Someone suggested that I do a Thursday on what inspired me to get into photography. I figured I could also show (maybe embarrassed) some of my first starts in photography also. I got to thinking then when I saw the dates on these images, this was all barely a year ago. I only launched my business about 7 months ago too. Yet it feels like ages! I have improved and changed so much even in the past few months, sometimes I can’t even believe it. So, how did this all start you ask?

I was always a dreamer as a child, never quite realistic with my dreams either. So when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always had something crazy to say. Whether it was a princess, ballerina, singer (even though I can’t sing haha!), actress, model, or anything else crazy. So when I hit 11th grade I honestly had no clue what I wanted to do. Around 9th and 10th grade, I had thought about graphic design, but knew I wasn’t very refined in it and I couldn’t manage to sit at a computer all the time. I walked into the first day of Spanish Class in 11th grade, and our teacher Sra. SanMillan told us to take out a piece of paper and write down what we wanted to be when we grew up. As a dreamer herself, she told us NO MATTER how crazy it was, write down what would be our DREAM to be. I thought for a moment and wrote “A National Geographic Photographer, even though it will NEVER happen.” Sure, photography as a career had crossed my mind before. I loved taking photos and “competing” with my dad on trips with who could take the best photos, but I never took it seriously. After class she asked me to come over. She told me that my dreams could happen if I believed they could and that I should pursue this dream with all my heart. She then said “Don’t wait for the music to play to dance. DANCE! The music will play.” So I dove HEAD-long into my dream photography. She was a teacher who saw the beauty no one else saw in life and noticed everything. One day she took me to the stairwell and even I didn’t see what she thought was so beautiful, she told me to just take the photo. After I developed it, I started noticing the beautiful light that hit, the bare tree limbs, and the very simple beauty she was seeing.

I was the photographer for a Habitat for Humanity project all the high schools in Gaston County were helping out with. During one of the meeting an architect was talking that he needed a photographer to shoot a project he was submitting to a contest. Immediately, I told him I would love to do it. His name was Jim Riley. He kicked off my career and I will eternally be grateful to him for that. He gave me the confidence to charge more and not shortcut myself in my work.

Shortly after that I started interning at two local newspapers The Gaston Gazette and The Belmont Banner. This was a great opportunity because I was exposed to so many different situations and had to learn to photograph these.
My VERY first assignment: (and first time using a DSLR)

My favorite assignment:

Then last fall I got to do my first two portrait sessions with my two friends Olivia & Kirstin. This is when I realized I wanted to do portraits & weddings and never again could I go back to just photojournalism.

I hope you enjoyed a look into the past couple of years of my life and how this whole career got started.