To the new photographer… something I NEED you to know!

To the new photographer, hobbyiest or the person with the new camera who picks up instagram and wonders why her images aren’t coming out the same…. this is for you today!

I want to encourage you!  I want you to know something very important:  WE ALL START SOMEWHERE!

We were and still are beginners and in many ways, despite how much we might know “now” or all the education the “professionals” as we like to call ourselves, have under us, we are still beginners at something!

Photography is an art and you will always be learning and growing, which is half the fun!

Please don’t look at someone’s instagram feed or website portfolio and be discouraged!

Anything worth anything takes time… and as Lara Casey says, It’s OK to grow slow!

Take care to cultivate your talent in this and learn as much as you can at your own pace.  Learn all the rules, and then break them because guess what… photography is art!

Some people will LOVE what you create and other’s won’t but that’s OK!

Yes, at times photography WILL frustrate you… it has frustrated all of us!  When it does, please know it’s OK to take a break and put the camera down!  It doesn’t mean you give up!  It means you just take a breath, pause and then pick it back up and find what inspires you!

Learning takes time and sometimes you have to push past some tough breaking points to have that AHA moment:  but when you get it, it feels amazing!

Most importantly though, just remember:  We all start somewhere!

When I first started, I was using my Nikon D90 and I thought I was fabulous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verses several years later…

 

 

 

 

I can look at those first few images and honestly I still have love for them despite the over processing and mistakes made!  I have love for them because I understand the emotion behind them and the love I had for each family and session.  I also was incredibly excited to just be taking photos!  I loved being OUT and I was incredibly grateful to take these sessions for friends.  Neither of these sessions were paid, they were all portfolio building and experiences for me!

This is the process of learning!  Never lose that gratitude!  Never lose that sense of excitement and please never lose that passion and love for each of your clients!

Never lose that sense of love for each of your sessions either or the love for every one of your photographs because they each tell YOUR own story about the journey of your craft!

When I look back at those images, I look back and see my growth and my education and I appreciate every image I have ever taken!

I see where I’ve learned to take my camera off auto and into manual where I decide what color tones and what’s in focus and what the exposure is.  I’m not over processing, in fact I’m barely processing at all because I get it right in the camera!

But none of that would have happened if I didn’t START THERE ^  in those first few images!

So to my friends just starting on their photography journey…  remember to take it one step at a time!  Remember that in all those beautiful feeds you see, they started somewhere too and it wasn’t always beautiful and consistent and tack sharp!

We all make mistakes along the way.  We are all growing and learning and getting better!

All you have to do is trust yourself and just keep shooting!