I think a lot of people are genuinely curious about how a person chooses to become a photographer.
This is how it happened to me.
I actually fell in love with the camera quite a long time ago. I didn’t even know it when it happened.
One Sunday morning when I was still in high school, that’s how long this has been a thing, the phone rang. It was my Uncle asking if I’d like to go the shore with him. This was a pretty regular thing that happened during the summer & I ran to that phone every time! Usually, we’d go down to Niantic, CT & head out on his boat for the day. This time he said the tall ships of OpSail were going to be down there and he had a bunch of film rolls that he needed to use up. He said they were getting old and wanted to see if I would be interested in helping him use them up. Umm, yeah I am!
My Uncle handed me his 35mm film camera with a zoom lens and let me go to town! So I spent all day bobbing in between these huge vessels clicking away at all the different angles & shapes of these fantastic ships & their crew. Soooo many little tubes of film made me so happy. Two of my favorite things right there: the Ocean & the camera! And I didn’t even put it together. Never once, at that point, did I think this is what I should do when I grow up! Who actually gets to DO what they love and make a living doing it? Nope, it was a blast & now I’m going to head back to Burger King for my shift, thanks Uncle Mike for a great day. Now, old me is realizing that just maybe the film wasn’t old & my Uncle had a hunch but I’ve never asked him!
Side note: Just thinking about how hard it was to focus while moving with every wave and wake, plus the salty air and the possibility of dropping that expensive camera in the OCEAN is giving me a small anxiety attack right now! Ignorance sure was bliss!
Well, I can’t remember exactly how long after that, maybe a year or two but my Uncle gave me my very own Nikon 35mm camera with a zoom lens for Christmas. I immediately headed out to this old bridge in town & trekked through the snow to get some awesome black & white shots. That camera was awesome. Now old me thinks that camera meant my Uncle saw something light up in me when I was taking pictures. It still didn’t click but man, did I love taking pictures of landscapes, my cat and my friend’s kids.
Fast forward a few more years than I’d like to admit, to my husband’s best friend’s wedding. My husband was the best man & I was….. a tag along with a point & shoot camera. I followed the bride & groom around for the whole wedding! Now looking back at it, I’m sure the actual photographer was not thrilled with me being there but they never said anything & I made sure to stay out of their way but I was HOOKED. I loved getting the detailed close-up shots of the flowers & boutonnières. I loved capturing the little moments between the bride & groom right after they said their I dos when they snuck away & had their first minute alone as husband & wife. I loved capturing the moment that the bride squished herself & alllllll of her dress into that tiny red convertible that was their get-away car. There was so much tulle in that car, she couldn’t even see out of the windshield! I loved how happy everyone was & how fancy everyone looked.
I. Loved. It. All.
That was 10 years ago and to this day, these are the types of candid moments I still love to capture! I can not even tell you how many times I’ve said to myself how much I really wish I could have figured out that I wanted to be a photographer when I grew up about 10 years earlier. I didn’t think that you could actually BE a photographer. But here I am – actually living the dream! Sounds cheesy, I know, but it is the truth. My most happy moments now are when I’m at the ocean with my own family & when I’m taking pictures of yours!
So, that’s how I figured out my love for photography but I do think personality is important to know too because, especially at weddings, we will spend a lot of time together & it’s helpful that we get along!