amyephotos.com

The Christmas of 2008 my wonderful parents bought me a Nikon D60. I thought I was something special!!! That camera made some ah-mazing photographs! I took that camera everywhere I went. I started taking photos of nature and random macro photos. In August of 2009, (I worked full time at Lowes then) I decided I wanted to take pictures of people.. haha right? My friend Justin agreed to let me photograph his beautiful family at Heritage Park in McDonough. I had such a great time. I honestly remember it like it was yesterday! After our session, I went home and edited all of their photos (in Picasa) and I was so proud of myself. A few days later I delivered them their disc of images. Justin LOVED them. Immediately they were on his facebook and tons of people were commenting! I KNEW that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life! Since then, I have learned so much, spent way too much money, took huge leaps of faith, struggled at times, prayed, prayed, and prayed some more, cried a few times, felt overwhelmed, and so much more. One time I remember feeling that my little business was going absolutely nowhere and I should just quit! Ask my husband – who by the way has been so amazing throughout this journey. I was so upset with how things were going, and worst of all… I was comparing myself to every other photographer out there. Let me tell you, that never stops. Not in my case at least. I still do that. I hate to admit it, but I do. And honestly, its not a good thing. No matter where you are in your business, you are doing better than someone who has given up! My first photo shoot was not great – looking back at it now I smile and realize that I started there, I made those sweet memories for that family, that family loved their photos regardless if they were not “up to par” with every other photographer. Tonight as I answered a few questions for a friend who has also found that photography is her dream as well, I realized that no matter how much you make, how many weddings you photograph, how many “fans” you have, we (photographers) are all the same. We all started from scratch.. we stunk! I was so lucky to have great friends and people in my life who were willing to share their knowledge and help me. I have such a LONG way to go still, and I am looking forward to what the future holds for my little business. I wanted to share my very first photo shoot with everyone. It means so much to me. <3