{Dallas- Family -Child -Photographer -Mentor- North Texas}

We live in a day and age where advances in technology have given the average person affordable access to photography equipment – cameras, lenses and more, and because of this opportunity, the market has changed dramatically and we have a lot more company in the industry.  That’s how I started, after all.  I purchased a DSLR because it was affordable and of better quality than my previous point-and-shoot, and little by little I caught “the bug” and eventually entered the market myself, to pursue a career I could love. And I really do love it!

Because the photography industry has become so much more saturated, consumers (potential clients) have a lot more choices to make.  It’s not just the one photography studio on the corner, or the chain store studio .  Now, people can find photographers of all styles and price points, and photographers now have the job of trying to stand apart and make their own unique statement.  How do we develop a business in this competitive market, and continue to feed our artistic souls?

NEVER stop learning.  Never stop playing, experimenting, learning new things, having “play dates” with photographer friends, photographing your own children in the everyday, or pursuing personal projects.  No matter who you’ve looked to for learning and inspiration, never rely too heavily on emulating someone else’s style.  Think:  what do YOU want to say?  What is your imagination telling you?  What do you dream about?  What do you love to do?  How can you make that come alive in your own work?  HOW will you set yourself apart?

I’m a self-proclaimed queen of photo play dates, even going into my sixth year of photography.  I crave the artistic outlet.  I crave the exhilaration of making a dream in my head appear in an image.  I need to CREATE something that’s never been created before.  It’s hard, nowadays, to find anything original to do, it seems.  But EVERY ONE of us has a unique, original imagination.  It’s tapping into that storehouse of magic which is the key.

This past Spring, I made such an idea happen, (of course with my trusty partner-in-creativity, Julie Peveto Photography) and I can’t even tell you how it revived my creative heart.