Dear Photographer Featuring – Tara Herron Photography

May 17, 2017by hellodearphotographerLeave a Comment

BACK THEN :

Dear Tara,

You will start your photography journey so you can capture the sweetest times. Take photos often. Practice. Don’t get frustrated because you think you are not learning fast enough. Give yourself lots of grace as you navigate this new journey of motherhood and photography. You will learn so much over the next few years and truly find happiness through creating your art. You will endure intense emotional pain when your daughter, Halle dies, but that will become your biggest inspiration. You will find an unwavering passion for creating magic from everyday moments as you push through the pain to once again find happiness. You will find inspiration in movement and light. The light will become a powerful force driving you to keep Halle’s memory alive. Unfortunately, you will have some career disappointments along the way. Your confidence will be shaken when you fail to get accepted by Click Pro. However, you will redeem yourself a couple of months later when you win the Shoot and Share grand prize. In the future, you will continue learning by doing multiple photography workshops. You will meet wonderful photographers and fellow moms who also share the same passion. Always remember to stay honest and true to yourself. You and your children will appreciate the photos even more as they grow. Live in the light, always.

CURRENT WORK :

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

HI. I’m Tara. I’m a family and lifestyle photographer based in Nashville, TN. I’m blessed with a supportive husband and together we are raising 2 amazing children. I’m a light seeker and coffee drinker. I love to travel and met new people. Photography is my therapy.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER, PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Photographer feature by Can’t.Stop.Staring Photography – Peta Hood

May 10, 2017by hellodearphotographerLeave a Comment

DEARPHOTOGRAPHERBLOG_CANTSTOPSTARINGPHOTOGRAPHY_OLD IMAGE_2012 — circa 2012

A letter of encouragement to my past self,

I see your incredible curiosity. Your sense of wonder. Your tendency to stop and take notice. Your dedication to celebrating the little things. The things others don’t always see: The miracles of nature. The magic of light. The cheeky shadows. The intricacies of connection. The beauty hidden just beneath the surface of the mundane. The miracles present in daily life. The fascinating nuances of human behaviour. The never-to-be-repeated moments of joy. The milliseconds “in-between”.

Thank you for your dedication to celebrating these things. Even when your inner voice trembles with fear. Even at times when doubt causes your heart to sink deep into your throat. Thank you for your dedication to shining a light on what would otherwise not be fully seen. This awareness is a gift. It is something to be treasured. It makes you unique. One day it will serve you incredibly well as an artist.

Thank you for living and loving with your entire heart + soul. With intensity, passion, and honesty. Always. Dedicated to telling the truth. And fiercely working towards worrying less about whether it will be well-received.

Thank you for working hard. For being willing to dream. For your unwavering dedication to your ideals. For your desire to succeed. For taking notice of the fire in your belly. For nourishing it. For fighting hard to keep it alive. Keep going.

Thank you for remaining curious. For questioning whether there is a better way. For remaining open-minded. For having hope. For trusting in the process, despite a vast landscape of unknowns.

Thank you for your love of learning. For your intense desire to find out more. For your gentleness and compassion. For your kindness, and capacity to give.

Thank you for taking the road less travelled. For trusting your intuition to be your companion and your guide. For having the courage to be different. Keep going.

It is here that you will find the light.

The light that eventually illuminates your truth. The light that guides you home. To that place that was always within you. The place from which you were born to create. Have the courage to stand firmly in it. Even when you feel you are being pushed from the sides.

You are not like the people standing beside you. You were never meant to be. Your uniqueness is your creative gift.

Be gentle with yourself. Keep going.

Let your truth be your guide.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Peta Hood is a creative, natural light photographer based in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Queensland, Australia. Peta‘s style is honest and raw, and she is particularly drawn to creating black and white images with a nostalgic feel. She has a particular passion for documenting childhood, and motherhood, and has just embarked on a photographic project called “The Light of the Moon” – a curated series of written stories and black and white imagery of motherhood, that will be published in a beautiful book.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER, PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Photographer | feature by Chloe Lodge

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017by hellodearphotographerLeave a Comment

DEARPHOTOGRAPHERBLOG_ChloeLodgePhotography_Pic from 2010 — First images , 2010

To the photographer I am today and the one still waiting to find herself,

Be a work in progress. Don’t fight it, rush it or agonize too much that you’re not where you want to be right now. You are right where you need to be.

Breathe into your down times. They will come, enforced or not. Through life circumstance, artist’s block or perhaps both. Stay believing that your creativity and productivity will return, it never leaves you, it just quietens for a while. When the winds change and your head clears, things may even feel stronger and more interesting. Allow life to shape you, it’s what makes your voice uniquely yours. Don’t be afraid to embrace your darkness because it’s from this that you will also discover your light. Recognize your love of pleasing others but also remember not to drown out the whispering from your soul in the process.

Be unapologetically you.

Embrace the moments when everything feels right and creativity is flowing. Don’t be afraid to work hard and don’t be surprised when you succeed. Love what you do even when you hate what you do. Life is about the balance, the ying and the yang. There’s just no escaping it. In the end art is worth the fight, it’s a gift to have the time and freedom to create. Just keep working and keep progressing, each day is there for us to see, feel and capture anew.

CURRENT WORK : DEARPHOTOGRAPHERBLOG_ChloeLodgePhotography_8

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Chloe Lodge is a lifestyle photographer currently based in Dubai. Her slightly obsessive love of light and shadow is evident in her work both indoors and out, and her voice consistently sings throughout every story she tells. Chloe is currently taking time out from client work to nurture her art and her soon-to-be-born baby girl. As a Brit married to a New Zealander with their dual nationality son who was born in Malaysia their family has a truly International flavour. Over the past six years they’ve lived in Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and the Seychelles.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER, PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Photographer | feature by Amy Rushbrook of Lark + Bear

April 26, 2017by hellodearphotographer1 Comment

amyrushbrooklarkandbear

Dear (future) Photographer,

You set big, lofty goals. You always have. You set out to achieve the impossible, conquer it, then aim for the next impossible. Just remember that these successes do not define or determine your core happiness. Remember to pay attention to the way your boy cuddles into the home of your chest, the way light flickers and dances on the walls of your love-filled home, the way their laughter and their touch is like medicine for the soul. Don’t forget the simple joys of collecting eggs or reading a good (actual paper) book. Don’t forget what it feels like to feel your toes in the cool earth. Keep aiming big, keep striving to achieve the impossible, fly as high as you dare to dream, but remember to just stop, be present, pay attention and enjoy the simple and the quiet. Stay grounded. That is the core of your happiness, and no success will ever trump that.

CURRENT WORK DEARPHOTOGRAPHERBLOG_larkandbear_0008 Amy Rushbrook Lark + Bear

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Amy is a family lifestyle photographer and educator based in Melbourne, Australia and is passionate about celebrating the imperfect; the “wabi-sabi” of life. She specializes in teaching and photographing love stories for appreciators of the unconventional under the Life: Unmade banner. Amy salutes the mess of life; the weird and wonderful connections, and the beautifully chaotic and different. She loves working with those who are brave enough to just be themselves, and not feel like they need to project an image of perfection to the world. At home, Amy is Mama to one and coparent to two beautiful babes, and is happily strolling through life with her bearded love.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER, PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Photographer feature by Elena S. Blair Photography

April 19, 2017April 19, 2017by hellodearphotographerLeave a Comment

dear photographer seattle elena s blair

pastphoto_elenasblair — One of her first images

Letter to past self:

Dear Elena (then),
I know you are swimming in a sea of self doubt. I know you are trying to find your way. You are wondering if you will ever make it, if you will ever be taken seriously as an artist. You don’t even know you are an artist yet. But I want to tell you right now what your single biggest obstacle is… it’s fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of being yourself. Fear of failure. Fear of success. You are afraid to let go and really just to be you. You are afraid to be vulnerable because putting yourself out to the world as an artist hurts sometimes. If only you could see where you are now, how far you have come. You would have saved yourself sleepless nights and countless hours worrying. All you had to do was believe in yourself and trust the process. Because today, today you have found happiness and success that you didn’t know existed seven years ago. And it’s all because you let go of fear and dove straight in. If I could say one thing to myself seven years ago I would say “It’s all going to be okay. It’s all going to be beautiful. It’s not always going to be easy, but it is always going to be worth it.”

~ Elena (now)

C U R R E N T W O R K DEARPHOTOGRAPHERBLOG_elenasblairphotography

“All you had to do was believe in yourself and trust the process.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST :

Elena S Blair is a self declared people person! The Seattle based photographer, wife, and mother of three claims the relationships and connections in her life inspire her photography. Elena owns a thriving lifestyle family and newborn photography business, focusing on capturing moments and connection. Elena is passionate about helping other photographers find meaning and purpose in their work and business. She teaches workshops for photographers both in person and online and co founded Lady Boss Workshops, a education source for female entrepreneurs. She also co hosts the podcast, Creatively Unscripted.

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER, PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Photographer feature by Teresa Vick Photography

April 12, 2017by hellodearphotographerLeave a Comment

teresavick_dearphotpgrapher

TeresaVickPhotography2013_dearphotographerblog-1 — November 2013, Start of the journey. First engagement shoot.

Dear Teresa,

Above all, remember always to listen to that still, small voice that whispers truth to your soul. The one continually whispering, “you are enough.” The one that quietly leads and directs if you would just be still and listen. Gain inspiration from others around you, but in the end, let it be your own true voice that speaks. Let it be your own soul that escapes into your work. In everything you do, do it with kindness and true love, with understanding, and patience; reflecting the heart of your maker. Take someone’s hand and bring them along with you on your journey. Strive to be honest with yourself and others about your struggles. Seek a place where your weaknesses are not glossed over in a grandiose vision of self, yet where your strengths also are not suppressed from consciousness. In the end, it is not what you said or did that matters. But whether you nourished your relationship with the One who loves you and reflected His love accurately. You will fail. You will stumble. You will fall short. Accept that inevitability, but remember to get back up, shake it off, learn from it and move on. Wake up and start the day new, seeking the heart of the only true lover of your soul.”

TeresaVickPhotography_dearphotographerblog-7 More from the beach. My happy place.

ABOUT THE ARTIST :

Graphic Designer since 2005 and natural light photographer producing mostly black and white images, some color, with a fine art style, located in Vancouver, WA, USA. I love creating. I love finding beauty in the mundane and seemingly trivial. I love being a part of creating beautiful things.

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER, PHOTOGRAPHY

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER feature by April Kraus Photography

April 5, 2017by hellodearphotographerLeave a Comment

This image that I’m including from when “I first started” but it is as far back as I can get to right now. I have been taking photos for much longer than most, as I started when I was about 18. This photo is from 2013.

I started in film. I spent most of my college years in the dark room. And then after I graduated college, I left and started working at a job that had nothing to do with photography. I was broke and couldn’t afford film or processing. I took a couple of years off and at the time, digital photography was still not accessible to the average person. I had such a deep love for film that it was very hard for me to embrace photography without it.

After I got pregnant with my first child, I started to have a hunger to shoot again and decided to give in to the “digital age” and buy a digital camera. I started shooting again, but I had no artistic voice, just an occasional “good eye” mixed with a knowledge of my camera. A few years later, I lost my mother to cancer and my entire perspective on life, memories, legacy, art and photos changed.

If I could go back in time and tell my younger self something, it would be this:

I see you. I see you trying to fit in. I see you trying to be what you see others being. I see you trying to make things that look like what everyone else is making. I see you making photos that you think everyone else wants you to make. I know that it doesn’t feel right to you. It doesn’t make sense to you, or feed your soul. It doesn’t make you feel proud, or feel like an artist. I know that you want people to like your work, but what does it matter if you don’t like it first?
Stop. Stop with this.
Instead, let your voice be heard. Stop looking when you’re shooting, and start feeling instead. Get to the heart of it. You don’t have to fit in. It’s OK. Be you. You will find yourself if you just stop this and listen. Listen to your own voice. That is your actual strength. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. I promise.

dearphotographerblog_aprilkrausphotography2

ABOUT THE ARTIST

April Kraus is a natural light photographer and artist living in Southern Arizona. She is a wife, and a mom to three. She loves finding beauty, humor and connections in everyday things.

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM