Entering the 5th year in 2012

It first starts pretty innocently with an idea to photograph people. I would grab my friends and family members and put them near any window and click. My lighting when I first started was limited to available light… I was still intimidated with strobes and flashes. I didn’t know how to control its power and direction. But as Richard Branson once said – you don’t learn how to walk by following rules… you learn by doing it and falling down. And so that’s what I did – and falling down became natural. I made as many bad pictures as I can so I understood what I wanted lighting wise. Unfortunately, I never had a mentor and I never assisted a professional  so I wasn’t able to ask questions or actually see how things were supposed to be done. However, I always thought it’s not how you get there as long as you just get there. Then one day after years of trying – everything clicked. I had a better understanding about light. About how to control it, use it, and eliminate it. Then I finally came to a point where I knew that the success or failure of my images weren’t due to my lighting skills but my rather my own imagination. It was a fantastic realization a real defining moment in my own development.

As I finish up my 4th year of being an editorial freelance photographer and look back on different defining moments that helped my still young career – I always think back to the week when I got my first assignment. I was still in Dallas and just mailed out my Portrait of American Dream booklet to photo editors and directors around the nation. After a few weeks – I got a call from photo editor Lauren Chestnutt, SPIRIT Magazine (Southwest Airlines inflight magazine) for work. The assignment was for a story about Why Be an Angel. I couldn’t believe the opportunity. I was so excited and I knew I had to nail this and show that I can deliver the goods. That’s the pressure about being a freelancer – if you don’t deliver… someone else will and you’ll be out of business. In a weird way, I loved this type of pressure. I wanted to swing for the fences and I always hoped that one day I can play with the big boys.

4 years later – I’m still swinging for the fences with each call I get and still hoping to play with the big boys… trying to live the dream.