Why I became a lifestyle photographer

I guess I should start this by telling you why I became a photographer in the first place.. the answer to that one is super easy- its fun as hell, obviously. If its extremely fun and you can make a living doing it- why would you not?! So, I took an online course that taught me how to use the Nikon D7000 I had just purchased with a Best Buy credit card (that wasn’t even mine! my boyfriend at the time purchased it and I paid him monthly.. we also broke up BEFORE I was done paying it off, so that was fun) and gave me assignments to practice techniques, put what I was reading into action and to give me the opportunity to experience constructive criticism by professionals. At the time, I remember my feelings being hurt every time I scored less than 100% on an assignment (dramatic, much?) but with hindsight I am insanely grateful for someone to just tell me “hey, its okay to suck. you just started!”. and David (my instructor) was right. I did suck, and it was okay.
Unfortunately, learning from an online course led by traditionally trained studio portrait photographers only gave me critique from traditionally trained studio portrait photographers- they offered a ton of technical knowledge about lighting, terminology, composition, etc. but what I came to learn from them was “sit, pose, smile”, that if your subject was wearing pattern it would ruin your entire composition and to be rigid because business comes before anything. So, when I was about 3 years into owning a business at age 22, I quit. I decided that I hated “the business side” of owning a photography business and I swore it off forever.
Fast forward to 2017, I was 24 and I had met my husband (boyfriend at the time) who had been urging me since we met to start shooting again. He would tell me “You’re so good at it! I think if you just tried it again you might find that you like it.” and, I am very stubborn, so I stood my ground and insisted that I hated it. I didnt have the equipment. I didnt have the editing software. I didnt even have a full time job, so none of that stuff even seemed within reach to me.
The rest of that year is a blur, I remember offering to do a photo shoot for a friend just for fun and then I remember buying a Canon 5d Mark !! I can’t remember taking a break since then, it’s been a little over 2 years now since I’ve been seriously “back in the game” and only about 3 months since I’ve gotten very serious and have been running my business full time. Turns out, what I meant by “I don’t like the business side of owning a business” was “I don’t like taking posed, fake photos of cheesy stuff that doesn’t inspire me”. It’s interesting to think about the fact that had I just practiced my compromise and communication skills, provided guidance to my then-clients about what to wear and what to avoid, what to do on the day of, what to expect and if I had dedicated myself to showing then-clients what my style was… imagine how much grief I could have avoided! HA! Isn’t it funny that most of our problems in life end up being completely because of us? (If I’m the first person to tell you that, I know it sucks, but its true!)
And that thought brought me here, to lifestyle photography. I was made painfully aware of my mistake and since then have been learning more and more about what I like vs. what I love. If you know me in real life, you’ve heard me tell you that I only have a certain amount of time on earth, so I’m gonna try to avoid doing anything I don’t love doing. That applies especially in my art. I’m learning that I care less about perfectly posed newborns and so much more about seeing the raw emotion of one of the first times parents have kissed each other since the baby was born (after the first time showering since the baby was born, usually) and about being there even earlier than that- in the hospital room with people and their brand new person, brand new priorities and emotions more fresh than the bubby itself. Posing people and forcing kids to smile does not light my fire. Letting people be themselves and being allowed to see little parts of them that they may not show everyone is so fucking cool. That’s why I became a lifestyle photographer. Because its the thing that lights my fire. Its what makes editing and working on blogs and learning about keywords and research and analytics and socializing for 13 hours a day not feel like that much work- until my hips, legs and neck are radiating with the reminder that I sat in an office chair all day. Other than that, I’m not complaining. I chose lifestyle photography because it allows me to be myself and it allows you to be yourself, too.
They say that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life..
It’s definitely work. But it’s not as hard as you think. If you have something you’d love to do, just do it. Make yourself a plan and do it. If I can do it, you can do it.