Dear 2012 Self,

Did you ever stop to think how far you’ve come? It’s probably a healthy thing, amidst the daily culling, tossing of reject photos, searching for that “one good shot,” falling in and out of shooting ruts, to do a reality check and see where you started. Because let’s be real: your worst day now would’ve been a pipe dream only a few years ago.

Back in 2012, you started shooting for clients with your D90 and trusty 50mm. You had that “signature” editing style that really set you apart from the pack. (The one where you added a hint of blue or purple to the shadows and yellow or orange the highlights… you haven’t blocked that from your memory, have you?) Every session yielded a new lesson in something you should NEVER, not ever, do again. Yes. In hindsight, you were not a great photographer back in those days. But you know what? It was during that period you learned some of the most important life lessons to date:

• Some of the most valuable, most rewarding experiences in life are those that make you uncomfortable.
• Mastering an art requires a storied history of mistakes. If you haven’t racked up the mistakes, you probably haven’t mastered your art.
• Mastering an art requires – REQUIRES – hours and hours and hours of practice. Not including shooting clients. If you aren’t living and breathing your art, you will eventually come up against a wall where you can go no further. If you’re fine with remaining on this side of the wall, then it’s all good. But if you want to move towards mastery level, your number of hours shooting must be in the prolific range.
• And above all, you’ve gotta fake it till you make it.

So- hey! Look at that, 2012 me! While you were over there faking it by taking hundreds of frames, making mistake after mistake, logging your hours, and overall feeling pretty uncomfortable (even like an imposter sometimes), you were actually well on your way. And what’s more, you get to keep all those lessons for your whole life, and they don’t just work for photography. Test them on motherhood, teaching, writing, loving. It’s all the same- just one big journey towards a better self. 

About the photographer:

I’m Andrea Moffatt, owner of Little Story Studio, mom to two boys, teacher, and lover of little stories. If I could shoot my dream session, it would be a huge, chaotic family in their too-small house… just playing, fighting, and loving on each other all day.

I believe families in this season of their lives are in the “good old days” right now, and I want to show that beauty and joy back to them before it’s all behind them. I hope you’ll follow some of the stories I tell here…

 Website. Facebook. Instagram. YouTube. Flickr.