I just wanted to take a second and introduce myself and talk about how I got started in photography and videography. My 'documenting origin story' ;)
To do that, I guess I need to take you back to a little 7th grade version of me and a 7th grade version of my photography. Oh boy. Brace yourself.
I have always loved art. I've always been interested in painting, music, and film. I've loved having the ability to express emotion through those art forms. And I loved playing around with my family's little dinky point and shoot that we had laying around the house. So when I started 7th grade, I was so elated that there was a photography class that I could take. That year I took a lot of pictures of leaves, and flowers, and fences, and artsy portraits of my little sister. Please enjoy these examples of my photography from 2007.
After my first year of photography class, I was so excited about it. I just wanted to keep learning and growing. So, I saved up all of my money for a good year or so and finally I bought my first DSLR camera. This propelled my passion even more and I ended up taking photography every year until I graduated from high school. Each year learning a little bit more and evolving a little bit more. I am really glad that I had that option in school because it gave me a really good foundation in Photoshop, Lightroom, and in using nicer camera and media equipment. I learned a lot of different techniques for outdoor and in studio shooting that might have taken me years to learn if I hadn't given myself that head start by taking those classes. Some more examples for your entertainment.
When I started college, I kind of took a little pause. I didn't have time to go out and shoot and living in a new town, far away from home left me with a lot less family members to force into letting me take their pictures. After my first two semesters, I left home to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Bolivia.
When I returned, my passion for documenting came back in full spring. I started going out again to capture the beauty of nature but this time I started filming it as well, not just freezing it with a photograph. In the time since I got back from Bolivia to now is really when my passion began to grow. I started getting excited about documentation and filled up all of my free time with learning more and capturing more, practicing more and becoming more passionate about documenting life in any form. I really have my husband to thank as well. He always made me feel like my passion was worth going after. He always encouraged me to go for it, to keep learning, and to value myself and my talent as I grow and learn. Without him I don't think I would have done any more with photography or videography than taking pictures or videos as a hobby.
And that takes us to where I am now. With each and every session that I capture, I try to improve, learn more, and have more fun than the times before. I absolutely love documenting moments. I love freezing moments in time or creating a film that will make that moment live forever. I love all the smiles, the laughs, the candid moments and looks that you didn't think I saw. I love the little looks of love and affection, and that spark of excitement in your eyes as a big event gets closer.
I think that photography and videography are so special. They allow someone to look back on a moment that is gone the second it ends. Flowers fade and die, cakes get eaten, children grow, dresses get stored in back closets never to be worn again, life changes and moves forward, and ultimately, memories grow farther away in our minds as time goes on. But a photo lasts forever. A photo holds that memory tightly and never lets go. A photo forever freezes a child's smile, a bride's excitement, a mother's glow, or a groom's reaction.
And I could say the same or even more for a film. A film is that moment preserved and waiting to be replayed; relived, and every time you push play it transports you back in time to what you were feeling, thinking, and experiencing. That is a special gift. More than anything else, the gift of memories and life lived and relived is unlike any other. The gift of memories lasting forever is one that every person should invest in. Capturing those special moments on those perfect days is something that we should all make a priority. Memories of love should always be a priority. That's why I love documenting; because it allows me to help your moments last forever, to be lived and relived, and to be cherished for years and for generations to come.
So there you go. That's my story and each day it will change and grow. Each day more knowledge and experience will be added because progress is my goal and documenting is my passion.