“How long have you been doing this?” is the most common question I receive from my clients.  I appreciate their interest and want to answer honestly, without making them too nervous.  If you consider having a website, business cards and receiving payment for photographing people, then the answer is 6 months.  Doing the math on my fingers it doesn’t seem like much.  So, I like to follow up that I have always had a love of photography and practiced over the years to improve my skills.  For years I had wanted to take my photography to the next level, but didn’t have the right equipment, time or focus.  I know, excuses, excuses. 

Then at the end of 2012 I had what people call a “blessing in disguise” when I was laid off from work.  Except it wasn’t really in disguise as I recognized it immediately.  I was burnt out and to say “I disliked my job” was putting it nicely.  I took advantage of my “vacation” as I liked to call it, enrolled in advanced courses in both the art and technique of photography and practiced all day, every day.  I realized I was pretty good at taking pictures of things that didn’t move.  If I wanted to focus on portraits, I would need to start practicing on actual people; preferably people that moved. So I took a leap and emailed my friends with kids. (Boy can kids move!) And with each session I improved. Excuses weren't part of my vocabulary anymore.  Thank you to those early volunteers who allowed me to take 500+ pictures for 3 decent photos….You helped me “do this!”