Journey to Becoming a Portrait Masters Accredited Photographer
Photography has always been a part of my life in some way or another.
Before actually becoming a photographer, I never really thought it was going to be my profession. As a “Millennial” born in the late ’80s, I first became accustomed to the old school point and shoots, you know the ones where you bought rolls of film and had to go to the grocery store, drop your film roll in the paper envelope and wait a few days for them to be developed. We really had patience back then. As I got into my pre-teen/teen stage, disposable cameras were the thing. I remember me and my friends ALWAYS had them. We would take pictures on the last day of school with our cool disposable cameras, documenting memories — I even remember taking disposable cameras with me to concerts….YIKES haha! Those never came out great, but it was better to smuggle the cheap disposable camera in than risk getting your digital camera taken or have the batteries removed by the security guards. I have so many photos from those days and I love every single one of them, no matter how fuzzy the quality was they were amazing memories and I cherish them so much.
Cosmetology School 2006
Justin Timberlake 2007 Concert
“These were the Myspace days. The days before smartphones. The good old days...”
Cosmetology School 2006
Getting out of the disposable phase, I owned many digital point and shoots. These were the Myspace days. The days before smartphones. The good old days (even though I love my iPhone). This was the start of the digital era, all you had to do was put the SD card in your computer and boom, there they were ready for you to set a new profile picture and showcase your mini photoshoot done with a self-timer likely done in your bedroom or bathroom. Yes, I am embarrassed to say I did many of those. During this time I did get into a little bit of modeling and started seeing the inner workings of what went on at an actual photoshoot. Around this time I also went to cosmetology school, when I graduated I began working with a photographer and freelanced as a makeup artist. It was at this very moment that I started really appreciating photography and what went into it. I started playing with Photoshop Elements and taught myself how to edit my own photos.
Myspace Photo #1
Myspace Photo #2
Myspace Photo #3
In 2010,
I bought my very first Nikon DSLR after I had worked for another photographer in a seasonal position traveling to take school portraits. I started like most people, taking pictures of my cat and nature. Then it slowly evolved into taking pictures of people. At the time I bought the camera to use as a hobby, nothing too crazy and I didn’t have any plans to use it professionally. Time went by and my camera started to collect dust, I would take it out every once in a while and take self-portraits, but it wasn’t getting much use. It wasn’t until around 2015, I decided to pick it back up again. I started taking pictures of family and decided I wanted to do a little more with this.
A little fall foliage
Self Portrait, 2010 …with a Halloween wig.. :-D
My little Linus <3
First venture into beauty styled portraits in 2010. I think I was going for that magazine makeup ad look.
I started a business Facebook page and started taking pictures of everything.
I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go into, at the time I thought to be a photographer you had to photograph weddings. I will tell you now, I have never photographed a wedding. I photographed my cousin’s small ceremony, but that is about as far as I ever went with weddings. I knew I wanted to do something different. I always loved beauty & fashion and I had this idea in my mind to do fashion style photography, but I also knew to live in Lansing, Michigan it would be a hard industry to get into. I wanted to photograph people like me, people who have a similar interest in beauty & fashion but were not professional models. I couldn’t put my finger on what I was trying to photograph, but I knew it was fashion/beauty related, I just didn’t know what to call it if I wasn’t working with models. I continued photographing people on the side, just trying to figure it all out. I Youtubed soooo much, I took everything in I possibly could.
In 2016,
my husband and I had our first child. It was during this time that we decided it made more sense financially for me to stay home with our son than to continue working at my “regular” job. I decided at that time this was my opportunity to officially start my own business and become a photographer. I was so passionate about it and I had the support of my husband who believed in me. I was excited to not only be able to stay at home with my cutie pie but also get to pursue my dream. I fully believe that everything happens for a reason, on one of my Youtube photography binges I found an ad for Creative Live which led me to Sue Bryce. At the time I had no idea who Sue was but she was teaching a photography class that caught my eye…it was all about Glamour. She was talking about taking everyday women and giving them a model for the day experience. A light bulb went off…OMG, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I’VE BEEN THINKING BUT COULDN’T PUT IT INTO WORDS! She was doing it! It’s actually possible to be a photographer and not be a wedding photographer! This was the beginning of me evolving and developing my style. Finding Sue Bryce literally changed everything for me.
So it was the fall of 2016 that I joined Sue Bryce Education and starting taking this whole photography thing seriously.
I not only gained more knowledge about my camera, but I also learned about light and how to shoot in-studio (which I LOVE) and I learned how to actually run a business and what that meant. Being a photographer is way more than just picking up a camera and pointing it somewhere—you not only need to have the skill but to make something a business you have to learn how to price, market, and sell yourself and your product so you can be sustainable. Having a passion for something and turning it into a business are two very different things. This is a commitment, it takes a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and trust in yourself …and your instincts. When I became a member, I told myself I was going to give it my all, I wanted to challenge myself and I wanted to work towards something. I began entering my work into The Portrait Masters, to earn points towards accreditation. I began entering at the end of 2017 (you can enter twice a year) you can see the images I’ve submitted here and I am so excited that as of March 17th, 2020 I have earned Associate level and am now Accredited through The Portrait Masters!! This has been such a huge personal & business accomplishment. When I set out to be a professional photographer, I made it my mission to create the best work that I possibly can for my clients and provide them an experience that is meaningful and memorable. In doing that I have also made it my mission to constantly grow and learn new things so that I can continue to provide the level of service I feel my clients deserve. If there is one thing you can take away from this long blog post, it’s the fact that I truly care. My whole heart goes into everything I do. I strive to be the best and provide the best experience because I know that photography is a luxury, a photoshoot is a luxury, but photos are important because, after everything, we are left with these documented moments and our memories.
