Wednesday, May 30, 2012

a budding photog.

I made a discovery this week. Well, maybe before giving you details on that, I should first give a back story. Several months ago we purchased a Nikon DSLR. I'd be lying if I said I aspired to do anything with it except take sweet pics of my quilts. Lame reason to buy a fancy camera?? Yup. But alas, I'm all about honesty. I follow all these blogs with quilts draped over fences or hanging on barns or nonchalantly positioned near a field of poppies. I love poppies.

So, my first real experience with this camera was when my Dad and my stepmom came to visit in December. I took loads of pictures of them on the farm. It's easy to take amazing pictures on an amazing farm. Then I put the camera away. I pulled it out every once in a while, snapping photos of my crazy cute kids doing what they do best- being rambunctious little boys. And then, I put the camera away, again.

I went to Texas in April for a two week visit. While I was there, something crazy happened. One of my photog friends made a comment to me, saying that she saw the pictures I'd been taking and they were "really good." I laughed. And then, my mind went crazy. Isn't it funny, how powerful words are?? Sweet Jennifer, she had no idea the can of worms she was opening for me with those kind words. Or maybe she did :)

I came home and immediately began obsessing about taking pictures of my kids. We held our first photo shoot on the farm in April. I've dabbled since then, taking every chance to take pics and every single willing model to let me "practice" on them. I now spend hours editing photos a few times a week and I live and breathe PROPS. Ugh. I think of everything as a photo op. It's really odd.

And this brings me to my discovery. I happened upon an article on a photography forum talking about "momtographers." Ha. I am a momtographer!! It's a bittersweet discovery, as this article was defending them, because of the ridiculous haters out there writing articles about how bad we are for the photography business. There was much ado about undercutting "real" photogs with cheap prices, and about inexperience, and about their lack of professionalism.

So. I have a new mission of sorts. I am a momtographer. I am proud of it. I am growing and learning and getting better with every photo that I take. I want to log this journey for every other mom out there that doesn't think she can learn something this late in the game. And... I'll probably throw in a few crafty projects too. This is how I roll folks. I learn by doing. I learn by making mistakes. And I never regret it!! Tomorrow I'll post a few of my early photos. And later this week I'll post some of my more recent stuff. I pray this inspires and encourages. That's why we do what we do, right? Peace out, y'all.

2 comments:

  1. Didn't know you had a blog! Whoot!! Now following :]

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  2. What a can of worms you have opened my friend. Welcome to the blogging world. Love that you are following a passion! That is THE main ingredient to getting this right. I love you and hope that you find this a pleasant and great experience!

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