August 7, 2018

10 Things About Me / A Birmingham Photographer

10 Things About Me | A Birmingham Photographer

These 10 Things About Me are a mix of personal tidbits and thoughts on being a photographer.

  • I love my family. I’ve felt most of my life that I wanted to be a mother. I think I would be unfulfilled without my children. With that said, sometimes I have no idea what I’m doing. Often the thought crosses my mind, “Am I really qualified to do this?”

 

  • I enjoy so many editing styles that I have a very hard time settling on one. “They” say branding is good for business, but I find myself wanting to change with the seasons (a little moodier in the fall and winter and brighter and more colorful in the spring and summer) and I have to constantly remind myself to stay consistent.

 

  • I have five favorite foods: chocolate, watermelon, popcorn, potatoes (any way you cook them), and salad (also in many varieties). I’ve been known to cry at the taste and texture of the perfect watermelon. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t pick one out if my life depended on it.)

 

  • I get a little anxious anticipating January and February; they can be shaky months for a small business owner, especially for a photographer if a lot of your business is outdoor photography. Business is booming in the fall and many people purchase family photo sessions and senior photo sessions leading up to Christmas. January and February are probably the slowest months of the year. (But that’s where At-Home photo sessions come in. I’d love to do more of these!)

 

  • I taught in a Montessori school for fifteen years until I resigned to go into photography full-time. I’ve been a photographer even longer, but BANG Images wasn’t founded until 2015. I come from a family of teachers; that’s what I always assumed I would do when I “grew up”. I loved teaching most of my 15 years and I certainly don’t regret it, but photography satisfies me in a way that teaching could not.

 

  • Most photographers I know use their names as the names of their businesses. I didn’t feel like I could get away with that. 90% of people I come across can’t pronounce my name so that’s why I chose to create one. The idea for the word BANG came from a couple of places; one, I’ve had bang(s) most of the last two decades, and two, it made a lot of sense once we started tossing ideas around for a tagline one night after dinner. My husband’s clever mind brought up the correlation between the words “bang” and “shooting,” until eventually after throwing around several options, I blurted out, “Oh, how about ‘Shooting the Ones You Love!’ ” And the group (because we had friends over for dinner) laughed and agreed it was catchy and fun in a tongue in cheek sort of way. Another truth- though I really liked it, I had to sleep on it for a few weeks. I love a good sense of humor; it’s essential in the people I surround myself with, BUT these are sensitive times and I had to consider that.

 

  • I once took self-portraits like my life depended on it. I enjoyed it. I was in art school studying photography, and I was always available when I needed a model! I much more enjoy photographing others now, but it was a good and challenging practice-one that I still try from time-to-time. (If you’re scratching your head because my timeline seems confusing, let me clarify. I first got a Bachelors in Art Education and then went back to school and got what was called a “degree upgrade” as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography two years later.)

 

  • I’ve been married since 2000. My husband is very practical and efficient. I’m complicated-a dreamer, yet also a realist, and I’m slow-methodical, I like to call it. Even though we’re different, we complement one another.

 

  • I have many more photographs of our daughter than our son. I shot film when he was little, which means I didn’t take nearly the amount of photos as I do now because of the expense and practicality. By the time I made the switch to digital, he’d decided he didn’t really like being photographed. Soooo, there are many more photos of her; and she still lets me photograph her!

 

  • I can’t imagine a job other than running a photography business I’d rather have. It’s such a gift to be able to do what you love and there isn’t a day that goes by that I take it for granted. It’s also one of the hardest things I’ve ever done- a TRUE labor of love.

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