Today I want to write about how I started my photography journey because it's so crazy to look back and see how God put all the right pieces in place. To begin, I've always LOVED to take photos and dreamed of one day owning a "real" camera, but I never thought it would become a reality. I remember when my college room mate got a nice camera for Christmas one year and was having so much fun taking a photography class and learning about lighting, composition, etc. I have to admit to being a little jealous of her because I just "knew" that I would never be able to afford a camera like that, but I really enjoyed see the work she was turning out, and the thought was planted in my head that if I ever could save enough, I'd buy myself a nice camera one day.
Fast forward 3-4 years. I was in Nicaragua, Central America leading a mission team, and it was our "tourist day" at Masaya Volcano National Park. One of our team members asked me to hold her Nikon d40x for her while she hiked around the edge of one of the dormant volcanoes, and she added that I could take as many photos as I wanted. Oh... no! A few... no, wait, SEVERAL... photos later, I was hooked! I flew back to the states determined to save for a ditigal camera.
Around the same time, Jim and I had moved to Michigan and started attending a Life Group at a local church, and it "just so happened" that one of the members of our group, Emy Moody, was a professional photographer. So I immediately started asking her about which camera she would suggest to start with... blah, blah, blah. Since Jim was getting overtime and per diem while he was on assignment in Michigan, he offered to get me started with my first camera. I ordered a Nikon D60 in September 2008, and immediately fell in love. I went all over taking shots of the beautiful fall colors in Michigan and practicing different techniques.
In October, Jim and I found out that we were pregnant, and we immediately began dreaming about our new future life as parents. Then in December, we discovered that I had a blighted ovum, which basically means that be baby started to develop and then stopped, and on December 17, I had a procedure to remove the dead tissue. I was devastated. It was such a hard time for me both emotionally and spiritually. I remember falling at God's feet every day, begging him to remove the pain that was ripping through my heart and felt like it was crippling me. I also remember thanking him for all that I knew he was teaching me through the experience (maybe there will be more on that in another post) but asking for him to comfort me.
I threw myself even harder into my photography, which became a much-needed distraction and outlet for me. Emy began to teach me about shooting in manual mode (changing all the settings yourself in instead of letting the camera do it... as when in auto mode), and she invited me to go out with her on a mock bridal shoot in the SNOW! I did a couple more photo shoots for friends and started to dream about the possibility of turning my new-found passion into a business when we got back to Georgia. I distinctly remember telling Jim that I wasn't going to photograph weddings because I just couldn't handle being under so much pressure to get all the right shots, and instead, I planned to stick to portrait sessions.
Then at dinner one night, Emy asked me to be her second shooter at a wedding in Putnam County, Ohio. I was both thrilled and shocked. Just before the wedding in April 2009, I was finally able to purchase the 18-200mm zoom lens that I had been drooling over for months. That wedding completely changed my vision for my photography business, and I came home and told Jim that I absolutely loved shooting weddings, and I couldn't wait until my next one! A few months later, Emy asked me to second shoot with her again in June at another Putnam county wedding, which further boosted my confidence in my photographic abilities and taught me sooooooooo much about how the wedding day runs and how to conduct myself as the photographer. Thank you, Emy, for all the things you taught me those months! I would never be where I am without you!
In October 2009, I booked my first "solo" wedding. It was a third marriage for the bride, so she was not so picky about her photos. While I didn't make much money on that wedding, just getting my first wedding as the offical photographer under my belt was a huge accomplishment for me. In 2010, I photographed a homeschool graduation, another wedding, two Senior Portrait sessions, and several children and family portrait sessions. Many of these sessions were not paying sessions since they were for friends, but I was able to get some great experience, as well as add to my portfolio. I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for "The Journey by Ally Photography"! Hang on Spartanburg... here I come!
And of course I have to include a few photos. Here are some of my "neat shots" taken when I first got my camera. The first one is a shot of the "Cinnabon" Cinnamon Rolls that I learned to make in Michigan. The second is a photo of my mom's baby sister's grave marker. The third is a photo of the little boy I watched in Michigan.
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