Like a lot of parents, my photography journey started when Drake was born and I became a mom.  I had always loved photos before, but something changed once Drake entered my world.  Everyone says babies change every day and I wanted to make sure I captured it all — every smile, every funny face, every sleeping moment.  When I started off, I didn’t know a thing about cameras or composing a good photo. I was shooting with a point and shoot that was being held together by duct tape, but I didn’t care.

The photo that started it all

ADVERTISEMENT
Every day I would snap away and I quickly filled my computer with a thousand pictures of the new man in my life.

I was so proud of this photo for so long

Over time as Drake grew, he started to move around more and I started to get frustrated with a lot of my photos being blurry. I would catch that perfect expression and look back it later on my computer only to see the image was fuzzy or blurry.

Too cute to trash even if it is blurry

I decided that I wanted to invest a little more into photography in order to truly start preserving and creating wonderful memories for my children to look back on.  I told Mr Chocolate and for my 30th birthday I received my first entry level DSLR, the Canon Rebel T2i. At first I was so elated, my pictures were so much more sharper and crisper than they ever had been with my point and shoot.  I mourned the fact that Drake’s first year was lost, but took solace in knowing that other babies would have the benefit of better pictures.

First photo taken with the Rebel

As I played with my new camera, I learned it still had limitations. Sometimes things were still fuzzy, sometimes the flash would go off even though I hated the way flash made things look.  I decided to start exploring and learning a little more about photography in the hopes of bettering myself just a little more.  I decided perhaps learning how to shoot manual was the next step for me.

I started to check out books and found a few user-friendly beginner guides I liked ones geared toward a mom trying to take the best photos of their little ones.

I also learned about a photography forum for moms called Clickin Moms.  It had a membership fee, but was supposed to be very inviting and a wealth of information in its tutorials and mentor guides, along with the workshops they offered. After a little debating I joined the forum just to take a peek. At first it was quite a bit overwhelming due to the sheer size.  I spent a lot of time lurking and reading tutorials, asking some basic questions when I was feeling bold, and using the search function to look up things I was interested in and wanted to know. The best thing for beginners I heard about over and over again was to learn manual, and the best book for that was Understanding Exposure.

I bought it immediately and tried to read it cover to cover.  It certainly did help me have a better grasp on manual shooting, ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture, but I still felt confused and lost.

I am a very slow learner, especially when first learning something, and I like to ask a lot of questions which was difficult with just reading books. I turned to the workshops Clickin Moms offered to see if perhaps this model would help more since I would be able to ask questions as well as interact more with other students. Just four months shy of receiving my first DSLR, I signed up for my first photography workshop at ClickinMoms called Shooting 101 at Clickin Moms (it has since changed as the instructor I had left). Through the four week class I learned about the exposure triangle, white balance, metering, some basic composition rules, etc.  I was able to engage with my instructor who was wonderful, as well as fellow classmates. On the last week I submitted this photo as my final homework assignment.

At the speed of childhood

From that moment on I was hooked.  Not only did I have a better understanding and mastery of my camera, but I also found a new spark growing inside of me. The feeling I got whenever I clicked my camera button knowing I had captured that perfect moment was pure bliss. I would excitedly rush home to download my photo and marvel that I took that. I began seeing photography opportunities everywhere, in pockets of light, in new adventures and mundane ones, in trying new projects, etc.  I loved seeing all I could do with my camera and how much I could push myself into getting that next favorite photo. I signed up for more workshops and realized how much I needed to learn. I made friends with other moms nearby and across the country and world. I had found a new passion, something I could create, something for me and me alone.

So here I am now 2 years since I started this journey, constantly learning, trying new angles, lighting, perspectives, and chasing that next new favorite photo.