Simple Moments Photography.....

After a lot of soul searching.  Lots of "what am I going to do when I grow up?"  I finally decided to pursue my love for photography and start my own business.  I was feeling very insecure about going to a "professional" level.  I have had a camera attached to my face for the past 30years.  Yes, seriously.....30 years.  About 15 years ago I saved what seemed to be a lot of my waitressing money for my first "real" Nikon film camera.  And back in the day, a Nikon film camera ran about 500+.  It was a lot of money but I knew I would get my enjoyment from every dollar spent.  I would shoot off rolls of 35mm film in a matter of a day, take it to a developing lab and then with gobs of anticipation I would wait for the final prints.  After getting the final prints, you got what you took.  On average they say for every 24pictures taken 1 turns out useable.  I started by taking pictures for friends,  friends kids, random kids and whatever else I could manage to capture.  I purchased a handful of point and shoots in the past 10 years trying to find a digital camera that would capture what my Nikon film captured.  No such luck!  The great thing about film is that there isn't any delay in capturing a photograph and the small point and shoots don't allow that.

When I gave birth to Pickle, I used my Nikon film.  It was the only sure way to capture those "simple moments."  Tons of money spent on developing and finally Big D splurged on a Digital SLR Nikon D40.  AHHHHHHHHHH, I hadn't know a great camera until I got my hands on this one.  Oh my GOD!  I seriously was in heaven with my new camera.  Now I was shooting off 500+ images on a daily basis.  Then I started noticing a lighting issue with the built in flash, my standards are raising.  My in-laws treated us for Christmas to a flash, the Nikon SB 800 speedlight...another big investment.  I can't believe a flash can cost more then the camera body.  So, after about 2 years with my D40 I started outgrowing it.  It wasn't enough, and I needed more.  For Christmas 2009, 2 years after my first big SLR camera purchase.  After compare shopping, trying a higher quality professional cameras we invested in a D90 now this cost more then my first car.  Now let me just say, the camera I really wanted was well over $5000 without a lens (not do-able).  We compromised and got opinions from other photographers.  They all came back to me and said it's not the camera body that matters it's the lenses.  I thought my other camera was good but this is truly heaven in my hands.  Such a huge difference.  People have said my work is getting better which could partially be true but the camera is making the biggest difference.  

They were right, lenses make the biggest difference.  Thats where things get expensive and complicated.  The lens' I currently own are......18-55mm & 50-200mm (these both came in a package deal with my 1st SLR) and the MAC DADDY of them all is my newer 18-200mm.  The biggest thing on my list is to upgrade and get a better lens that runs (2000) big HUGE GULP.  That will have to wait for awhile, a long while!

Then there is lights and reflectors.  Photo editing programs.......Photoshop and Lightroom.  Then there is my latest love and that is an action package to cut down on editing time.  This just makes editing that much quicker.  Worth every singe penny!!!!!!

So, how am I doing it????  All the money I have earned thus far goes towards equipment, website etc.  And it will eventually pay for itself.

At first, my pricing was on the very low end of the photography scale.  Now, I'm finally understanding why the "professionals" charge what they do.  The equipment is a small fortune and it's always getting better.  Each client is approximately 10-15 hours of work (another hidden unknown in the professional world of photography).  And most importantly, a good photograph is truly an art.  Not everyone can pick up a camera and capture a total stranger's essence of life.