A new series for the blog! I’m going to try and hit the most commonly asked questions by my clients, one by one! These won’t be quite the technical “How do we book a session” or “What do we wear?” There WILL be a place for these! Just not here.
“How did you get into photography?”
Once upon a time, I double majored in Economics and IT at Rutgers. After I graduated, I hated the idea of working in a cubicle, instead opting to try and become a buyer at Nordstrom. As required to move up in the company, I managed a department for 2 years. At some point during my time there, Patrick asked me to marry him. Just months after we became engaged, I began to really hate my job. I was working 70 + hours a week, with little support, and despite getting great results anyway, I felt unappreciated to say the least. My fiance at the time suggested I quit, go to India, come home and plan the wedding, and once we were married, I could refocus my effort into figuring out what I really wanted to do.
What a sweet sweet man.
On our wedding day, Patrick gave me a Canon digital rebel. I had always loved photography. Anything creative where I could have a finished product. He gave me the camera as something to help occupy my time while I contemplated my future.
I completely ignored that camera for 6 months.
I was far too intimidated to touch it. I couldn’t see the point in using it instead of a point and shoot camera unless I knew what I was doing with it. So I just ignored it. But I was so bored. I was job hunted, but I didn’t like the options I was seeing. Poor Patrick, I nagged him to stay home with me so many times. I was NOT cut out to be a stay at home wife. So he reminded me of the camera, bought me a book and told me I HAD to learn. So, I did. I started reading a book, doing the lessons and became OBSESSED with learning how to make this camera work for me. I took photos of rocks, dripping water, our house…there are a million images taken of the skyline from our balcony.
A few months later I took photos of a friend little boy for her. I promised myself I wasn’t going to try and make this a career. Photography is HARD, owning your business and getting paid enough to work the education, shooting, post processing, album designing, client communication, etc…it’s was daunting to me. It was a dream job, and who gets their dream job? I had to be realistic. But I took the photos, and she shared them with her friends. Then I took photos of another friends baby, and she shared them with her friends. Soon, people I didn’t know had my number and were calling me to ask what I charged.
What did I charge??? What did I charge??? Why were they calling me???
So with the encouragement of Patrick and family/friends, I made a price list. A decent one, that would be sensible and wouldn’t mean I was paying people to take their kid’s photos. And I was off. And I promised myself “Just kids! I’ll never do weddings!”
Because I wasn’t ready, and I could see no way I could experiment on a lovely bride. If I was going to ever do it, I was going to do it right. I started assisting the photographer who shot my wedding soon after that, Marie Labbancz. And then soon after that, a bride called me.
I was a ball of nerves, but I thought…let me offer to her engagement photos for cheap, and if she likes them, she can hire me. So I shot them. I was so excited that I edited them before the day was out and emailed her. She loved them and booked me right away. Someone DID tell her not to…something about how they should be suspicious that I edited the images so fast? Strange, no?
And then the ball started rolling…and rolling…and rolling. And the career that never could be, became the career I was meant to have.
Turns out, Patrick gave me this cutie pie AND a fullfilling career…I’m a lucky girl.
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