I've decided that the thing you are passionate about in life is the thing that makes you so excited you can't sleep at night. I have many passions and, therefore, many near-sleepless nights. My current, all-consuming passion is photography.
It's no secret that I have been dreaming of running my own portrait and wedding photography business. While I have thought a lot about it, it did not seem like that was going to be a reality for quite some time because I did not have the necessary equipment, and it was going to take James and I a long time to save up for it all.
I have been incredibly blessed because that is no longer a problem. James' grandfather discovered my passion for photography while we were out in California and decided to give me his "old" (not very old at all) large format digital camera, zoom lens, high-powered flash and a carrying case as an early birthday/Christmas gift. Apparently he also loves photography and has been collecting all kinds of cameras and other equipment for years. However, he found this digital camera too bulky for daily use and said he'd be thrilled if I could get some use out of it. I immediately insisted on going out and driving around Santa Barbara so I could try it out. Needless to say, I love it and have a hard time being productive knowing that I have a beautiful new camera that I could be playing with.
Now that I have the most important tool I need to start taking pictures professionally, I figured I should really start pursuing this. So, I've spent the last week putting together a more professional looking online photo portfolio and creating a business email account. I've also really started doing some promotion among friends and neighbors, hoping to get a little experience and - hopefully - prompt some people to do some word-of-mouth marketing for me. Already I've got a couple of people who have agreed to let me take their pictures when I go out to SIU in a couple of weeks and I'm so excited!!
I can't sleep at night because I start thinking about different poses and settings I could use to really create some unique and beautiful portraits. Or I'll get a new idea for how to stir up some business and I can't rest till I've written it down. At this point I feel like I've got all this pent-up creativity and need to find someone who will allow me to release it. The goal is to really practice and get some experience while building up a powerful portfolio here in Del Rio. Then when we move to Phoenix in April, I'll significantly raise my prices and start working in earnest. I've started looking into possibly working for/assisting a local photographer...but amazingly there are only 2 local photographers or portrait studios listed in the phonebook so we'll see how that goes.
Till then, I guess I'll have to be content with taking pictures of my surroundings or - one of my favorite photo subjects - myself. =^P
ps. Here's my online portfolio if you're curious. I'll keep updating it whenever I take some new publish-worthly pics.
1 comment:
Hooray for moving to Phoenix! Not only will my chances of getting to see you be greatly increased, because of my frequent trips home to visit the fam, but I have many contacts and friends all across the state that I will be VERY glad to refer you to professionally! :-)
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