I have always had an interest in the arts, and was even a music major in college. I always knew I would be doing something creative with my life, though for years I thought it would be singing. That still may happen someday; and I hope it does because I would hate to waste a God-given talent, but my life is not reflective of that right now. Anyway, so I married an artist, who by the way has more talent in his little pinky than most people do in their entire bodies. He can do anything, drawing – yes, sculpture – absolutely, design – you got it, the man even has a nice singing voice (if his allergies aren’t being too bothersome!). But his most exercised form of art right now is photography. We have been playing around with photography for years; he with landscape and fine art and me with people and protraiture. I tried landscape photography for a while… we would go out in the beautiful Arizona desert to take pictures, and my most favorite were the ones I snapped of my hubby while he was photographing some cactus! It didn’t take long for me to figure out that landscape photography was not for me.
So I worked on this and that and actually fell backwards into a job photographing actors and models for headshots and comp cards. I got to work with kids a lot – there are lots of moms out there that want to get their beautiful child or baby into acting or modeling, and I learned how to photograph them well in a limited amount of time and with limited space in our studio. It was a wonderful experience and instrumental in my coming to this business.
Fast forward a few years to the birth of my son – yes, I was a mom with a camera! I wanted to document every moment of my baby’s life. He was changing so fast, and I just couldn’t take enough pictures. I wanted everything, the laughing, the crying, the infamous “poopy face”, all of it! I would send out weekly emails to the grandparents with 15-20 new pics each time and would make up little sayings and thoughts to go with them. My father in law (God bless him) was entertained by my photo commentary and one day suggested I try to make a business out of photographing children. I thought he was nuts (at first) but the more I thought about it and asked other friends their opinions, the more I thought it would be a good idea. So I started off the way most of us do, using my friends as guinea pigs and practicing all the time. We bought the same camera I had used with the actors and models many years ago (familiarity is always good) and I worked on developing a business.
I love taking pictures of children. I love capturing their true selves; the expressions they have when they see something for the first time, discovering a new toy or a bug outside, and just their play in general. With every photoshoot I hope to forever document the essence of the child as they are right then. I hope to capture their personality in such a way that 10 years from now the parents can look at the picture and say “oh remember when she used to make that face?”. My sessions are very impromptu. That is, I try to capture real moments as they are happening, not posing or directing the action.
I feel like this is the direction God wants me to go right now. And if it were not for Him and the help of my dear friends and family, this would not be possible. Thank you to everyone who is helping me make the idea a reality!
I intend on using this blog as a way to keep my friends, family and clients informed on the goings on with my photography. Please check back often for sneak peek and shoot summaries, as well as random thoughts and events. I look forward to reading your comments and seeing us all grow together!
Many blessings,
Dawn