Photography... Why do you do it?

Why did I decide to start my photography journey....

Well, that is a loaded question, and the answer starts with when my journey started. 

My love for photography started at a very young age. My first "gig" was my parent's wedding at 5 years old! They gave me a disposable camera and let me go nuts. The photos are a sight to see, everything from waist high and up peoples noses. That wedding is where I caught the photography bug. From 5 years old, I have always had some sort of camera in my hand. I can't tell you how many disposable cameras I've been through, at one time I had a polaroid camera, and I have had all sorts of digital cameras, from cheap ones to $100+. I took photography all throughout middle and high school, and learned how to properly shoot on a film camera. There is nothing as wonderful as shooting on a film camera and developing your own photos. It is and always will be my favorite part of photography and I loved staying in the dark room as long as I could. I took so many of my friends out to do photoshoots with that camera and I still have all of the negatives in a binder. On my 21st birthday, I was given a nice point and shoot digital camera and I started offering sessions for very cheap. Mostly just for fun, I edited on pic monkey, and it was really just because I LOVED taking photos and I couldn't stop shooting.

​In 2015, I was gifted my very first DSLR camera and I have never been so excited. The father of my oldest child and my father worked together to buy me my first professional camera (Canon T5) and from there, I have been perfecting my craft ever since. It is my biggest passion and I have never been as happy as I am behind my camera. I started with taking photos of my son Asher, and offering free sessions to friends and family. My first official name was Faerietale Photography, because of my love for faeries and faerie tales, and because I love doing creative photoshoots. But eventually, over the years, it has officially grown into what it is today, Midnight & Lace Photography.

Now the WHY...

​The why is for many different reasons. Because I love capturing memories for people to treasure forever. Because people don't typically think about a moment being gone forever and wanting to revisit it in the future. Because watching families grow and love change with the seasons is the absolute BEST thing to me and I love having repeat clients who I get to be a part of their lives for years and years to come. Because watching a woman learn to love herself and see herself as other people see her and watching the tears fall because she's finally seeing herself as beautiful makes all the hours and hours of learning and editing and shooting so freakin worth it!! Because this is my passion, the thing that sets my heart and soul aflame. The driving force behind me wanting to get up and do this every single day of my life!

But most importantly.. because when I lost my best friend Kara at 18 years old in a horrible car accident that took her and her precious unborn baby.. I realized that she was hardly ever in front of the camera. She was always taking the photos, always living in the moment, always being the light in everyones lives and the life of the party, but there just were not a ton of photos of her with her friends and family. I have a handful of photos with her that I will cherish with all my heart for the rest of my life but how I wish I could go back and make sure there were more.

This is the main driving force behind why. Because you never know when someone will be gone from your life forever and all you will have left are stories and memories and photographs. If I can give even one person memories to hold onto for the rest of their lives, I will have left my mark on this world and done something with this life I've been given. And that is all I have ever wanted to do. Give back to anyone and everyone. Make someone feel beautiful. Make someone look at my photos and laugh because of a funny memory or cry because of the emotion that they feel when they look at it. This is not just a job. This is not just pushing a button. This is my life's work and my art that I get to create and a little bitty piece of me and my heart that I give away with every session. Every single person who gets in front of my camera becomes a friend and eventually that friendship grows into family. Midnight & Lace Photography is more than just some pretty pictures and a business to me. It is my heart and my soul, my home. And I hope that each and every person who shoots with me feels the same.