how I got started + my why behind mentoring

THAT 15 YEAR OLD GIRL SITTING ON THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS OPENING A USED CAMERA COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED WHERE THIS DREAM WOULD TAKE HER.

I had been playing around with cameras for a while, taking selfies and endless photos of trees or clouds or flowers. Eventually I was more drawn to people and capturing their natural smiles. We always teased my mom for her camera smile and I did everything I could imagine to do at that point to get her to laugh so her real smile came out. My siblings were mostly unwilling but sat still for me while I figured out ISO and aperture in exchange for candy or borrowing anything of mine they thought was cool.

By the time I was graduating from high school I knew this was something I wanted in my life, a creative outlet that made me come alive. And when one of my friends’ dads asked me about college, I just shrugged. I didn’t want to get a degree. I didn’t feel the need. I wanted to pursue photography as a career, make people fall in love with their natural smiles the way I had, and I didn’t see college in that story. He said I could never do it.

“You could never be successful without a degree.”

And that’s when my mind was made up.

Just. Watch. Me.

Yes, I am that stubborn.

But I didn’t have any guidance. My imagination and creativity could only take me so far. I didn’t know what I needed to run a legal or profitable business, let alone build a solid foundation for a business that could be sustainable. I was only 18.

My initial thought was to talk to other photographers who were doing well, who were light years ahead of me, and get their guidance. At least a nod in the right direction or thumbs up to keep doing what I was doing. I didn’t have a business yet. I could barely even shoot in manual. I didn’t know whether I needed an LLC, or a separate bank account. I didn’t know I could be successful without doing weddings or events or sessions that didn’t light a fire in my soul.

All I knew is I had to make this work. Somehow. Someday.

It wasn’t until a couple years later that I really dedicated myself to figuring it out. Because up until this point [and to my surprise], no one was handing me nuggets of knowledge. It was every woman for herself, because mentors weren’t as common in the industry at that point. So I went to google and youtube and read any camera manuals and watched any courses I could get my hands on, and then practiced on anything that would be patient with me. 

It’s been 10 years since I got that first camera - a used Nikon D5000 that I named Nicky, bundled with random gadgets I thought were so cool and techy (that I never even used).

Ten years trying to figure it out on my own.

Ten years, where only in the most recent 4 it finally felt like something clicked, and then skyrocketed.

But I can’t help but think of how much farther I could be, how much less tears and blood and sweat I could’ve avoided had I found someone to hold my hand as I started. Someone who would’ve helped me build a foundation for something sustainable and fun and meaningful and deep and exciting.

I wanted to be a one woman show, to only credit myself and my hard work for my success. But the stress and emotional distress isn’t worth all the glory. It has been through the Lord that I’ve been able to find mentors and cheerleaders who share in the credit for where my business is now. It’s taken a village and a family that made all the difference.

I’m so grateful for the journey. Who knows where I’d be had I not gone through what most would dub as failures, or any of the nightmare situations I had with clients? The journey has taught me A LOT and Jesus has reminded me over and over that this is more than just a creative business. It’s a mission field and where He has placed me for this season. As soon as I started to feel like I could stand on my own two feet in business I knew I wanted to help others. I wanted to be the person I so desperately needed when I first started, the person my heart desired to have cheering me on and guiding me so I could avoid so many difficult situations. I knew, if I ever got the opportunity, that I would want to help other photographers build successful businesses, too.

No one should have to guess. No one should have to walk blindly into building a sustainable, profitable, meaningful, exciting business. No one should have to do it alone.