My Success Story
Confidence doesn’t always arrive in the way we think it does.
Throughout my life, I have been the least confident person in a room. Whether that was in school, clubs, friend groups, or personal endeavors. My confidence always fell short when I needed it most. Now, I have had my fair share of successes thus far. Still, despite those accomplishments, I’ve always felt that my purpose was unfulfilled. Creativity is in my genes, but the furthest I ever got with that was being able to play the piano (mind you, I was not great at it). My sister Elizabeth picked up oil painting from an early age, shortly becoming a modern-day Bob Ross. She was excellent at capturing any landscape that popped into her mind. It baffled me how she could turn a blank canvas into an in-depth story in a matter of hours. I sort of began to accept I would never find my creative knack, and so I remained at a distance from the artful world, admiring those who fit in.
The first time I ever picked up a camera, I believe I was around ten or so. My Grandmother gifted my sister and I Kodak Cameras, which we were just ecstatic about. I remember going out into my mother’s flower beds and taking pictures of her Foxgloves, or her Daylilies. At the time, I felt professional. Granted, I had never held a real camera before, so this was a big step. Sadly, that camera got left out in a rainstorm one afternoon, and it never turned on again. Fast forward to my senior year of high school, my sister still had her Kodak camera by the grace of God. We would do little photo shoots with it here and there, and that’s where I believe I fell in love with the camera again. Eventually, I would buy my very first camera, the old reliable T100 Canon.
HOT TAKE: I believe every photographer should start with an entry-level DSLR. You learn the absolute basics of a camera before things get too technical. You learn how to shoot in manual mode on one of those things, and you are guaranteed success in the mirrorless world. You also get to experience built-in flash and mess with that in darker lighting. This is also where your editing skills are tested the most. I remember opening up Lightroom for the first time. Boy, oh boy, was that terrifying. Surely enough, I got the hang of things before too long, and I was editing as my life depended on it.
My first big shoot was a group of grad girls- shout out to them for lifting my business off the ground. Shortly after that, it was my first couples shoot, and then snip bits of a wedding. Another shout-out to my sisters for constantly letting me practice my skills when I needed them! By December, I had received the greatest gift of all time, my first mirrorless camera. Thank you, Mom and Dad. I like to think of my R6 MII as my baby; she’s with me everywhere at all times. My camera has traveled with me to my first weddings (back to back), my first proposal, my first maternity, and my first graduation. One thing I have found to be my most creative space is social media. When I started my Instagram account over half a year ago, I started with a few followers and a lot of ambition to grow. Now I have over 1000 followers, and a huge community of fellow photographers behind me. I’ve accomplished so much from when I started to now, and I have not looked back since. So, if you made it this far, I want you to take these things with you on your confidence journey:
Pursue a life of creativity. It does not matter the form in which that takes shape; just find the thing that leaves you inspired.
Allow there to be room for mistakes. Confidence shows up when you allow yourself grace. No one has it all figured out.
Let negative opinions become silent in your world. You know what is best for your creative process, remember that.
Lean on the people around you when roadblocks appear. Collaboration is also important when building ideas.
There will be competition out there. What you should focus on is your journey, because your competition was once where you are today.
If you told me two years ago I would become a photographer someday, I would have only prayed that to be true. Today, I am beyond grateful for having so much success so early into this journey. Stay tuned for more blogs, news, and social media updates! I can’t wait to bring you along :)
-EMN
