A couple of decades ago when my children were young, I decided to get a nice camera so I invested in a mid-range Canon camera and lens. This would allow me to take good pictures of them and of my family’s travels. At that time I thought that just having a nice camera would result in me having really good pictures. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

I quickly realized that in order to effectively use the camera and take the quality of images that I was looking for I would need to learn a lot more about aperture, shutter speed, white balance, etc. I initially learned on my own by reading photography books and magazines. This was extremely helpful but was a slow, tedious process. I would read, practice with my camera, analyze the images, then adjust my camera settings or methods as needed. This process was repeated countless times as I took pictures of family members, sunsets, animals, flowers, etc. Over time I became quite proficient but still felt like something was missing.

I decided to take in person photography classes so I could continue to grow and learn. The first classes were about basic photography and were not really that helpful from a technical sense because I had already gained much of this knowledge from my self-studies. However, the first instructor that I had was instrumental in all of my future equipment purchases (I’ll get to that later).

After the basic photography classes I took more advanced photography classes, studio lighting classes, and composition classes. I met, worked with, and learned from some amazing photographers. I had professional photographers and students critique my work which was incredibly helpful. I spent countless hours in studios experimenting with lighting setups. I worked with professional models and learned about posing. I took classes on Lightroom and Photoshop so I could effectively edit images.

Even though I was extremely serious about photography and invested an enormous amount of time and money to this endeavor, I had another career that was paying my bills and allowing me to upgrade my equipment as I was learning. Based on feedback that I received from my first photography instructor, I invested in top of the line lenses because they have a major impact on image quality. He also explained that while cameras are continuously being upgraded as technology changes, lenses do not follow that same pattern. As my skills increased, I went from a mid-range camera to a full-frame, premium camera. I invested in lights, lighting modifiers, stands, light meters, and numerous other items. 

After many years of continued growth in photography, I decided to leave the corporate world and do something that I love. I’m now a full-time photographer and am so excited to be able to use the skills that I’ve honed over the years to help you create amazing images of your children, families, and pets.