When I first started thinking of putting my passion for photography into a business I took the time to watch other photographer’s and to study their work. My all time favorite photographer is Brianna Graham. I love the vibrant colors and rich beauty all of her images have. I tried many times to obtain the same look to my images…every time failing. I began to shy away from the rich and the bold and began to lean towards a more vintage or washed out look with my images. Still wanting to be able to have that look I began scouring the internet for information. Nothing I found helped me.
I am going to switch gears just to let you all in on a little secret before I finish my story about Brianna. When I am alone in a strange environment I am a chicken. I want to crawl inside of myself and hide from the world. I feel unsure of myself. I am working on changing that aspect of myself! Another part of my personality is go big or go home( which is an odd contrast to my insecurities!)…soooo I decided to board an airplane (ALL ALONE) and head to Grand Rapids to learn from Brianna. Now when I say I am a chicken I mean it. I flew out on Thursday and thank goodness it worked out that my dad was flying in a couple of hours before I flew out. As I went through customs I overheard one of the agents saying ” why is that guy just standing there?” I laughed and informed her that I am a 35 year old who still needs to hold my daddies hand. Funny thing is that as I was walking away from dad, it was all I could do to keep going…but the moment I turned the corner and couldn’t see him anymore the reality of where I was going took over. I suddenly had a spring in my step and could not wait to reach my destination. I have had the best “all alone” days I could imagine.
Brianna is such a wonderful teacher. I have acquired more knowledge in the last couple of days than I would have thought possible. As she shared her experiences and photography know-how I soaked it up like a sponge. It will be a learning curve for me to master her techniques but I am not afraid of the bold and the vibrant any longer. In fact I am going to embrace it. Here is a sampling of the images I took over the weekend. Please remember I am still learning but I am excited about my new-found knowledge!
I would also like to thank Brianna, Patrick, and their adorable daughter for giving up their family time to share themselves and share their knowledge on photography, business and all the extra little tidbits!
Okay here goes…I am rounding that corner once more;)
