I've been doing unofficial photo shoots for my friends since I was in high school. I've taken pictures of their families, their weddings, their new babies. I used to take my super old DSLR along to all these unofficial shoots. The only thing I knew how to do with it was set it to automatic and point-and-shoot away. Then I would go home, press "auto-correct" on every photo, and call it good. I loved taking photos, but I never really knew how to do it right.
Then, I started blogging. I learned that there was an entire photography universe out there that I knew nothing about. Somewhere, somehow, bloggers everywhere were making their own home photos look beautiful and professional. I wanted that. So, I started learning tips and tricks. I started editing the brightness, contrast, and saturation of my pictures, instead of just pressing the auto-correct button. I got a new and improved DSLR camera.
About a month before Claire was born, I started noticing what I liked most when I created a sponsored blog post. By far, it was creating beautiful pictures out of nothing. People seemed to like my pictures well enough, because they started asking me if I could take their picture for various events. And my readers comment on my photos more often than anything else on most of my posts. Could this be the time? I thought. Could this be the time for my hobby to become an informed reality? Could this be the time to become a real photographer?
I decided to do it! I tried my best to put aside all my fears and insecurities, and started getting serious about taking beautiful professional photos.
Over the next year and a half, I took it upon myself to learn everything I could about professional photography. I took Alexa's photography bootcamp and banned myself from the automatic setting forevermore. I got Photoshop and Lightroom, and spent hours upon hours learning how to use both to actually edit pictures. I bought a few new lenses and learned how to use them. I challenged myself to see how much I could improve my photography from blog post to blog post.
And then I moved to Arizona and made myself a timeline. Things got serious, and crazy, and wonderful. I emailed just about every photographer I knew in the area (and lots I didn't know) and asked them if I could come along and be their assistant or helper at their shoots. I tagged along with some awesome photographers (thank you photographer friends!), and was a second shooter at two weddings (thank you Ashley and Ivy!). I asked blogger friends and church friends to let me take their picture for more practice. I took lots of online commercial photography classes (my favorite ones were from this site and this site). I bought a domain name and spent hours designing my own logo and building my own photography site (thank you Taylor for helping with my Wordpress frustrations!).
And so, finally, today I want to introduce Silver Lining Photography.
I am so excited about this. This has made every single late night worth it. Photography is my passion, and I am so excited to keep learning, growing, and creating beautiful images.
You can find Silver Lining Photography's website here, and connect on Facebook and Instagram if pretty pictures and discount codes are the type of thing that float your boat. My rates are low since I'm new to the area and don't have a large client or referral base yet. Plus I'm offering $25 off every single session booked this week! (Offer ends November 9.) Email me today and let's chat!
For those of you who have been in on the secret and asked: My blog isn't going anywhere! And honestly, I don't see it ever going away. But things might slow down a bit as I spend more time with clients, and lots of time with my standing date, Netflix, as I edit photoshoots late into the night.
And now I just want to send one big fat virtual hug to all my long-time blog readers. Thank you for reading along. Thank you for sticking with me through the years, and for cheering me on when I do something super vulnerable, new, and scary, like start a photography business. Thanks for all the likes and shares and comments and blog love. You guys are what make the blogging community so incredible.
(The model in these pictures is the gorgeous Robin from Penn and Quill. See more of this shoot here!)
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