Being a teenager was hard, I think most of us can agree on that. Between trying to fit into the social hierarchy of public school, changing hormones, and the drama of being a teenage girl, it was no easy feat to get through. Now throw moving to a new state and leaving behind all your friends in the mix and it’s a whole other story.
My Photography Story
When I was 13 I moved from a small town in western Kentucky to, at the time, what I thought was a giant city. St. Louis was not my first choice of places to live but when my dad got offered a good job opportunity, we packed the whole family and headed north. The first year was pretty lonely but I passed the time by playing with my great dane puppy, Sofie. I honestly do not know how I would have gotten through my teenage years without her. Being a teenage girl I took a lot of photos, and I mean a lot, so eventually I took to Instagram with my plethora of blurry puppy pictures to share my sweet Sofie with the world. When I was gifted my first camera, an old Canon 10D, my hobby turned into a passion.
I wish this was the part of the story where I told you that everything was butterflies and rainbows, that I was a natural talent and started my business soon after, but that’s just not the case. I started struggling with depression a few months after I turned 15. Making friends was hard but keeping them was even harder. I was lonely and confused with my own emotions. If you have ever seen the movie Inside Out, yeah, I was Riley. One of the few things that I found made me truly happy was going out with Sofie and taking photos. It was so simple, yet so therapeutic. I quickly dove into learning the settings on my camera, the best lighting for outdoor photoshoots, and even the professional editing programs like Lightroom and Photoshop. I can’t say my artwork was good, but it made me happy and that’s all that mattered to me.
How I turned it into a business
For the longest time I told myself I was only going to do photography as a hobby, that I was not going to take something I loved so much and turn it into a chore or something I dreaded. However, when I got a job working at a daycare and I realized it had been almost 6 months since I had picked up my camera, it made me sad thinking about the thing I once cherished fading into the background. I started doing photos for friends and family members, and soon after a few for some extra cash. I realized that I was working doing what I love and it didn’t even feel like work. ShutterLee Photography was open for business not even a year later.
Ending thoughts
I often think about where I would be today had it not been for my sweet Sofie. She is now pushing 9 years old and still loves to occasionally get in front of the camera.
