I See Moments.

I received an email tonight from a student entering a Digital Photography program and needed to write a report as part of the application process. She wrote me asking a few basic questions to get a photographer's view. These few questions prompted me to start writing again, something that I have thoroughly lacked the inspiration to do lately until I got these:

-What are your favorite things about being a photographer?
-Least favorite? 

-What made you decide to become make a career out of photography?
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Do you have a favorite type of photo to take? Why?

-How long did it take you to establish yourself as a professional? Was it a difficult path?
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Do you think a certain personality type/individual is needed to become successful? 

-Finally, what are your hours like? Do you have lots of free time? Or is it busy, busy all the time?

Theses are wonderful questions to ask, but there are definitely no short answers. You have caught me at the right time to ask me these, as I am right in the middle of ‘establishing’ myself with a photographer’s career.

Believe it or not but the hardest question for me to answer is what are my favorite things about being a photographer. I think because it hits on a much deeper level than something like my career path or the hours I run in a day.

Every answer I want to give you seems so cliché yet it can’t be any truer. I like taking pictures. I see moments in my life, in my children’s lives, my families, and in people around me that I just want to put a frame around. To frame it and say “I like that. That is true. That needs to be kept.”

I never had a rich history in photography. I was never one of the lucky ones to spend hours learning about film development and darkrooms. I was one that was lucky enough to have a disposable before I could even buy a wind-up, point and click, film camera. And my photos weren’t fantastic, not award winning, but they were my pictures and that was good enough.

I never even thought I’d ever get the chance to pursue photography; it was a passing thought but nothing that was eminent in my future. Not until I was more established in my life, with a supportive family at my side, I watched my children learning new and wonderful things that I reached for a camera again and couldn’t stop clicking. I fell in love with it again and this time wanted to learn the method behind the madness.

I met a wonderful photographer who soon became a great friend and pedagogue that soon put me on my feet. I took her courses and soaked up her knowledge, the knowledge of Google, the knowledge of books, magazines, and the best place, behind the lens.

The career in photography came because I have two small children and a hard-working, loving husband that all give so much to me, I wanted to give back what I could to them. I didn’t just want to have a glorified hobby. Not only does it allow me to continue to do what I love, I get to meet fantastic people and get to play a small part in their lives too. I thrive on people and their energy they bring. Whatever the photo session, be it a wedding, a newborn or toddler session, families, couples, or boudoir, people bring their energy and put it on display. The energy of their love and their desire to capture a memory that they will keep for the rest of their life is huge and it’s amazing to be able to share in that.

Even when people aren’t at their best and difficult times are at hand, they turn to pictures to either keep memories near by or see how far they’ve come or still have to go.

Pictures are forever in our life and I love being able to help frame it.

Favorite pictures to take are pictures that speak a story to me. I don’t have a favorite scene that I want to photograph over and over rather the people in that scene. If I am connected to them or I can live in their shoes for a day, those are the pictures I want to take.

There are so many different types of personalities of photographers it’s impossible to say this one will be successful and the other not. People relate differently to one another and although one photographer may not match their personality taste it doesn’t make them less successful. There are incredibly smart, business and marketing people that have taken their small business of photography to a high level and there are others that still work from their home, one client at a time, and they are deemed successful as well. It all comes down to the passion they have behind the lens and whether or not they stay true to who they are and what they love.

As a photograph in a business sense, it can be very long and tedious startup or it can be quick and painless depending on so many factors. The biggest factor is the statistics are against small business owners at the get-go knowing that the majority will fail within 3 years. It can be argued that photography is a novelty, a luxury, more of a have than a have-not. It can also be argued that the market is over saturated or on the other side of the spectrum that there’s not enough good photographers out there for as many babies and weddings that occur. It all depends on what your own outlook is and where you feel you fit in. If you think you can make a niche for yourself and truly believe in who you are and what you do, then, well, you can do anything.

The hours I keep are another story all in itself. It could relate to being a genetic disposition that I seem to frequently be up during late hours, or it could be that I can’t properly rest knowing that I have a gazillion things to do and if I want to spend any valuable time with my kids the next day, it’s best I catch up when I am the least likely to be interrupted. Growing a business, and trying to grow it with smarts, means many hours researching and reading, trying to improve, and trying to learn everything from bookkeeping, website structures, marketing, and gain an efficient workflow. Processing photos is certainly one step of photography that is not to be overlooked as that can eat up a huge chunk of time if you aren’t careful. The digital age brought a lot to the table but the fact that it’s ridiculously easy to snap 1000 photos it is no small feat to sort, pick and choose, process, edit, and render your vision of the photo. If only the digital era can bring with it a digital camera sensor that can see what you see. The human eye should never be taken for granted. It is powerful.

Striking a balance is something that I don’t think any photographer can say is easy. It is a constant battle of your management skills to give yourself 100% to your craft and your business, and a 100% more to your family. And if you can squeeze in the extra 100% you need for your friends. It’s a struggle you’ll see posted on many blogs and forums. There’s a reason that I turned the “Time Posted” off of my blog. There’s also a reason the clock is now sitting at 4:38 a.m.

Of course you can pick and choose what you do, when you do it, who you meet with and who you don’t but it’s all how it translates to your own life, your own values and your own photographic journey that will deem you a success or not. A success in business, a success at balance, a success with your images, or success with your family. In any right, I wish you much success in your choice of career and camera. If I have a vote, it’s for a Nikon, but from the words of my Pedagogue and many, many other photog’s, “It’s NOT about the camera!”

I wish you much luck with your application process and apologize for being a tad verbose with your questions but that, I also believe is a genetic disposition that my husband can only roll his eyes at. If I haven’t scared you off with such a lengthy dialogue, please feel free to ask anything else and I will try to help if I can.

Cheers!