Growing up as the middle child for me meant learning to entertain myself early on and often. I buried my head in books about fantasy adventures and autobiographical stories. Reading wasn't just a pastime for me, it was a way of life. I also spent many days picking up disposable cameras as my mom was keen on capturing every detail of our lives and celebrations because throwing parties meant going all out. I went through hundreds of disposable cameras with some never even being developed, I just loved capturing the moments and details. As a pre-teen I took a film course in a summer camp and that fanned the flame that was just barely getting going. Fast forward to my junior year in high school I was in my art elective of film photography spending as much time as my schedule would allow in the dark room. I joined the yearbook staff alongside this and picked up digital photography around the same time, I couldn't get enough of being behind the camera. I knew then that my dream was to be a photographer as my career for the rest of my life. 

As most things do not go according to plan with life, I set down my camera my first semester of college and didn't pick it back up for two years. It was a friend of mine that got me back into it when she asked if I still had my old film camera and if I would take some headshots of her. At this time I posted them to my myspace and my first client was an old friend from high school messaged me to hire me to take pictures of her then six month old, who I'm in disbelief to say is over half way through her high school journey and is set to graduate next year. And the rest as they say is history, well sort of, in my case there was so much more to come before I finally leaped. 

While getting my associates I worked every side gig imaginable alongside regular retail jobs to pay my way through. I made the decision after finishing my associates to move to away from home and begin finishing my bachelors in what would be my third major in my college career, fine arts of photography. When I first got into college I had been taught through my many college prep classes that the best fields to go into were ones with some sort of medical or secure corporate field. So I majored in psychology for all of five seconds because the idea of cadavers was too much and then came the idea for marketing. I stuck with marketing for a bit because I was innately fascinated by human behavior and research. The decision to switch to fine arts came by way of encouragement from my family. I'd already been shooting weddings for a couple of years and so many other sessions like families and engagements so it only seemed natural that I'd major in something I was really passionate about.

During my art school days, I developed the most sense of self I'd ever had and this was coming from someone who always knew themselves and was mostly comfortable in their own skin for so many years. My first semester at Sam in the fall of two thousand and twelve I got into a program that was the precursor for being able to major in fine arts called wash. It was three courses that had to be taken simultaneously comprised of two studio art classes and a lecture component. They consisted of something like eighteen projects, exams, quizzes, papers, and a final gallery exhibition in fifteen weeks time. I decided to take that plus two additional classes and let's just say I did not sleep much until several months after the semester was over. Survival mode kicked in and I went into high gear tackling everything, including the hour plus drive home every weekend to visit family, photograph my already booked clients events like weddings and head shots, I also managed to be a part of planning a baby shower for a close friend and pick up as a wedding day of coordinator. My roommate often wondered if I was even still living there between getting home at dawn after working all night on a project to turning around after a nap and returning to classes. Let's just say this was the beginning of my coffee addiction as well, mocha anything became life. What that semester taught me has stuck with me to this day, that anything is possible and your limits are truly self imposed. 

I won second place in a juried art show the following semester with a scholarship that made me realize I was a valid artist and photographer in my own right. I was a total fangirl even a couple of years later when I ran into the juror at The Menil Collection where his exhibition had just launched and he remembered my work. I wish I could say that at this point I ran with that validation and continued honing my craft nonstop, life just did not play out that way. I continued working in retail while in school and even got into management which I'd done years prior and failed to give myself credit for how far I'd come. I took every critique to heart and began to resent myself for never being as good as I knew I could be. We are all our worst critics and sometimes our relationship with ourselves genuinely becomes abusive. The better I got technically the more the imposter syndrome kicked in to remind me I wasn't good enough. I had my first panic attack during the set up of my bfa review in the spring semester of two thousand and fifteen, which I barely passed. I didn't let it deter me completely though because my passion for photography has never ceased. I never stopped learning, I never for a day stopped consuming content about photography and the journey that is building this skill set. 

So where does all this come into play with my professional experience? Because let's face it, resumes are boring to read. 

I'm proud to say that I'm educated in photography both through my higher education and my being self taught. I worked at two different retail photography studios that no longer exist and would never pick up a camera again if I had to step foot in another retail studio. I've had the privilege of photographing over twenty weddings and over two hundred portrait sessions of everything from families and babies to engagements and fashion where a lot of my inspiration shines through. Speaking of inspiration, my art school days gave me the love for art history that still drives my work to this day, along with my affinity for the formal elements.

I strive to always be the best at my craft and in everything that I do to serve my customers. I've also spent the proverbial ten thousand, scratch that, hundred thousand, plus hours learning and investing in myself. I also can finally say that the imposter syndrome has been seated at the end of the table and is usually ignored as its voice is getting drowned out by all of the other guests. In the words of the ever so poised Atticus, "when it comes to art, it's important not to hide the madness".

The journey is still taking all the twists and turns but my expertise is built on a solid foundation that I bring every time I pick up my camera. So thank you for taking the time to read and to join me, I love making new connections and am so grateful you’re here. Please don't hesitate to reach out and say hi if any of this resonated with you and if you're so inclined allow me the privilege of being your photographer.