Photography Hobby or Career

Since I was just a kid, I've always loved to take pictures. Now as an adult it has become one of my many hobbies. But it can also be a rewarding career as well.

Photography Hobby or Career

    I may be dating myself here, but I remember when cameras took 110 film and had those gorgeous flash cubes on top. (Do you remember those?) I was quite young, so my parents didn't let me use their camera. When I was about 11, we went to neighbors moving sale, and they had a Kodak 110 camera for sale. I begged my parents for that camera. They obliged under the condition that I used my allowance for film and processing. (Yeah, I'm old enough that we had to wait for our film to be processed.) I was stoked!

    I took pictures of everything! I quickly learned that 110 film and developing those pictures was expensive. Jump forward to digital cameras. Now I could see every image I took. Which meant I could snap fifty or more pictures, and keep the best. I was gobsmacked at how amazing this was! (Yeah yeah. I'm old enough to remember the invention of digital cameras.) Now with the burst function, I am sure to capture the very best shots of my son and my furry daughters.

    That option came in handy with my son. He's autistic and getting him to look at me wasn't always easy! I've been homeschooling him since he was five. So that means no yearly class pictures. We live on a very tight budget, so getting them done wasn't always an option. Instead, I use my love of photography to stage his yearly school photos. Then I send them to Walmart to get printed for family and friends.

    My favorite way to capture these is by choosing a gorgeous setting outside. The lighting is more natural, and it's easier to get clear shots if it's a nice day. However, setting up a shoot inside isn't too hard either. Baby pictures were easy. I took his Boppy pillow and draped it with a nice baby blanket, and was able to pose him and get perfect pictures. When Liam was four, I hung an American flag on the wall, and pulled my antique trunk over. I posed him on it and got the most adorable snapshots. They're actually my husband's favorite ones. However, now that he's older, getting him to take time out of his "busy day" to pose for me is like pulling teeth. So when we're out exploring, I set my camera to burst mode and capture as many images as I can, then delete the bad ones. I did get him to pose for me this year. However, he only gave me fifteen minutes of his precious time.

Career?

    I have pondered taking my love of photography and editing to the next level and turning it into a career. Friends and family have paid me to do their family photos, and it was so enjoyable. However, being socially awkward, taking pictures of close friends and family, is much easier than capturing those memories for total strangers. So for me, turning this hobby into a career wasn't an option. However, for many it is. Take Blake Rubin for example.

Blake Rubin

    Blake is a photographer from Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Much like myself, she too loved the art form since she was a child. However, Blake took her passion one step further, and worked her tail off to go to school, and hone her craft. She uses her camera to pull viewers into her world. Blake really has an eye for beauty.

    Ms. Rubin loves to photograph her hometown of Philadelphia Pennsylvania. There are so many gorgeous things to see in Philly, it's no surprise she enjoys capturing it all. Blake also loves to travel an capture every moment. Recently she went to Italy. From taking pictures of the big cities, to small villages, Blake can pull the viewer in, so they feel that they are actually there.

I love this image of my boys (They were 14 and 4)

     Knowing how hard it was to pay for her dream, Blake has even started the Blake Rubin Foundation Scholarship. She uses this to give back, pay it forward to other college students, and help future photographers dreams to come true. How wonderful is that? We need more people like Blake in this world!

Being a Not So Special Needs Mother IS My Career

    It was brought to my attention yesterday that recently someone in my family (by blood, not by choice of course,) informed my mother that, "well at least my children have careers to be proud of."

    To say I was immediately infuriated was an understatement. 

    My voice went from normal to "Get the demon out of her!" in a matter of seconds. Seriously, my husband said he was waiting for my head to start spinning on my shoulders.

Wait a frigging minute!

    I'm not knocking anyone for their careers or lack thereof, but in my humble opinion, a career does NOT define us. I don't care if you're the most gifted neurosurgeon on the planet, you can still be an a$$hole, and that isn't something to be proud of.

   Truth is, I used to have a career. I self taught myself to tattoo and worked in not just one, but TWO shops in busy cities. I was in a tv commercial (it was so embarrassing,) and constantly booked. I also made DAMN good money! Then I became pregnant. I was high risk and immediately put on bed rest.

Bye bye career!

    I didn't care. The miracle inside of me was more important than a career. Fast forward a few years. When Liam was just five, and getting ready to start school, I decided I needed to find myself and start tattooing again. The guy took one look at my portfolio and hired me on the spot. Just days before I was to start working, Liam was diagnosed as Autistic.

    With a heavy heart, I contacted the gentleman and declined the job offer. Our world was spinning, much like our little boy. I started veraciously reading every book on Autism that I could get my hands on. I became a Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania Peer Mentor, to support and walk other parents through the diagnosis process. Eventually, I started a blog to educate others who were in the same boat as us.

    That flourished into a Facebook page. From there, a local support group. I organized the first ever autism walk in our town, got our local theaters to host sensory friendly movies, did Christmas parties with sensory santas, decorated the town for Autism, had a party to educate neighbor kids about autism, (our local news station actually came to it and did a story on Liam,) and so much more.

    I've grown into a better writer. I've been featured in Autism Parenting Magazine. I was published on Yahoo Parenting, (which was such an honor.) I have been featured several times on The Mighty, Sandwiches and Psych Meds, BlogHer, and more. Liam and I made the cover of Parenting Special Needs magazine. And Liam did two campaigns with Paper Clouds Apparel, to raise money for Autism charities.

    So no, as this person stated to my mother, I don't have a career per say. But guess what? In five short years I've educated and helped more people than I can even count. More people than she could ever fathom.

You know what, I'm proud of that!

    I'm lucky to be able to stay home and care for my miracle child. To be able to home school him, help him with therapy, be there for other families that walk a similar journey, and juggle a few writing jobs here and there.  I'm also proud that unlike that person, I'm not an a$$hole. I'm also not perfect, nor special, but I try damn hard to help anyone that may need a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen.

    I have made some amazing friends thanks to this journey. Friends that I CHOOSE as my family. I don't need people like her in my life, and I don't need a "title" to have a purpose. My purpose is here, and I'm okay with that.