"do what you love... love what you do"
All my life I've been obsessed with photography. As a child, I remember modelling for my grandmother while my grandfather snapped the pictures on his 35mm camera. As a young adult I fell in love with the Tasmanian wilderness in my attempts to capture the pristine beauty of my island home. When I became a mum, my daughter became my muse as I developed an interest in portraiture. And when I lived in Napa Valley, California, USA for three years, it was there and then that I began turning my love of a hobby into a profession.
With a bit of luck being in the right place at the right time and help from some willing mentors, I was recruited as one of Alan's Studio on Main's newest wedding photographers when some of my photos caught their eye upon printing at their professional lab. "You've got the artistic eye which can only come naturally; the technical side you can learn," my new boss told me and I was taken under their studio's wing where I was trained firsthand in the science as well as the art of photography. I began by assisting with elopements and small weddings until I was ready to take over on my own, soon photographing up to 50 per year. Many hours were spent being educated in Photoshop, the modern day darkroom. Studio on Main's collaborative approach then allowed me to work closely with one of their colleagues, Briana Marie Photography, who highly influenced my photojournalistic style when she asked me to assist her with bigger weddings. By the time I moved back to Tasmania, Australia, I was ready to launch my own photography business and now here I am in my third year as sole proprietor with a total of five years professional experience and hundreds of weddings, portraiture and commercial work in my portfolio to show for it! In addition to my professional work experience I have a Certificate IV in Small Business Management from JENARD Training & Personnel; I am a fully accredited member of the Australian Institute for Professional Photographers (AIPP); I have been voted one of the Top Ten 2010 wedding photographers in Tasmania by The Knot magazine (theknot.com.au); and I have been published as a photojournalist and regular contributor to Tasmanian Life and LittleOne Baby magazines.
However one of the most valuable things I have learned from working with clients over these years is that the importance of personality and people skills is equally as important as any amount of education, experience and accolades and cannot be underestimated in this industry. A photographer's artistic eye is pertinent but it is only one piece... combined with state of the art equipment (like my top of the line Nikon D3 and suite of accessories) and computer software (such as Photoshop CS5) and the technical know-how to use it this as well as the ability to make people relax and just be themselves in order to create and capture more moments, is what I've come to believe makes a photographer one of the best. I hope my work speaks for itself but as you view my web portfolio I will let you be the judge...
