One question I get asked over and over again is “how did you get started in Photography?” I never mind being asked this because I know people just are curious about how their potential wedding photographer came to do what she does and that’s okay! But I realized maybe I should share this story on my blog and put it out there for everyone to know. Everyone’s story of how they got to where they are is different! I’ve asked many of my photographer friends this very question! It’s always fun to hear the beginning of someone’s journey into what they were meant to do, isn’t it?? 🙂 So here’s my story on how I got started in Photography! (and I promise, I will try to keep this as short as possible!)

I’ve ALWAYS carried around a camera, for as long as I could remember! I would always take pictures on our vacations with my mom’s Canon AE-1 (you see! it’s in my blood to use Canon products!) or my Grandma’s Polaroid – both of which I now keep in my office 🙂 As I got older I’d use any money I had on buying disposables. ALL through high-school I carried disposable cameras with me and bring them to school, taking pictures of my friends and I and all the events we’d go to. Then it was digital cameras. I went through a MILLION digital cameras! lol Every Christmas in college it felt like I was receiving a new one for Christmas. And than on my birthday before we got engaged in 2009, my lovely husband bought me my first DSLR. It was a simple Canon Rebel XS and cost him less than $500 but I was SO excited!! My first legit digital camera! The next day I woke up and googled “HOW TO SHOOT IN MANUAL”. I knew I wanted to learn the ins and outs of my camera IMMEDIATELY and I did! By the time we took our Honeymoon in 2011, I was teaching Jose how to shoot manually! lol I’ll never forget that. And when we came back, we even took a basic DSLR class together to learn together how to use a camera properly 🙂 (FUN FACT– I always shoot manually but Jose actually always shoots in Av! That’s his preference and that’s okay with me! )

 When we came back from our honeymoon, I had a simple idea I pitched to Jose. What if I started a side photography business? It would be something small, just taking pictures of families and pets! (I had a LOT of practice photographing my own dogs! lol) So I began to ask my friends and everyone I knew on Facebook if they wanted photos! And I began to shoot EVERYTHING! Dogs, cats, families, babies, birthday parties (kids AND adults!)… you name it, I shot it! And then I shot 4 engagement sessions for close friends of mine. Engagement sessions were so different but it was something I REALLY liked. It felt so easy to photograph these couples together! 🙂

I knew the last thing I had to do was shoot a wedding to see how I liked that but HOW would I even do that?? Luckily I had a co-worker in my retail job that had a husband who photographed weddings from time and time. I approached him about it, simply asking questions and he invited me along for one of his weddings! WHAT!? I of course accepted his invitation! It was so simple – just come along for the ride, shoot with my camera and learn. I wouldn’t get getting any money from him and he didn’t NEED my photos so it really was just to give me the experience. I always tell my couples about this wedding and how it was NOTHING like what I shoot now… a small, 30 person wedding in the middle of February and it was both the bride & groom’s third marriage. But guess what? I absolutely LOVED it! I was totally and completely hooked. I knew this is what I wanted to do and I had to figure out HOW to do more of it. Yikes… those photos though. I can’t even share most of them, they are SO bad. I’ll only share two and even these are bad enough! lol Glad to know I got a LOT better at this!

Once I shot that wedding, I knew I had to start photographing the weddings & types of couples I would WANT to attract for my business! Jose and I went to hear Jasmine Star, one of the BEST in our business, speak when she was in NYC and one of the things I really took away from seeing her is I had to make friends with people in this business who were closer to my age and a year or two into their own business. They’d be able to relate to someone like me just starting out and help a girl out! Luckily I found this amazing core of photographers who welcomed me with open arms, let me second shoot for them for almost two years, use the images in my portfolio and experience a full wedding day! Every wedding was so different from the last and it made me better prepared to be on my own! I am still so thankful to all those photographers (you know who you are! love you all!) Oh and Jasmine Star? the COOLEST! Sometimes I can’t even believe I actually met her!! what?! Love her so much 🙂

In between all of the second-shooting and portfolio building – things started to change for me. My website and blog were up under my business name Tina Elizabeth Photography (FUN FACT – I actually started the business with my husband, naming it Tina & Jose Photography, but than we both decided to change it to just me!) and I started to book my own clients! I am so thankful to everyone who trusted me when I was just beginning. I gave it my ALL then and I still do now! Every wedding I shoot is a blessing and last June I was able to quit my full-time retail job and make this photography business my full-time CAREER!

And here we are! I am running this photography business of mine full-time out of our 2 bedroom apartment with my three handsome furry co-workers, our two dogs and cat. I NEVER would have imagined that I’d one day be running my own photography business but from the minute I started, I just KNEW this is what I was meant to do. I am here to serve my clients, to make their wedding day enjoyable and provide them with beautiful, lasting photographs they will cherish for years to come 🙂 I couldn’t imagine doing anything else now and am so thankful for my clients that continue to let me do this! It took a lot of hard work, a LOT of patience and a lot of dedication but I’m so proud to be Tina Elizabeth Photography 🙂