How It All Started

I took my first photo with a camera at 10 years old. My dad, a wildlife photographer, enrolled my 3 siblings and me in a nature photography workshop at a local nature trail with a photographer friend of his. I had my hands on my first camera, a red Canon point and shoot camera which was a Christmas gift from my parents. I knew almost nothing about photography and was not really that excited about being outside in the Texas heat. As we would meet every Friday, I got a little better at knowing when to press the button. A couple years later, my dad felt comfortable enough letting me try out his big cameras. Gosh, did I feel cool. People everywhere would say "Wow that's a big camera!"

My parents decided that the best path for us was to take us out of public school and take us on the road. We traveled the whole country, following the wildlife as my dad photographed. He was often in a deer blind or driving around big expanses of land or wildlife preserves, so he had no way of knowing what adventures we went on. One day, he came back home and told me that my new title was Family Documentarian. I was to take photos that told the story of what we did each day on these trips. I was so excited to have a fun assignment to look forward to every day. I shot photos of my siblings, animals, landscapes, and anything else that we happened to come across. No, I didn't fall in love with nature photography, or wildlife photography like my dad, but what did happen is that I started doing photo shoots of my siblings. We would plan them out, look for pretty backgrounds, get all dressed up, and shoot for hours. That was probably not what my dad had in mind, but I had a blast. I realized that I could take an idea in my head and translate it into a photo with almost no effort. The art of photography came naturally to me.

6 years of traveling for months out of the year, photographing these little photoshoots of my siblings, the time came to pick my career. I considered it all. I am pretty good at holding my side of an argument so I considered becoming a lawyer. I was always the best at taking out splinters and wrapping wounds, so I considered becoming a nurse like my mom. Nothing would stick. I couldn't see myself being happy in any of the careers my friends were picking, or that I had thought of. The idea that I would be stuck to one location, not able to travel when I wanted, and to be accountable to a boss didn't seem that appealing to me. Then I got it. Photography! That thing that got me so excited to wake up early in the middle of a Michigan snow storm, the thing that had me going on long walks in the fall leaves trying to find the perfect tree for a backdrop. I knew what I loved doing, so why not make it a career?

(From Upper Left image across)

Photo 1: 2002, before I took my first photo Photo 2: Graduation day, 2019 Photo 3: First photo as a full-time photographer

Photo 4: Photographing in the red rocks of Colorado Photo 5: Doing what I love most, wedding photography Photo 6: Client shoots started to run any time of day, or night!

I graduated with a 4.0 GPA, ready to take on the world. I was so ready to not have to work on classes every day, and just be able to focus on what I wanted to do, photography. I had done quite a few paid photo shoots but i was ready to kick it up a notch. Taking in all the information I could find, I entered competitions, became a member of the Professional Photographers of America, bought my first photography items that were actually mine, and invested in a good hard drive system. There was SO much more to photography once it was all on me. I booked, planned and executed shoots, learning more each shoot. I found out that my favorite type of portraits are bridal and wedding portraits, and that I don't like shooting anything boring. Everything was an adventure for me. Creating my own editing style, figuring out skin retouching and soaking in as many photography related books as possible. More than just getting to do what I love every day, I loved forming new friendships with clients, their kids, and their families! As twisty as my origin story is, I wouldn't change the way I got to where I am. I got to see more of the US than most people my age, translated memories into photos, and discovered my calling.