First Wedding!

It had been at least 2 years since I actually shot a wedding, and before that 3 years so I have to admit I had my hands full and even thought I did my homework and I thought I was pretty well prepared, I still had some OMG what now? moments. Ok so I arrive to the place chat with the bride who’s waiting to get ready and when I got get my camera there is a huge crack across the screen, lucky for me it was only the protector that cracked, I could still see the images, but what a scary thought! And I did not have a back up camera. That will be my investment as soon as I get some money from shoots a new 7D or 5D body. The switching of the lenses was also painful and complicated and I only had 2 lenses. So I definitely think a second camera body would be a great investment. I struggle with posing the couple and probably with time ( I would take too long at times to move on to the next pose ). But overall it turned out great, the couple was great, they were very good a listening to my instructions and following my lead and the bride was very cute which always helps. I'm very happy with the results, hopefully they are too.

Affordable Wedding Photography

That was the title of my post in craigslist, my mentor Oswaldo Blanco would probably slap me if he knew I was offering my services for so little money. And why ? well I need the practice, I need the portfolio and to be honest, I have no idea how it will all go down that day, so I don't want that kind of pressure or liability since I'm just starting out with weddings.  And I'm not just talking about the wedding pictures, but also the business aspect of the wedding photography, which to be honest, it's a lot. I got 4 emails in one day from brides to be, asking about the offer, and  I was as happy as if I was gonna get paid thousands of dollars when the contacted me (that's the beauty of working for something that you love). Tomorrow, I have my "First Wedding shoot" technically is my 3rd but the first since my decision to make this a full time job. I'm nervous, excited, more then anything I'm hopeful that all my hard work will pay off and I produce awesome pictures for the couple and that they are good enough to get clients more in the future.

I get by with a little help from my friends

“I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends”.  The Beatles

You know how they say the key to success is motivation and perseverance, I agree with that, but what they should really say is that “friends” whatever the 21th century definition of that is, is the true key to success... even better your Network! I never really grasp the importance of networking till a couple of months ago, when I realized that from your family and friends to your Facebook friends and blog followers your network really is the key to success. For instance I’ve tried to start a photography business before, only to find myself lost in the woods of information and ridiculous amount of waste of time. Then I had a baby and I turned 30 and it was like life gave me a gift (more like a slap in the face) Hey! Chica wake up, if you want to really be a photographer get your act together and make a plan.

Is that when my plan began? Nop, but that is when I asked myself, how do I get a plan? And my research started. Blogs, websites, facebook account, google searches and then I picked my groups:

Online: moms with cameras, mom togs, jasmine star These women spoke to me, had a voice I could relate to. My flickr groups are full of great photographers willing to help out with questions. And more then

The locals: my community I found a local group of photographers that meet once a month for $30 a year for classes, photography advice, classes and even road trips.

Friends: started offering my free services to family and friends to get a portfolio going and also some god all practice.  Rather learn from my mistakes with them than with a $2,000 wedding.

And the most important one, my husband TF, who has been more then understanding and supporting by staying with our son, while I’m of doing a photo shoot for half a day around somewhere. This is the way your partner shows real support, taking care of the things you can’t while working!

After that overload of information went away, I have found a nice spot to grow.

Intro

Excitement, Adrenalin , happiness, fear, all this are feelings that come to to mind when I think about how photography makes me feel. I still remember being a kid and looking at my Dad’s old Life magazine photos and having all those same feelings transmitted to me from those images. It wasn’t till I was 21 that I decided to join a photography group that was all about lab work and Black and white photography,  I was hooked ! it was like a drug I dreamed about photos, I was in the streets looking at for photos, it was all I could think of and do. Then I actually started doing weddings by myself with lots of skill but little equipment pictures were a hit, I got hires to do two more weddings in 2 months and then family and reality snuck in, I realized  I had to stop dreaming about photos and finish my major to graduate college soon, which demanded a lot of time and effort, I was an accounting major in one of the top schools in the country (Venezuela) if I wanted to finfish my major I had to be committed to school,  which translates in a lot of hours studying and no time for wedding shoots or photos. Then another turn I meet the love of my life and move 500,000 miles to New York, there the bug starts again, but again I have to find a job an so I start working as a full time accountant which requires long work days at times and you guessed it , not much time for photography. Fast forward 2012 I have a great job, awesome husband and something I love more than Mac and Cheese, Photos or anything on this earth, my 11 month old son David.

Being a mom makes you think about all the wonderful things you want your baby to do and experience, and how you want them to dream and live life to the fullest. That’s when I thought about my own life, what kind of hypocrite would I be if I told my kid to follow his dreams, when I did not follow my own or did not even try ? Yes, I have a wonderful life, but was that what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, I like working as an accountant, but somehow it was not enough, at least it did not feel like it was.

So here I’m, ready for the journey, where am I going ? To a future where I can proudly call myself a photographer, no more excuses, no more buts, and I’ll record every step of the journey to share my experience with  photographers  or whomever wants to join me.