HELLO SPRINGTIME. My favorite time of year on the farm. New life is popping up everywhere you look.
When my sister-in-law recently asked me to take her newborn pictures, my first thought was “no way, are you crazy? I take pictures of animals, not crying babies.” Yet, here I am with my first newborn photo session under my belt.
My photography career took off in the show ring at cattle shows. At the 2017 National Junior Limousin Show & Congress I was told “umm hey so we need you to go take pictures in the ring, like now…here’s the camera.” I am pretty sure my face said something along the lines of “tell me your joking.” Up to that point, I had never held a camera in my hand, yeah you heard me right – I was at a NATIONAL show, thrown into the ring to take “good” show pictures and wait for it…I had never taken a picture on an actual camera in my life. These weren’t still photos either, they were of moving cattle and I was expected to get sharp shots…how in the world?
So, there I was, not knowing a thing about photography and in the show ring taking pictures as cattle were constantly moving around me. Did I know what a “good” picture was? No. Did I know what kind of shots my boss wanted? No. Did I know what kind of photos were popular in the show circuit? No. Did I know that there was like a bazillion settings on a camera? No.
“Wow, you took some really good photos!” Those words actually came out of my boss’s mouth after I submitted the pictures to her, and I was floored. That’s when I discovered my love for photography. The rest of that week, I was in charge of the photography for that show. I was able to learn some different settings on the camera, a few editing tricks and even learned what was considered a “good” shot.
My eye for photography has only grown and I have become much more creative since then. I have learned what types of photos people are looking for these days. I have even taken some editing classes to improve my work at postproduction.
One thing I never counted on was doing this newborn session. Over the past 3 years I have taken many pictures, whether on a ranching operation or at cattle shows but I was never really into people photography. I mean who really wants to say, “alright smile,” “I’ll give you some candy if you smile,” etc. But I loved taking pictures of my little niece. I loved taking pictures that the family will cherish forever.
Sometimes it takes a little push to turn something intimidating into a really great experience.
Sometimes all you need is a little validation and encouragement to show you what you are really great at.
Sometimes you have to just freefall and pray for the best.
Sometimes you just got to pick up the reigns and dive in headfirst.
Stay tuned,
Mal 💙
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…” James 1:17
