I am in love with the above photo.

(And they were so sweet about letting me play with this shot, before moving on to the funny, playful kid shots.

I have had the pleasure of working with this family before from when I first started out, and I have had the privilege of watching them grow up!

I am touched that I get to do that, capture children as they grow.

This was the end of the family session I posted last week.

(Stay tuned, there is a fun flashback of these two at the bottom!)

*****

I will end with a couple of pics from the first session we had together way back- they were some of my first clients!

Look how cute they are!

(And remember, I was JUST starting out, so be gentle.)

So fun!

Please forgive for the crazy processing, etc.

BUT please know- this was my 3rd shoot–

EVER!

But here’s something to inspire those of you just starting out:

1) I was using a Nikon D40 with lenses that came with it- most of my clients owned a better camera than I was shooting with!

2) I was also using a 50mm lens that would only shoot in manual focus, which meant I had to manually focus the lens for EVERY SINGLE SHOT.

{That was crazy when working with little kids, let me tell you! These guys pictured here made my job easy!

Whew! I get tired just thinking back to that camera and that lens!}

3) I did not have Photoshop or Lightroom or any real editing software- I used what my computer came with!

Now I shoot with a Nikon D700, in manual mode, but I have the focus on autofocus most of the time.

And now I use Lightroom or Photoshop to edit my pics, depending what I am doing.

I am telling you aspiring photographers, and artists of any medium this

so you don’t sit around and wait to get the best gear or software to show up

before following your passion.

Just get out there and make it happen with whatever you got!

***

How did I get clients when I wasn’t using all the fancy gear?

Well, I wasn’t trying to get clients at this point.

What happened was, I was shooting for fun-AKA getting out there and doing it-

and clients just showed up, and began asking for me to shoot their families or kids-

it just all snowballed from there!

That turned into lots of great practice for me, a portfolio to start with,

and then the money I made was all saved up and then spent on the awesome gear I have now!

*****

Whoa- that was an unexpected end to this post!

Yes, I am a teensy bit shy about sharing my humble beginnings, but I am hoping to inspire you

No matter what type of creative passion you have.

Have a great week! Now get out there and create something ;)

xoxo Shell