What a year! There are two weeks left in 2010 so I felt it would be a good idea to reflect on all that has happened. 2010 started off with a great accomplishment, I was able to graduate with a BA in visual communications. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be able to complete something like this. As a single mom for so many years, working full time, and being pulled in so many different directions, it was hard for me to stay focused on school and actually get it done. But this year it happened and I am so great full for that. You always hear people say, " If I can do it, any one can do it, " but this saying is so true in my case. I won't say going to school and completing a degree is easy because it's not. It is especially not easy when you have a family to raise at the same time. There were many times that I would sit down to do my school work after a long day of working, cooking, cleaning, helping with the kids homework and such, that I would sit at the computer and cry, because I had no energy left. It just goes to prove that when a person really puts there mind into doing something and asks GOD for help, anything and everything is possible.
After I completed school I started thinking about how I was going to afford paying back my student loans, (After the stress of completing assignments goes away, here comes the new stress of paying the government back). One of the main reasons why I went to school was to start my own media business. As I got more into creating websites for small business and local churches, I began becoming more and more interested in photography. I always loved looking at graphics and different cool visuals that you see on the Internet and I wanted to learn how to do that. I started watching a lot of how to video's on You Tube and attending different seminars. There are so many neat things that can be done with digital photography and I just grew more and more interested in learning how to create beautiful pictures.
I invested in a Canon SLR camera, a good lens, software, and lighting equipment. I even redid my basement and built a small photography studio. (Wow that happened this year too)? I started practicing, taking pictures of my daughter. A funny story real quick, because I don't want to make this very long, my first photo set up was in my basement before it was finished, with my daughter in front of a green plastic table cloth and two really big work lights. It was so funny, when I turned on the lights, my daughter was blinded, but she was a good sport and performed beautifully in front of the camera.
From there, I drug my daughter outside, in the cold and snow, and we had our second photo shoot. Long story short, my oldest daughter has been my ginny pig from the start and a great sport. After that, I started taking pictures for my friends and family members while still teaching myself more and more about lighting, posing, and photoshop techniques.
Shortly after this was when I started to admire wedding photography more and more. I would research local and international photographers and just be in awwww over some of their work. I joined a local photographers association and attended the WPPI road show in Chicago to learn more about the industry. I remember my first mini seminar which was with Chicago based wedding photographer Kenny Kim. All of the local wedding photographers that I had been researching were at this seminar and I felt like such a small fish in a big pond. I also remember felling like everyone in the room was such a super star in my eyes because I was familiar with some of the great work all of them did by religiously studying their websites and blogs. Long story short again, shortly after I decided to do wedding photography, I booked my first four weddings which is a tremendous blessing.
To sum up my journey this year I would say it has been a year of tremendous accomplishments, learning, and growth. Not only has the photography business done well, but I also was able to create websites for two churches and three small businesses. GOD has truly blessed me this year. In the mist of all that was going on, HE blessed my husband and I with an up coming new addition to our family. We are expecting our third child in February of 2011.
Looking back over this past year I cannot believe everything that I have experienced and been through in such a short period of time. I am so happy that I met and fell in love photography
because it gives me a chance to be creative, travel, meet new people, and be apart of one of the most happiest days people share. I look forward to many more experiences in 2011 and pray for the continued success of Blessed Creations. I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me grow and learn this year. To all of the brides and grooms that I had the opportunity to photograph, I thank you for entrusting me to capture your special day and I pray for blessings and prosperity for you! I want to thank my husband for helping be lug and set up equipment all over town for photoshoots. I also want to thank my mom for always being available to babysit almost every other weekend in the summer when I was busy doing weddings and such.
I am looking forward to what GOD has planned for 2011! Thanks for reading and I am sorry this turned out to be so long!
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