A Photographer’s Journey // 2008-2016 // Before & Afters

So, for some strange reason, I got this wild idea:
what if I went back thru my old hard drives & published highlights from some of the very first sessions that I did?

I was backing up old pictures in the cloud, and had stumbled across some real “winners”, some real “gems” [if you know what I mean] when the idea hit me to do a “before & after” post.
I have officially been in business since 2012, but I began dabbling in photography back in 2008. Amazingly enough [and you’ll agree with me after you see these images], the 3 families that I think of as my first clients – still come back to me! Year after year. Even after I delivered this crazy nonsense from their first sessions!

But let me show you. This will be kind of fun.

Meet Paul & Naomi.
In 2008, these 2 lovebirds were preparing to get married. Being best friends with Naomi and having a camera – meant that I was qualified to take some engagement pictures for them! Literally having never done ANYTHING like a formal session before, I agreed & off we went to Mammoth Park. We had a blast & I loved photographing them so much! They were so cute! And so in love! And it was so fun!

Of course, then I took the images home and “edited” them – I didn’t have Photoshop yet, so I can’t even remember how I went about doing that! But, I gave them a disk with such lovely images as follows:

Okay, so I didn’t apply crazy weird filters to all of them. In fact, some of the photos turned out pretty good! Especially considering that I had zero experience to draw off of!
These images of Paul & Naomi standing in front of the tree? I’ll never forget – that was the exact moment where I realized that sure, I could manipulate my camera to do what I wanted it to to a certain extent, but I wanted to do more. And that’s when I realized, I needed a better camera.

Fast forward 8 years [yes, they’re coming up on 8 years of marriage – what?!] & 2 kids later! Here are some images from the last session we did together, last fall:

Okay, SO! 2008 was a big year for me: I shot my first session, realized photography might be something I was interested in pursuing, and second-shot my first wedding. I also upgraded my camera to a Canon 40D – oooohhhh. Yes, it was amazing. I had full control over my settings and could shoot in manual focus! It was amazing!

In 2009, I spent most of that year in Florida, working as an intern at Disney World. I was a PhotoPass Photographer for 3 out of my 8 months there & learned a lot. Something about putting hundreds of people in front of my camera on a daily basis to give you lots of experience! In 2009 – I shot my first solo wedding! I remember talking to the bride on the phone: “I have NO idea what I’m doing, I’ve only second-shot one wedding before!” It didn’t matter to them though and Alicia & Justin were amazing first wedding clients – so encouraging and uplifting to this little baby photographer!

In 2010, I booked another wedding – Mitch & Larissa’s! Wanting to do engagement pictures with them, we set off to an overlook above Towanda. I just remember being crazy nervous, still completely unsure of what to do!

I delivered some gems to them as well – including this super sharpened ring shot & the “brother-sister” pose. And let’s not forget about the insane Photoshop I did on the photo of Larissa!

There were some better photos in the bunch though, I promise! Somehow, they were 100% adorable thru it all and we walked away with a few true winners!

Fast forward 6 years [6 year wedding anniversary coming up this summer! WOOP!] and add a lovable little boy and somehow they still call me for photos every fall! They’re just as adorable as ever – but see for yourself! These are from the last session we did together, last fall.

Okay! So, as you can see, I’ve definitely improved over the last few years! But I have one more family to show off to you!

Meet Samantha & Jeremy. I consider them my first “portrait” clients. We were going to church together in 2010 when they asked me if I could take some Christmas pictures for them as well as some first birthday pictures of the twins: Sophie & Bella. I nervously agreed and went off to their little apartment one evening for some photos! I left that night convinced that they would never call me again. I literally had no idea what I was doing! Because it was in the evening and we were inside, I had to use my flash, which I had no idea how to work [I could put it on top of my camera, that was about it]. All I know is that I was lucky enough to get a handful of decent shots.

Cute! But out of focus!

Somehow – they called me back the following year & we did more family photos. And somehow after that, they called me again the following year for more family photos. And thus we’ve done family photos every single year since then. Thankfully, I’ve learned a little [yeah, a TON] in the past 6 years! Plus! They’ve added 3 more BOYS to the family since that first session! If you want to see more of their adorable family, I blogged the highlights of their session from last fall here!

And there you have it! Hopefully you found this somewhat entertaining!
If you are one of these 3 families – I owe you guys BIG time for trusting me & loving me & letting me learn and experiment on you and then still somehow calling me back year after year! THANK YOU!
If you are some of my current clients – be thankful you didn’t hire me back in 2008-2010! The 2016 version of Kara is so much better & more prepared & more knowledgable than she was 8 years ago!
And if you are a photographer who might be just starting out – look how far I’ve come! Be encouraged! You will learn & grow & get better, I promise! And hopefully you have a handful of original clients who will love you enough to keep coming back to you year after year.