How I Became A Photographer | A Personal Post

This week I'm working through my backlog of images that have been patiently waiting to be finished (having a computer go down did not help my productivity!) and I came across this image and for some reason it just made me think of how I got started in photography! And seeing as how I'm juuust a little behind on blogging, I thought I would take a second and just share my story for those of you that don't know.

Growing up I never had anything even close to a "fancy" camera. I always had cheap point-and-shoots, but every time I filled a roll of film I could NOT wait to get it developed. Fast forward to high school when I finally took a formal photography class through a local university that was just a creative film photography class held at night for beginners. Even having the most basic of assignments (photographing lines, stopping motion, etc) made me so happy and excited!

You would think I would've gone to college to study photography, but it wasn't until I was almost done with my accounting degree and I spent a semester abroad that I decided life was just too short to spend 40 hours a week doing something that I wasn't passionate about. It was then I decided to go after my dream career and did a 180 from the corporate world and headed off for a formal photography education in Massachusetts! I was spoiled learning on medium format film and digital camera systems and all of the professional lighting gear we could want. After I learned what an f-stop and shutter speed actually were, I headed to New York City for a couple internships before moving to Boston where I finally started to shoot weddings and fell in love with being a wedding photographer.

This black and white portrait kind of made me wish I had shot it on film, which started the whole thought process of where I started on film, but it kind of inspired me to get back to those roots and going out to shoot just for fun and to never forget the pure joy and excitement that I feel when I pick up a camera. I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately on where I want to go with my photography business, but I haven't been doing enough of remembering why I started in the first place. I'm glad I saw this image today and it reminded me of why I started this crazy journey to begin with :)

Explore North Workshop | Part Two | The Experience

Holy cow, where do I even begin?! Like April talked about in her recent blog post, we were sitting in a coffee shop back in December just talking, daydreaming, the usual, when we both agreed wouldn't it be awesome to host a workshop?! One thing led to another and our ideas quickly escalated into what became the Explore North Workshop. I have been so humbled and grateful by this whole experience and don't think I can say enough how incredible it was. Thankfully we had the amazing Shaunae Teske to help make one unforgettable weekend happen. Having 3 different photographers (haha with 3 different sizes of buns on our heads) made for such a unique workshop :)

Yesterday I shared a blog post all about the wedding styled shoot, here, and as much fun as that was to shoot (I mean, lets be real, what photographer wouldn't get all giddy for a shoot like that) I had even more fun just stepping back and watching everyone else work and experience this weekend. I cannot tell you how happy it made me feel to see other photographers so excited and invested in our workshop. Strong bonds and friendships were formed, gorgeous images were taken, but more importantly we all shared in this unique experience together. 

The last night of the workshop in particular was my favorite. After teaching all day we had free time for everyone to just hang out or do whatever they liked! I loved seeing everyone get together and head down to the beach for some fun (and revealing) portraits!! We could not have asked for a better group of photographers to spend the weekend with!! Then it was on to the massive campfire where of course an epic dance competition happened (huge shout out to Group 3 for killing it!!!) and then the cherry on top, getting to see and photograph northern lights. If anyone had walked up to see a group of photographers all laying on their stomaches in the pitch black with cameras propped up on a stick they probably would've thought we were nuts! But it was these moments that I loved and will always remember :)

I've included a bunch of behind-the-scenes images as well as a few from our fun styled engagement shoot! I can't say enough, thank you to EVERYONE involved with this workshop. I think the last thing I said Sunday to April was that I'm going to fall asleep with a smile on my face and that has lasted this whole week after as well!

Explore North Workshop | Part One | Wedding Styled Shoot

Where do I even begin?! Tomorrow I will be doing a more detailed blog post about the entire workshop and experience so I'll try to hold back the emotion, but this past weekend was truly and unforgettable one. A big part of that was the styled shoots!! The dynamic duo of Mint & Lovely put together such a unique concept for our attendees to photograph and it all came together better than I could have imagined!

I have included some highlights but I want to give a huge shout out and lots of love to all of the vendors (listed below) that contributed to the workshop!! Having such a creative and professional team to work with is invaluable and I am so grateful for all of their hard work. Enjoy these today and look for another blog post right away tomorrow :)

VENDORS: Event Stylists + Stationary: Mint & Lovely | Dress Designer: Leanne Marshall | Bridal Boutique: Flutter | Floral Designer: Saffron & Grey | Jewelry Designer: Alyssa and Anna | Hair + Makeup: Mollie Kae | Cake Designer: Cake and Cookie | Hand died linen: Aeva | Laser cut names: Everlaser | Prop Rentals: Event Essentials | Jewelry: Lizzibeth | Venue: Lake Superior Barn | Models: Brock and Katrina

Remembering The Meaning | A Personal Post

When thinking about what I wanted to blog about this week I knew it was going to be a crazy week for me. This weekend is the Explore North Workshop which is the very first workshop I have ever planned and hosted. That being said, I thought it would be nice to just take a little breather and have just a little time for reflection.

With all of the final details and busyness of every day life you can easily forget why you're doing something in the first place. You put in countless hours, sleepless nights, elevated levels of stress, and then you get to the big event and forget the reason behind it. This can happen with any work project, but unfortunately I see it happen all too often with my wedding clients as well.

That's why today, just a couple days before we head to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, I want to remind myself why I've been working so hard on this new project. I love helping others, creating a community, teaching, exploring, and most importantly sharing in a unique and valuable experience with others. April, Shaunae, and I have poured everything into this workshop so we can create the best experience possible for all of the wonderful photographers coming and I can't tell you how excited I am to see everything come together!!

I wanted to take this week to remind myself, but to also encourage you to do the same! If you're feeling overwhelmed or stressed with your wedding plans, just remember to take a step back, take a deep breath, and just remember why you're doing all of this work. It may be stressful now, but it'll all be worth it in the end :) 

Kacie + Matt | Adventurous Engagement Session | Pewits Nest, Baraboo

Whenever I meet with a couple I always love to find out more about them, their story, and their wedding day but I also want my clients to know who I am so they can not only feel comfortable with me, but trust me as well. Haha I always joke that I'm going to be your new BFF on your wedding day, but really, it's true! Your wedding photographer is someone that you are spending a great deal of time with and someone you are trusting to capture all of the memories from one of the most important days of your life. Trust is kind of important :)

From the first time I talked with Kacie and Matt I knew that they just totally awesome people and I wanted to get to know them better and work with them. The best way to do that is at your engagement session! What was even better though is that they had already put their trust in me to try out a new location that I hadn't photographed in! And even better something a little more on the adventurous side.

I am suuuuper afraid of heights (climbing up ladders makes my heart race) but I don't let that stop me from trying new things and I'm so excited that Kacie and Matt were up for the challenge as well. They braved some steep ledges to get some beautiful views at Pewits Nest, and I think it was totally worth it! They trusted me when I suggested this new location and I think we got tons of beautiful and unique portraits because of it!