Why I Want to Be A Professional Photographer (and why it's crazy)

I have not yet had a reason to question why I wanted to be a photographer, until today after an unrelated discussion with my father. If you had a conversation with me, I would be able to answer that question before it could even be asked. I'm creative. I'm intelligent. You would get that from me. In a heart beat. But the real question I have for myself is, Why on earth would I want to become a professional photographer?! Really. Why would I do that to myself? The answer surprised me as much as the question itself. I actually enjoy the challenge of running a photography business. Of course, I love everything about photography, but that isn't the main reason why I want to be a professional.


When you're running your own business, you've got to be several people all at once. And you most certainly have to have discipline. As a free-lance photographer, I am my own manager, book-keeper, research team, marketing director, ad designer, website administrator, blog publisher, and networking agent. At the same time, my work has to stand out from my competition, which consists of the already-established pro's out there, and the "free" photographers, which seems to be anyone with a camera.

Some people will hear that you're a photographer and assume it's all rockstars and lollipops, but there is a lot more to it than that. A lot more. Photography may seem like a dream job, and for me it is, but there is a lot of effort and care put into running a gig like this. Including occasional self-doubt.

In all reality, the smallest part of my job is considered the fun stuff. Having professional gear to work with, for one, and knowing how to operate the equipment with my eyes closed, above all, is fun. Attending workshops, experimenting, reading countless books, practicing. All that is fun. Traveling is fun but comes with wheels and an engine, at minimum. Shooting is by far the most exciting part. Meeting interesting people, coming up with new and impressive ideas, capturing the images at new and appealing angles, playing with lights and shadows, being one with your subject. It's all very exciting, and yes, it is fun, but it comes in small doses. When the shoot is over, the job keeps on going. I upload, cull, and begin editing the images, one by one. Processing and doing full retouches on a single image can eat up a lot of time. It can be tedious, but extremely rewarding once the work is completed. Personally, I get a rush sending the final images off to the printers. There is nothing like a professional print compared to seeing it on a computer screen. It honestly is near-magical. That magic is exactly why people hold photo-albums so close to their hearts when they bring it out to show their friends and family.

Another part of my job is to design cards, albums, and collages. Most of the time, the client wants to be involved and so they should be! I want them involved as much as they want to be. The job is not completed until my client is happy. They hired me for a reason, so my job is to leave them more than satisfied. I want them to be proud of their images. I want my clients to tell their family and friends about their experience with me, but more than that I want my clients to show their friends and family their experience.

The least fun part? Taxes. Ha ha! Any job can sound like a cool job, but it's still a job.

We all live in 3-D. Desire, Decision, and Dedication. Make the most of your life, find a way to do what you love, and no matter what, don't give up. It's going to be tough, it's going to be a whirlwind, it will be slow, there's room for highs and lows, good and bad. It's necessary. That's life. Enjoy it. Make Memories. Make History. Make pictures? Don't mind if I do!

Introducing My Brand New Website!

www.KellieAnnReynolds.com

For the past few months, I've been thinking about how badly I want/need a photography website. To get my portfolio out there, drum up hype, gain clients, new friends, artistic adventure. I wanted a website for a lot of reasons.


So, back in August, I entered a random contest through ThePhotoArgus and Twitter, then quickly forgot about it. A few weeks later, when checking my emails, I saw that I had won free website hosting for a full year, plus other goodies! So I got right to it and built up my very own portfolio. Optimism pays. It really, really does.

Picking out shots was a very challenging process. I have done this before when printing for my book. It is no easy task. Sometimes I can tell right away when a shot is awesome, other times, I over-analyze things. Somewhere along the way, I got into a depressive slump. I cried. I started to feel like my work sucks, that I suck, and I need more practice. Well, of course I need more practice. I will always want to study through various resources. But I definitely do not suck. I've been working with my gear for a little over one year now. I know that I have so much ahead of me than to worry about yesterday or 6 months ago. But it is healthy, I believe, to go through past work and take a step back to see the accomplishments and the downfalls, and just work even harder at becoming better.

I have an insatiable desire to work-work-work, play-play-play. I am forever coming up with new ideas and keeping myself awake at night with a pen and paper, writing new stuff down. Some ideas take more time than others, and I have a few ongoing projects that I plan to release in the future. I implement my creativity and listen to others creative input. I set up photo shoots in my dining room and backyard for fun, at parks, downtown, the boondocks. I get my family and friends involved, too. I work with clients. I win some and I lose some. There is no doubt that I love what I do. Photography has opened so many doors for me, much more than any other profession I've had... and I'll rock any job you give me. Honest. But photography, now... photography has consumed me.

So, now I have a photography portfolio. For the first time ever, I finally have my own nook in the world wide web. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. The web is HUGE. But I am more excited than nervous. I am happy with the outcome of my website and my branding so far. My life and work is an on-going commitment. I love being able to do what I do. And I want to keep on keeping on. I hope all my friends out there can do what they want to do, and feel the happiness that I feel and that so many others feel. While I am not yet exactly where I want to be, I am heading in that direction!

www.KellieAnnReynolds.com

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

[All Images and Content are Copyright 2010 by KellieAnn Reynolds]

I have lived near and around Northeastern Ohio for practically my entire life, however I have only been to the Cleveland Zoo twice in the last decade. The Cleveland Zoo has brought ZooKeys back. It was really popular back in the day. I have an old elephant key stashed away. The animal-shaped keys unlock audio story books full of information about the Animal Kingdom. The audio boxes can be found all over the zoo, and they now operate on solar power, which I thought was pretty awesome, except that the boxes have a big British Petroleum logo above it. The ZooKeys still have the same nostalgic appeal, but with an updated look much like a card rather than a key.

We didn't see much of the lions, but we did get to see the Clouded Leopard, perched so prettily on a branch, snoozin'. And, through the plexiglas, I spent a few curious moments with a Wolf's Monkey.






We missed seeing the Elephants due to construction, but we plan on returning to see the new African Elephant Crossing when it is unveiled next year. When we got to the Rhinoceros, we were told in secret that a baby rhino had been born and that she would be announced the first week of September. That explained why we were seeing one very lonely looking Rhino.



They have a new Dinosaur! exhibit that I was so excited to see. The Dinosaurs are medium to tall, rubber animatronics that Roar and some will spit water on you if you're not paying attention. The dinosaurs are definitely cool, but I was hoping for something a little more entertaining. The most lasting effect of the Dinosaur exhibit is the Jurassic Park theme music, which we were humming for the rest of the day.

We looked at just about everything in the the Aquatics at the Zoo. Ocean life always puts me under a love spell. I've spent hours looking at fish in tanks. One of my life goals is to learn to scuba dive so I can take underwater photographs. The octopus was very dimly lit and we almost didn't see it tucked into a corner, bein' all squishy. I have a rule that every time I see an octopus, I will take a photo of it. Jelly-fish, too. And unicorns.








I put my camera away for the Butterfly house. I was paranoid about the moisture. This gave me a chance to really be immersed and impressed. These butterflies are exotic, they are from all over the world, so we had to be very careful. They fly freely in a greenhouse to classical music while you walk in a big circle until you are ushered out the door. But while I was in there, I was convinced that I was a magical dream princess. The butterflies are so beautiful and colorful and plentiful. Sometimes the butterflies would fly right past my face and brush over my cheek or get stuck in my big hair, and they even made my eyelashes dance from their butterfly breeze. It was awesome.

Have some bees, if you please.



Monkey Island seems to have noticeably fewer monkeys than I remember, but the monkeys now share space with a few adorable, teeny-tiny antelope creatures called a Klipspringer.





My favorite part of visiting the Cleveland Zoo? The Rain-forest. We usually save it for last since it's closest to the parking lot. I love everything about the Rain Forest exhibit. I didn't take any photos because it's dewy and humid in there with the waterfalls and sprinkler systems. After the Rain Forest, we had enough time to take a trolley up the hill to walk the Northern Trek. The seals were missing and the wolves were sleeping in far, far away land and I didn't have my tripod. But we saw the three bears, the Malayan Sun Bear, the Black bear, and the Polar bear. And few minutes before we were told it was closing time, the seals came out to play :)








It feels like a new experience every time we go to the Zoo. Next, we want to see the Columbus Zoo & Pittsburgh Zoo :)

One final thought: This was the first time I had a chance to bring a camera to the zoo with me, and I tell ya, I thought Zoo photography was going to be a cake walk. What I didn't realize is, animals are animals. They don't respond like dogs and house cats. Zoo animals will turn their back on you and fall asleep, meander over to the shade at the farthest point of the map, hide from you and hide their babies, huddle together in protective groups, and urinate when you first meet them, and for a really long time. I also forgot about the dirty, scratched up plexiglas windows and sometimes unattractive caging systems. But it goes without saying, I love a good challenge. :) Also, thanks to my patient and amazing family, I was able to hang around certain exhibits long enough to get these shots.


Cleveland Metroparks Zoo | Cleveland, Ohio

[All Images and Content are Copyright 2010 by KellieAnn Reynolds]