Rachel's Maternity shoot

I was so lucky to have a sister who is pregnant and excited to have me do a Maternity Photo shoot. We took the opportunity during the weekend of my other sisters wedding in Henderson, NV. I took my first online class with A Day With Amy a week earlier. There is definitely a difference in the way I approached this photo shoot than any in the past. I will be visiting my sister in a week and she is due while I am in town. YEA!!! I really hope my new niece is born while I am in town so I can do my first Newborn photo shoot.

Pete and Amy's Wedding

At the end of July I had the opportunity to be the second photographer for an old friends wedding and reception. I had a really great time learning from the other photographer. She had a couple of more years experience than me, but she has definitely learned a lot in those two years. She told me about A Day With Amy, who is a photographer that teaches classes online. I was impressed with how enthusiastic she was about what she learned from her classes, that I ended up signing up for a class online. My friend Katie gave me a brief lesson on how to shoot manual. Boy it was painful to wrap my brain around it. I took all these photos, fully in manual mode. I haven't learned photoshop yet, so here are some of my favorite photos unedited.

Blake and Deanna couple photo shoot

I did a photo shoot in March of my Brother and his girlfriend Deanna. At the time, I did not really understand how to use it. I took some really awful pictures(not shown) and some really nice pictures. I was flying by the seat of my pants hoping I will take a nice pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

I bought my Camera!

Wow, so I bought my camera at Costco. It is a Canon Rebel. I talked to my photographer friend and she said for a beginner, it is a great camera. I have played around with the settings a lot, taking random photos of my kids, cat and husband. None of my photos have come out amazing, but it is fun to see the quality of photos the camera can produce.

I volunteered to take photos at a Women's conference this last weekend. Kendra Lowe (blue top) and Sarah Wolfgramm (purple flower top) were the musical guests. It was fun to take pictures at the event, but I definitely need lots of practice. Here are the two best photos I have taken of my children and a picture of the performers at the Women's Conference. The man in the picture is Sarah Wolfgramm's husband, Haini Wolfgramm (original member of the Jets). He joined in for one of the songs. Very cool!

Step 1: Buy a Camera

So I did our finances this morning and I figured out when I can buy a camera. In a couple of weeks I am going to head over to costco and get my first REAL digital camera. I am so EXCITED! I decided that I am going to go through Scott Kelby's books and blog about what I learn. Sounds like a good plan to me!

First day in my Journey

Last night when I went to bed, my mind was swimming of ideas and possibilities regarding my new journey. I turned on the light, grabbed a piece of paper and pen and wrote my ideas down. As I laid back down, I thought, "Am I now going to be one of those people who sleep with a note pad next to her bed?"
Today, while I did my errands, I found myself admiring a camera more than I ever have. I wondered what the difference was this time and I think that now that I know that I want this to be a big part of my life, I feel free to be "into something." I used the camera to take some practice shots of my daughter. I felt giddy. I loved the feeling and the thoughts of what great photos I could take with this camera. I am thinking that I am going to want to get a nice camera sooner than later.
Later on, I came across some books called "The Digital Photography Book" by Scott Kelby. He wrote three volumes. I thought, what the heck, I will get all three. When I flipped through the books, I noticed how full of color and informative they seem. I am so excited to have materials to read. I can't wait until I get my camera. Hopefully sooner than later.

Beginning my Jouney

Have you ever looked at someone, your sister, your friend, your brother-in-law, or even someone you recently got to know, and become amazed at how well their life flowed. A perfect string of actions and decisions that they made to get them to where they are today. When it came time for them to decide what they wanted to do with their life, they just knew. They took the right classes, met the right people, and continued upward on their journey of success. I am not talking about financial success. I am talking about personal fulfillment success. This person figured out what they wanted to do with their life and they did what they needed to do to get there. Now they are in their world of doing what they love, while you are still trying to figure out what it is you want to be you grow up. I wish that I was your sister, or even the "someone" you recently got to know" and was amazed by how I Just Knew what I wanted to do with my life. But I'm not. I am surrounded by those people. My husband, sister, sister-in-law(s), brother-in-law(s), friends, and many, many "someones" who I have met over the years.
I have spent the last 13 years trying to figure out what I wanted to be passionate about, what I wanted to spend my time doing. I have began studies in Accounting, American Sign Language and Child Development. In between my educational ventures, I have come up with dozens of ideas of what I could do with my life. Yet, every time I make "the decision of my life, that I am now going to become a ......." the idea fizzles and I am stuck.
I am a stay-at-home mom and I "love" it. Yes, it is hard at times, but whenever I consider the idea of going to work to help provide financially for the home, I just can't. I LOVE that as a family, we decided that we would live below our means so that I can be home with the kids, have the freedom to focus on my family's everyday life experiences, and we can focus on becoming debt-free. It sure sounds like my family comes first and there is nothing left for me.
I am blessed with a WONDERFUL husband who supports me in whatever it is that I want to do. Here's the problem: I DON'T (or hopefully didn't) KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO. That's a problem. I am definitely one of those women who know how essential it is to "have my own thing" or to "have an outlet for real life." I know that it is important, not through experience, but through watching others who have something they do. They know who to answer the question, without a doubt, "What is your favorite thing to do?" What I say when asked, are just a bunch of things I have done, but not necessarily "my favorite thing to do." You are probably wondering what this has to do with photography. Read on, I'll explain.
Photography is something that I have always been interested in. I remember in high school, my friend was taking a photography class and after seeing what she was learning (I was one of her "models" for one of her projects. It was a very dark piece.) I started to wonder if I would like to learn more about photography too. Without revealing my inner thoughts, I asked how she knew she loved photography. She said that it was because she always wanted to take pictures, it was always on my mind. Well, that did it for me. I had a crappy camera and I wasn't "always taking or even thinking about wanting to take pictures." So, I just thought that I must not be interested enough to become a photographer. Which was a bummer for me because I LOVE the arts, but I can't draw, sculpt, sing or dance. I just always wished that I did have a talent somewhere in the arts. I did not give it much thought, except for the occasional "I wish I could take pictures like that" for the next 10 years. When Mr. T (my son) came into the picture, my interest started to grow, wishing that I knew how to take cute pictures of my son. Plus, I didn't have a great camera. Having been a perfectionist (I am a born-again non-perfectionist and it feels great) I didn't see the point in trying to take the amazing pictures I wish I had. Then little miss HayGirl came (about the same time of me becoming a non-perfectionist) and created my own photo sessions. I tried different back drops, outfits, and angles with the camera. I had some flops, but I also came out with some really great photos, just with our cheap digital camera. What really got me is that I had fun and I loved it. Not just because it was my daughter, but because I loved what I was doing.
I am known for coming up with my "Grand plan" of what I am going to do with my life, but I decided to keep this one to myself. I first visited the idea of buying a nicer digital camera with my husband someday in the future. He had no problem with that. Next, I decided that I had to learn how to use a photo editing software. I may not be a perfectionist anymore, but it doesn't mean that I don't want to have the option of creating a "perfect" photo. I have a dear friend who happens to be very talented in all things photo. I asked her if she could be my mentor. If I could learn by watching her and helping her during photo shoots and the photo editing process. How sweet is she to tell me that she would love to share all she knows. She does not believe in keeping the secret of her success. (I believe that this world would be a happier place if we were all so willing to help those around us like my dear friend.) With my mentor on board with her support, I felt empowered. I started to feel like I might actually be able to find "something that I do."
After this realization, I started my own search online to help me get started. I was hoping to find a guide in becoming a photographer and what I found solidified my decision. I read an article titled, "7 Steps to Becoming a Confident Photographer: a Beginner's Guide" on DPS. The article is simple, but as read it, I realized that I can do this. I am capable of becoming a photographer. And I will get to be an Artist.
So this is my blog. To be with me as I embark on this journey to becoming a photographer. Originally, I had thought that I would be the basic, Senior portraits, Wedding, Baby and Family photographer. After reading the article, I may want to explore the idea of selling my photos to magazines. I am fortunate, for when my children are older, to have the opportunity to travel around the world due to my husbands job. I will never know unless I make this "FINAL DECISION" in what I want to do with my life and actually do it. I am excited to see what I am going to learn, and explore our world through a camera lens.