Since we have a lot of new people around here lately I just wanted to make a quick little post with some information about me. I always say that when it comes to your wedding photographer, you should not only look for someone who creates beautiful images that you love BUT you should look for someone who you feel comfortable with and who you enjoy being around. Your wedding photographer will be with you throughout your whole wedding day. Having someone who you are comfortable around will make the process go so much smoother and be more enjoyable.
Fun Facts:
- I will eat ketchup on everything, and I mean everything- even banana bread. I don't even really like
french fries, but eat them for the ketchup!
- I am addicted to gum. There is not a day that goes by that I do not chew gum.
- If I could live off of gummy candy, I would.
- LOVE all animals and will try to pet any animal that I see.
- Komodo Dragons are my favorite animal.
- I have had a bunch of unique job opportunities that have helped me in every aspect of my business:
- I was a Reader Contributor for Seventeen Magazine for a little over a year. (You can find my
name in the 2004/2005 magazines!)
- I worked at Disney World for a summer.
- I managed the vert ramp on the Dew Tour, which is an action sports tour, for three years.
- I toured the states and Canada for several years on different music tours doing everything from
selling merch, to non-profits, to photography.
- I traveled the world as a wardrobe supervisor for some of the best shows on Norwegian Cruise
lines for three years.
- Travel is my joy! I constantly have wanderlust and want to visit all the amazing sites the world has
to offer. This is why I LOVE destination weddings! :)
- Music is a huge part of my life. I can listen and talk about music for days.
How I started out as a photographer:
For as long as I can remember I loved taking photos. My parents would always buy me disposable cameras and I took photos of everything and I mean everything. When I was around 12-13 years old, I went to the Nickelodeon All That Music and More Festival. I snuck up to the front of the stage (we had seats towards the back) and took a photo of 98 Degrees with my disposable camera. That was the day I got hooked! I decided right then and there that I wanted to take photos. I may have gotten a little sidetracked between then and now but it has came full circle.
In high school and college I started taking photos at concerts that I attended. I did marketing for different venues while I was in high school so I was able to attend a ton of shows for free. In college, I became part of the concert committee so I was constantly around music and concerts. After awhile my photos started getting noticed. Bands were using them for promotion and they started circulating the web. After awhile MTV noticed and started using several of my images and other companies had me take photos of different concerts. After this point, is when I started touring with different music festivals and bands. I would sell merch for the band and photograph the show.
The music scene allowed me to do two things that I loved- travel and photography. On a whim, when I was between tours, I applied to work on a cruise ship doing wardrobe. I worked for the cruise line for three years and got away from photography for a bit. I ended up meeting my husband while working and we ended up leaving the cruise line so we could settle down and get married.
While being home and deciding not to travel the world working, I was trying to decide what direction I wanted to take my career and came right back to photography. Photography was something I loved doing and something I was good at. I started doing portraits and family sessions. While I was planning my wedding, I realized that wedding photography would be perfect for me. I would be able to do photography and since wedding's are an event it still gave me the rush like photographing live concert events. Thus, my wedding photography business officially began.
Why I LOVE photographing weddings:
After all of my different jobs and photography careers, you may be asking why weddings? I love capturing the wedding day as it unfolds. Wedding photography is a tricky thing and something that keeps you on your toes to ensure that you get the right shots. My time photographing concerts has helped me tremendously with this. Just like concerts, no two weddings are the same. Being able to adapt and to different situations has helped me excel and keeps things fun and interesting.
BUT: A wedding day is a day filled with love and emotion. That emotion is raw and beautiful. I photograph weddings because I want to capture that love and emotion so my couples are able to look back on their images and have that emotion rush back to them.
So there you have it, a little quick glimpse into my life and me. Want to know more? Let's grab a coffee and chat! I love meeting new people!
