For better and for worse, I’ve always loved photography. I can’t remember a time in my childhood when I didn’t love art, paintings, and pretty pictures. I got my first camera around 12 years old and dreamed of being a National Geographic photographer who traveled the world taking photos. (At least I wound up doing half of that!! Learn more about me here.) Originally I started with a love for nature and travel photography (which I do still adore), but my passion for portraits developed a few years later.

In this blog post I want to take you on a short, amusing stroll down memory lane to reveal some of my earliest work. And yes, I find these images pretty cringeworthy! As it will quickly become clear, photography is a skill that is cultivated through years and years of practice (and several hundred dollars worth of classes). The following photos were taken back in 2011, though I’d been playing around with my camera for a few years before then. Enjoy!!

Phew, glad that’s over!! I’m sure its pretty obvious that there’s a lot of room for improvement in these photos, to put it mildly. My eye for composition wasn’t too bad, but as I’m sure you can also tell, the editing is a complete, mortifying mess. There’s no consistency in the color tones, and the blurred edges of the vignette are killing me now!!

(For those who are curious, these were taken completely for free for a friend of mine when I was just starting out. It’s a good example of the old saying, you get what you pay for. For more tips on finding a photographer who can shoot images you will LOVE, click here!)

As I reflect on my journey and development in becoming a photographer, I want to share this quote that has been tremendously meaningful to me:

Today my work is definitely better than it was 8 years ago, but I still consider myself a work in progress and a lifelong student of the art. I am still striving, studying, practicing, and working on cultivating the high caliber of artistry I want to give my clients. Here’s a collection of images I photographed in 2018:

And for my fellow artists, creatives, and photographers…don’t give up. Everyone starts somewhere. Keep going!!

With love,

Bri