Why would I do that?

In my journey to own my studio, rock photography in general and achieve something great…I’ve discovered it’s the fun side roads that can make this journey more fun and more enjoyable and more diverse.

I’ve taken classes in digital photography, photoshop, lightroom, film photography, color theory, studio management, posing, lighting, portraiture, and now an entire class in alternative processes. Yep. I want to own a portrait studio and I am absolutely loving the idea of learning more processes. Will it help my portraits by learning these chemicals, by creating funky art and by spending weeks and weeks NOT shooting with a DSLR, but rather…a Holga? Why waste the time? Why not focus on only studio knowledge?

Well, I’ll tell you. YES. My personal belief is that it will make me a MUCH better portrait photographer. WHY? Because I live in a small town where I could throw a rock and probably hit 20 mom-tographers. Yep…the mom with a rebel that charges $20 for a CD of images. I swear, they’re born and bred here in my town. And ya know what? I started off as one also. (although I’ve said that and had people shocked that I’d claim that. They swear I never was…) No hating on them. I was that mom taking pictures of my kid on the baseball and football fields…taking “portraits” of friends’ kids for their senior photos, baby pictures. I thought I was AMAZING. I believed what people said. Then I decided to learn. First think that I learned was that I was NOT amazing. I couldn’t take the camera off “auto”. For real. I didn’t know how. So about a decade ago, armed with YEARS of “shooting” but not learning…I decided to own this gig.

I’ve done some alternative processes. I’ve shot with a Holga. I actually own several of them. I’ve done cyanotypes, vandykes, and gum prints…But to really focus in and make more art? To notice completely different aspects of prints and composition and light and shadow… to expand my mind in more creative ways? THIS. This is one of the things that will set me apart from the average person with a camera. THIS. I can play in chemicals and make art. I can shoot and edit and digitally enhance and develop film and do alternative processes and create art in all of these ways. I’m so excited about this. I cannot wait to get down and dirty in art. ha!

In 30 years I completely see myself as this little groovy woman…making art…maybe running naked in my personal forest somewhere and talking to the butterflies. Yep.