Over the past four years of being a professional photographer I’ve had many people ask where I received my training and how I got my start.  When I found out today that one of my photos I took at a wedding a little over 3 years ago was published in the January 2011 issue of ’Rangefinder’, I felt it was necessary to give credit where credit is due and share what happens when you take a leap of faith. 

My parents would be the first to tell you that when it comes to making decisions about the direction I’ve wanted my life to go, I usually don’t go down the “easy road” or choose the option that seems the most logical at first glance.  But it really comes down to not being afraid of taking chances, making the best of every situation and taking advantage of every opportunity to better myself.  I do have to admit that my parents’ reluctance on many of my decisions have made for some heated debates.  But every discussion has ended with me taking their advice to heart and having their full support of the decision that was mine to make.  (They really are the greatest parents in the world.)  So when I made the decision to break a 12-month lease after 2 months in Raleigh, NC to move into my best friends apartment in Myrtle Beach, SC, where I had a blown up air mattress in his office to sleep on and no job, they were not that thrilled.  But being the loving and supportive parents they are, they told me to go for it, and quite honestly, it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. 

At the time, my best friend (Andy Sams of Andy Sams Photography – based in Austin, TX), worked for a large photography studio in Myrtle Beach.  However, the studio he worked for at the time was shooting around 200 weddings a year and traveling all over the east coast for these weddings.  I was so interested in what was going on inside the walls of Gene Ho Photography that Andy took me in and introduced me to the pack.  I was lucky enough to be one of the few people who just walk inside the studio doors and get offered a job.  (However, I do think being good friends with Andy surely didn’t hurt.) 

At first it was part-time, shooting weddings on the weekends and working a day job for Wells Fargo Financial through the week.  After about 8 months of suffering at Wells Fargo, Gene and crew gave me the opportunity to come in and work full-time for the studio.  I was doing everything that needed to be done, from coffee runs, daily errands, learning the skills needed for photoshop, assisting on photo shoots, leading my own photography team on photo jobs and weddings, to eventually becoming a lead photographer and studio manager – helping Gene run his amazing studio for nearly 2 years.  And honestly, to have been able to work alongside some of the top wedding photographers in the industry is really a great honor.  It was during that time working with Gene and company, capturing thousands of images for hundreds of clients, that I took the photograph that made it into this months Rangefinder Magazine. 

Towards the end of 2010, after much discussion with my parents and a few friends, I decided to take another leap of faith and branch out on my own, opening my own photography studio.  With my background at Gene Ho and my business degree, it is an adventure and experience that I could not pass up at this moment in my life.  I love this career choice that I have made for myself and I really appreciate the opportunities I have been given to get to where I am.  I look forward to what the future has to bring to me and the new opportunities that lie ahead. 

To view the online article in Rangefinder and see my photo along with a few other photographers at Gene Ho click here.  My photo is on page 4 – top left.

To visit Andy Sams Photography click here.

To visit Gene Ho Photography click here.