Allegra walking down the "aisle" at Piedmont Community Hall in Oakland, CA  {actually one of the images I use to ask couples to have guests put away their phones during the ceremony!}

Hello and welcome!

I am a full time photographer now but I wasn't always. You can look back on some posts on this very blog and see {and cringe at} the beginning of my journey to where I am at today. If you would like to see my commissioned works, visit my photography portfolio site here.

When I first started my journey, I photographed everything and everyone! I also thought I could be that affordable photographer that everyone could hire. But in my three years of professional photography work, I have found that not specializing and trying to do everything didn't allow my work to be consistent or good. I also have found that trying to be affordable to everyone's budget and not being able to say no to every client or inquiry robbed my family of the financial support and my presence that I promised them when I took the leap of becoming my own boss. But as they say, we all start somewhere and the key is - to start.

Wedding photography is now about 70% of my commissioned work. I also do documentary birth work, stock photography and lifestyle portrait sessions as well as collaborate with other creatives such as designers and artists to promote their work by providing images for their promotional materials either online or in print.

And just to dissuade those who think that the majority of a photographer's work is simply grabbing a camera and pressing a button - I hate to break it to you but it's not. The taking photographs part is roughly 15% of the "job"...I plan on having a Day in the Life post series - where you can follow along with a creative and just see how a day really unfolds. It's not really as glamorous as you may think or as you may see displayed across the interwebs.

If you have some photography questions, please don't hesitate to ask me! I will try and answer them as best I can.

Here are some online resources if you would like to learn how to use your DSLR or to become a better photographer.

Online Classes

Creative Live - Free learning tools plus online classes for purchase. Free classes are provided when there is a live broadcast - they also have re-broadcasts :)

The Define School - One of my favorite resources for online classes because it's more for the unconventional photographer. One who is seeking to connect with their subject and to also delve deeper within themselves to continue to produce the work they are passionate about.

Clickin Moms - One of the first sites I found when I was starting my journey since becoming a mother and losing my own. This was the catalyst for my current journey into photography {I previously studied film photography back in the 90's!}

Blogs 

Jasmine Star - Learning about her journey into the professional career she has now was really inspiring. While I am not in the same general style as Jasmine, I admire her ambition & business sense.

Photography Concentrate

Psychology for Photographers

and always - Google & YouTube!

Photographers whose work inspire me:

Jonas Peterson - The first wedding photographer whose work changed my perspective on what wedding photography is. Because of his work and this blog post, I started my active journey into wedding photography as a visual story teller.

Nirav Patel - The photographer in the above blog post link who was local to my area. The same photographer who was so so kind to answer my crazy out of nowhere email (that I am sure he gets a lot!) regarding any sort of second or third or assisting gig with him! He is truly a wonderful & talented human being.

Sam Hurd

Jeff Newsom

Dan O Day

Ed Peers

Fer Jurasti