I got my first SLR camera 17 years ago as a birthday gift from my parents. Olympus OM10. I LOVED that camera and it served me well all through school. In high school and college I dabbled in portrait photography for friends and family (mostly senior photos and some couples/engagement stuff), but never charged for services or advertised for more gigs. For a little while when I moved back to Eugene after undergrad I advertised on Craigslist and got a booking or two, but it didn't really go anywhere.
Last fall my brother and his then-fiance asked me to take their engagement photos. I hadn't done a shoot in quite some time, and I couldn't believe how happy and energized I felt after that shoot. I realized that, for my own sanity, I NEEDED to start taking more photos. And, better yet, with a little one on the way, maybe I could actually add a little somethin' somethin' to the household income. So, I got to work and created my own little "business".
It has been almost a year now that I've been advertising and seeking out gigs. Thanks to family, friends and social networks this first year has been AMAZING! I have had 13 shoots since last November and have another booked for next month. I currently have TWO in the post production stage (I actually felt the need to take a day off of my "real" job in order to work on editing!). I love, love, LOVE this! I am so happy that I have found a way to do something that I love and something that makes people happy. I love seeing the comments that people leave on photos on my photo FB page, and seeing people using my work as their profile pics... and, of course, love seeing my photos hanging up in others' homes! I have yet to make a "profit" (still paying off the camera I invested in at the beginning of the year), but I only have to book 3 more shoots before I am out of the "red". =) Love.
Here's a link to my website (www.puresimplephotography.com/). I really did write this post simple to express my gratitude for the people in my life who have helped so much with this over the course of the last year (word of mouth is the BEST kind of advertisement!), but, hey, if you live in Portland/Eugene areas and need some photos taken... let me know. ;)
(P.S. Looking forward to taking Emily's 6-month photos in a couple of weeks! She's gonna be absolutely adorable in some of the cute little outfits up I picked up for her this last weekend!)
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