (and locally)
who love to collaborate and engage with each other, to inspire and encourage
you and celebrate your successes and help you weather your disappointments. I spent the first 5 or
so years of my photography career pretty isolated, because I hadn’t come into
photography from school or a degree program. I didn’t have anyone to talk to or
connect with, so it was pretty lonely. Once I found my community, my sense of
isolation dropped away and was replaced with a renewed sense of purpose,
creativity and invigoration.
