Couple: Mandy & CJ

Mandy has been one of my closest friends since she came to Hancock in middle school.

Even though Mandy and CJ went to High School together, they began dating while at Finlandia.

They are both studying business and are oh so cute!

CJ plays baseball for Finlandia University so I thought it would be fitting to take pictures at the baseball field.

We weren't adventerous enough to walk all the way down to the creek so we just took pictures on the trail instead:

Thanks for letting me take pictures of you guys!

Growth

If someone would have told me 5 years ago that people would actually pay for my photography, 

I would not have believed them.

But here I am, 6 years after I got my first DSLR and getting paid to do what I love.

Now-a-days I don't only take pictures for my own enjoyment,

but I have people paying for my work, both from my own "business" 

and I'm also paid by Michigan Tech University to take pictures for them.

What an amazing experience it has been to see myself growing as a "photographer".

I remember my first digital camera was a Sony Cybershot and at the time I would consider myself a "photographer". (Oh the imagination I had).

I would edit my pictures on a website called Picnik with effects that were far too extreme but at the time I thought they looked awesome! 

After learning from other photographers, taking classes, and now actually pursuing my art dream but transferring colleges to become a Communication, Culture, and Media major, I feel as though I have grown a lot as a photographer.

Below are some examples of what I believed were my "best" photos over the past couple of years.

Starting from oldest, with the rounded corners and bazar editing (what was I thinking??) to most recent (a little more subtle)

 

Thank you to everyone who has helped make my dream possible, I couldn't do it without you!

Rainy Days

Is it just me or do rainy days make everyone extremely tired?

I got my full 8 hours of sleep last night yet I still found myself beginning to doze off in my classes.

My ideal night would be to curl up on the couch with some hot chocolate and watch a movie...

But of course my busy schedule denies that.

Instead I will be serving tables at Applebee's and coming home to complete some homework before going to sleep.

Lately I've been endlessly reading other blogs trying to get ideas for blog posts when I don't have any sessions to share and I found something that I think I will begin doing.

Lauryn Galloway Photography posts about once a week a list of her "Highs and Lows"

These would be things like getting her hair styled (High) and getting a parking ticket (Low).

So here we go, on this rainy day with no recent sessions I will let you all in on the Highs and Lows of my life this past week.

Highs

• picking out new glasses yesterday & also getting my first pair of contacts! (it's crazy how you can put something on your eye and see so much clearer as if there wasn't even anything there!)
• having Friday off of work! (going to school and having a job is pretty hard to juggle, so getting at least one weekend day off feels awesome)
• scheduling a couples session and also a senior session for next week!
• naps 

Lows

• working a lot and trying to squeeze in time for photography here & there (I wish I had all the time in the world to just do photography!)

Once you write things down you realize you always have more Highs than Lows.

Have a great night everyone!