You guys. I can’t even believe I’m doing this, but I wanted to share with you how far my photography has come since I first started. Be prepared. The beginning is pretty scary. I just wanted to warn you first.

Although I’ve used film cameras and disposable cameras my whole life, I never considered doing anything but snapshots until my dad bought me my first digital camera. I don’t remember the exact model, but it was a Nikon 2.1 MP camera. Yes, you read that right. 2.1!!! You could probably blow the photos all the way up to a 5×7, haha. 2.1 MP is really super low resolution. At the time, though, it was such a wonder being able to take photos and see the results immediately. For those of you who’ve grown up in the digital camera age, you will never truly appreciate the marvel that instant photo is. Before this, the best we could do was using a Polaroid camera.

I started taking “artsy” photos. I took a photo of my steering wheel that I was so proud of, although I laugh at that now. I wish I could show you a photo, but I’m pretty sure those photos are long gone.

What I CAN show you, however, is some photos from my first wedding. It was my cousin and she was on a budget. Since she wasn’t planning to hire a photographer, so I offered to shoot her wedding. She really should have hired a pro. Brace yourself.

Then

I didn’t have any off-camera flash not to mention the skill to know how to use it. A small on-camera flash took care of all these lighting needs.

Now

Luckily, I’ve improved a little since then. Here’s a sample of my reception lighting from my brother-in-law’s wedding just last week. Actually, fun fact. The oldest of these two boys attended the wedding above. He was a toddler at the time.

You would never guess that this room only had a few small windows (behind the camera) and was a pretty dim room. Plus, camera technology has come leaps and bounds from when it started, so that helps, too.

Here are a few images from a wedding I shot last year.

I’m still constantly learning and practicing, but I’ve come sooooo far. I now have all the gear I need plus backups in case anything breaks. Last year alone I invested thousands of dollars into my education and I’m continually investing.

I use to stand by and just watch the action unfold. My clients would feel awkward not knowing how they were suppose to pose. I use to think that I was getting “natural” shots that way, but boy was I wrong. All I would get were awkward looking photos. I now know that memories are made. If you provide direction and positive feedback, you can get those “natural” looking shots that look candid and great, but are really kind of posed. Everyone is happier and more relaxed when they know what they’re suppose to be doing.