I started my interest in photography 6 years ago when I had my 2nd baby girl. I knew I couldn't afford to take my girls to a photographer all the time, so I decided to try to take their photos myself. Little did I know then what all the job of a photographer entailed. I used my mother in laws digital Canon Rebel and started snapping like a fool. MAN! I was a photographer! I could take all the photos I wanted in automatic just like a pro! So now I am a photographer! I have a dSLR and know how to shoot in automatic! People will pay me big bucks for this! I am seriously being sarcastic. But this is really how I felt at that moment in time. I was, in reality, a photography junkie with a dSLR that wasn't even mine. Even better, I didn't have a clue even how to use it. ISO, f-stop, bracketing---who needs that! I have AUTOMATIC! I had the misconception that most people with really nice cameras have, owning a really expensive dSLR made me a photographer. Just because I spent $989.97 on a camera didn't "make me a photographer." It meant I spent $989.97 on a camera that I didn't even know how to use! I was by know means a photographer. But, back to the story. So, I was using my mother in laws camera and there just so happened to be a photography class starting in Poplar Bluff at our community college. GREAT! I will learn everything I need to know. So, my mother in law and I enrolled. First night of class, I realized I was in a different league. Most people in the class were older with point and shoots. They barely knew how to turn them on and wanted the teacher to explain to them how to operate their camera. Bummer. Didn't learn a thing. BUT the teacher knew that I wanted a studio, so she gave me a lighting kit. It was a little home set up, and some props. I was in it! Broke it out the next day! Now I really was a pro. Dressed my daughter up really cute, hooked up the lights to the best I could figure out how, and I was off. Odd, my photos didn't even look like the professional ones I had been seeing. I turned all the buttons on the camera 5 million different ways. What gives. This camera was almost a grand! I should know how to take the photos for me!!! I was frustrated. But it wasn't my fault. it was this faulty home lighting set-up. Yep. Totally not me. I turned all the buttons and the lights just wouldn't work like I was telling the camera to do it. (Cough, Cough…fool.)
A few days later, someone came across an ad on Channel 13 about some photography equipment for sale. I jumped on it. These junk home lights were holding me back. So, I called the man. Come to find out they belonged to Paul Ripley. A professional photographer from our town who was ready to retire. I went to check them out. He wanted $400 for them. Probably priced way to high, but I was buying something that I couldn't get with purchasing new lighting. His knowledge. He told me that if I bought the lights that he would be my mentor and teach me all he could. He also told me that my competition had also called and came over and checked them out. Yeh, you guessed it. I wrote him a check right then and there. Loaded them up, took them back to my sign store, and busted them out. Well, now I have professional lighting, but my images SUCKED!! What gives? Little did I know it was me. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Around this same time I was asked to do soccer photos. GREAT! Getting paid money to take photos! Well, since I knew that I was totally not the problem, I decided to go and purchase my own camera. This would fix everything because my mother in laws was a year old and outdated. So, I go to Best Buy and purchase a Nikon d80 kit. I was in it! I had 3 days to learn a new camera before doing 300 soccer players photos. But, heck, I didn't have to learn it! That is what the green box is for! And I also must mention, it was my birthday. Great present to me huh! So, I rush home to charge the battery and get all ready to figure this puppy out.
TOO BE CONTINUED…..
