I’ve been lucky to work as a nanny for a great family for years, until recent unfortunate circumstances lead to me sitting at home with Piper, my yellow lab, thinking “Well, what now?” Before I started being a nanny, I had worked as a photographer in a portrait studio and while the setting and experience wasn’t great, it did get me behind a lens. I was hooked from then on. I’ve always wanted to pursue doing photography professionally but for one reason or another, it always got put on the back burner. I’m turning the big 3-0 this year and I’ve decided it’s now or never.
So first things first, I need to get myself a camera. A lot has changed since my days of getting to use a professional camera and I’m pretty lost. I’ve just been using some nice point and shoot Nikons and Canons, but I need to get a good quality DSLR. There are so many factors to consider and while I’ve done a lot of research, I feel like instead of coming to a decision, all I’ve gotten is a headache. Price is unfortunately going to limit what I can get for right now. I would LOVE to be able to get something mid-range and a few lenses right off the bat, but realistically I’m going to be looking at a lower price point of a decent kit, maybe with some accessories. Something decent that I can get started on and learn with. I’m going to need a solid, sort of “general use” lens that I can use for a variety of shots. I want to start building up a portfolio and I would like to get a little bit of everything in there until I figure out my niche. I especially enjoy shooting nature, landscapes and architecture but I’m not sure how feasible it will be for me to get into that market, at least not while just starting out. (If anybody wants to put out the good word to NatGeo on my behalf, be my guest!) So I also want to hone my portrait photography skills and get some experience doing family or kid/baby sessions…Maybe even pets. The other thing I need to get right away is some editing software. I have used basic photoshop in the past so I’m sort of familiar with it still, but I know zero about lightroom, and that is something that keeps getting suggested to me as a great program to use.
So if you have any advice/info/tips/suggestions to offer on any of this, please let me know. Also, if anyone has any personal “start up” stories they would like to share about how they branched into the photography field, I am all ears and would love to hear from you. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read this. While you’re here, feel free to take a look through my photos and let me know what ya’ think also.
Capturing My Focus 