This is a question that I get asked a lot, so I thought it might be helpful to share some of my tips with all of you here.
Remember, these are only suggestions based on my experience photographing seniors. Ultimately they are your photos, and I want you to love them so the choice is yours! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. I will be happy to talk with you and help you decide what's best for you. ![]() The first time I can remember being interested in photography, I was very young, probably around 8 or 9. I vividly remember my parents' Kodak Instamatic camera and being fascinated by the flash cubes. I wasn't allowed to play with it if there was film in it - film cost money and you couldn't waste a shot - but when it was empty I would walk around the house and take photos that never existed. It didn't matter though, there was just something about pressing that shutter. ![]() When I got a little older, I got a camera of my own for Christmas - a Kodak Slimline - and it was quite the upgrade. This one even had a built in flash! I remember taking it with me on a family vacation to Niagara Falls that summer because I recall using tree branches to frame my subject, a tip I had read in the owner's manual that came with my camera. If I can ever find that photo, it's definitely getting framed and hung on my wall because even though I didn't realize it at the time, it was very significant. It was one of the first photos I took with purpose. When I got a little older I got an Ansel Adams calendar as a gift. It had a different landscape photo for each month, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. That's when I fell in love with black & white photography and I am still obsessed with it to this day. As I got older my interest grew, and I even took a few classes as a teenager. People told me I had an eye for photography. But growing up in a blue collar household, I was encouraged to pursue something more "practical". I graduated high school, got an office job, met my husband and raised a family. I always worked part-time to help out with finances, but I never had a career. I sold my 35mm Minolta Maxxum camera that he'd bought me when we were dating. It was hard for me to part with, even though I hadn't used it in years. But we needed the money, I don't remember what for. Probably diapers. Fast forward a lifetime or two: the kids grew up. I changed jobs a few times. And though I was grateful to have a job, I just could not imagine staying where I was for the next phase of my life. I wanted to find something I actually enjoyed doing, but what? How could I possibly start something new at my age? I didn't want to trade one unfulfilling job for another, and I was too dependent on the extra income to just quit. Then a friend who'd gone through something similar convinced me to take a leap of faith, because ultimately being happy is far more important than having more material things in my life. I quit my job and tried going back to school, but my heart just wasn't in it. I felt a bit lost. My kids didn't need me as much anymore and now I had no job and no clue what to do with the rest of my life. ![]() Then one day during a trip to my parents' cabin in the mountains, my sister suggested that I borrow her fancy new DSLR and go for a drive. At first I was reluctant, I hadn't picked up a real camera in many years. Cameras had gone digital and I had no clue how to use it. But I was bored and it was a beautiful morning, so I went on a drive, alone. I saw some beautiful rock formations along the river just down the road, so I pulled over and took out my sister's camera. I barely knew how to turn it on and I could only use Auto mode, and suddenly I felt like an 8 year old girl again. I didn't know what I was doing, but I was fascinated. There was just something about pressing that shutter. I started to look around for things to photograph, and I came across some tiny rock sculptures that someone had made and left behind for others to enjoy. One particular sculpture was in the shape of a rectangle with a hole in the middle, and another smaller sculpture was just behind it, If I got down to ground level, I could make a picture of the smaller sculpture framed by the larger one. I made that photo with purpose, just like I had a lifetime ago in Niagara Falls. I went home and ordered a DSLR the very next week. And the rest, as they say, is history.
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