What if I Want to be a Photographer? | Monday Musings

What if I Want to be a Photographer? | Monday Musings

Last week I received an email that I've talked about in-person many times before. It was from a woman wanting to start a photography business. She has taken pictures for fun in the past but never professionally, and she wanted to know how to begin down that road. She had some great questions about how I got started and what I would recommend for her.

I realized that since so many of you have been following my journey from the beginning I've never written a blog about this - but with lots of newer faces around since four whole years ago, I decided to write about my journey and what I would recommend to anyone wanting to get started as a professional photographer. Here's my best advice!

1) Learn as much as you can without practicing...

The Honest Truth About...Editing | Monday Musings

The Honest Truth About...Editing | Monday Musings

In light of the fact that last week's topic was such a heavy one, I thought I would lighten it up a little on this Monday! I thought I would shed some light on something that seems so mysterious to anyone who is not a photographer...and for the first time, I'm sharing a picture that I haven't edited one bit! So...this one is a little scary for me :)

It is true that, for those of us who don't outsource it, a lot of a photographer's time is spent editing pictures after they are taken. This is the reason why sometimes it seems like sessions that may only last an hour or two cost a lot...because there's far more work that goes on behind the scenes, both before and after, than actually photographing the event! Today I want to talk about what exactly we do to edit a picture and how long it really takes....

The Honest Truth About...Silence | Monday Musings

The Honest Truth About...Silence | Monday Musings

At first glance this topic may seem like a strange one to blog about, but if you stick with this I promise it will make sense! I am by nature a thinker and an observer, so I love watching people's habits and evaluating why they do what they do. I often get introspective as well, trying to see areas where I have a weakness and where I can improve. This leads to a lot of one-on-one conversations, podcasts to learn, reading, and of course writing.

One thing that all of us have noticed is the trend in recent years to be on our phone (or iPad) all. the. time. It is almost constant. In doctor's offices I sometimes count the number of people who are not surfing the internet while they wait. At stoplights I have noticed the reaction time to a green is a lot slower because the driver is checking a phone. Even with groups of friends or family, it is not uncommon for someone to have a device pulled up, texting or scrolling through whatever feed is most interesting at the present moment.

It's easy to both criticize or defend this behavior, but today I want to do neither. Instead...