Evolution of RMP Part 1: How all good things start

For all of you who have siblings, you know just how much they influence the person you become. Especially when you are the youngest of two girls.

My sister, Leah, has influenced so many aspects of my life. She taught me how to dream big. Leah cultivated my imagination when she told me to act like a ballerina twirling around our front yard. She taught me the importance of flexibility (I would forcibly make her reprise Prince Phillip’s memorable performance in Sleeping Beauty in our living room). And she would be adamant that we could not play with our Barbies until after Teacher Leah completed her lesson plan for the day.

I remember one Halloween that Leah made an impromptu doctor costume. Obviously, I needed to be her assistant. Matching costumes. The whole she-bang. When I went to my first concert, Leah was the one standing next to me. And not because we planned it that way. But because I had totally crashed her and her friends’ night out. Leah created footprints that I consistently walked in. She has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders. So it should’t be any surprise that there is no exception when it comes to RMP.

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Leah had gotten a DSLR camera after Emma (her first kiddo) was born. When I briefly used the camera to capture a few photos myself during one evening, I was SHOCKED to learn that a camera body and a lens could be two separate things (I had only ever owned a retractable zoom camera up until that point). Leah taught me a few settings, but mentioned there was a lot more that she didn’t know about the camera. So, in an effort to fulfill that love language life, I gifted Leah an in-person class with a local photographer for Christmas that year. Once Leah took the class and mentioned how helpful it had been, the true younger sibling life came out. I decided that I might just be interested in getting one of my very own fancy cameras. This desire continued to grow over a couple of years. And once, my second niece, Lauren, was born, I decided I would take the plunge.

I had been researching DSLR cameras for awhile. I knew which camera Leah had, and planned on investing in a similar model. That is how I found myself, in July 2017, perusing Amazon one quiet evening in the blood bank at UC Medical Center. It really is how most good things start, isn’t it? Late-night online shopping. I stumbled across a sale on an entry-level DSLR camera that came with a standard lens. So, I hit the Add to Cart button and patiently waited for that 2 day shipment to arrive.

When the camera arrived a few days later, I was excited to see how clear my images were and how fun it was to take pictures on something other than my phone! In preparation for this blog series, I have gone back in time to unearth some of those initial photos. At the time, I was so proud of these images! I remember thinking that the ‘blurry’ look was so cool (so much time before I realized the importance that aperture and bokeh would play in my style). Looking back today (time stamps are fantastic for reminiscing!), I am still proud of these images. They were the first few steps I took towards a dream I had never thought about before!

**I 100% thought I could sell this image to Microsoft at some point. You know, to add to their pre-loaded computer screen galleries.**

I quickly realized that this camera was much more sophisticated than any other I had owned. And I wanted to learn more. That is how I found myself, again in younger sibling fashion, scheduling the same in-person class Leah had taken a few years earlier. Spending that week with a real life, local photographer opened my eyes. There was a lot I could do with this camera. One person in the same class was passionate about landscapes. One was excited about using his camera to photograph animals. And there was another who was about to travel abroad for a 4 month trip. He was hoping for some photojournalist tips.

I entered that class with the only expectation of learning how to change out a lens. All I originally wanted was to capture my nieces growing up. Surprisingly, I left that class with a bigger passion of documenting other people’s lives, as well as my own.

That class taught me the basics (I finally learned how to change that lens!). Here are two images that I took around the time of me taking that class. You can see I was definitely experimenting with that ‘blurry’ look already!

The instructor of this particular class taught me how to shoot in automatic modes. I will say, learning how to shoot in an automatic mode is the easiest way to learn a DSLR. You only have to make one decision and the camera automatically selects the appropriate settings. This is a fantastic way to learn a sophisticated camera! The downside for a photographer, though, is that you are handing over control of the way your images look to the camera. This makes it difficult to achieve a consistent photography style.

Here are a few more images I took around that time. This time, my friend Laura acted as a stunning model for me! As you can see, even though these images were all taken within a few minutes of one another, they all look very different.

The class was exactly what I needed for teaching me the basics of my camera. But, I was frustrated with how inconsistent my images were turning out. I also had this vision of how I wanted my photos to look. And I really wasn’t achieving that. I discovered that I was drawn towards natural light photography. But, I also discovered that I did not fully understand how to use the sun to my lighting advantage. Obviously, a big dilemma. So began the search for additional educational resources!

Enter Amy & Jordan’s Facebook ad. I stumbled across this Arizona-based husband and wife photography team while scrolling through my feed one day. They marketed a free 1 hour class on how to shoot in hard lighting situations. Sign me up! Understanding lighting was still my biggest struggle that first month after taking the in-person photography class. Guys, I was so pumped after watching that first 1 hour  video. These two cross country photographers gave me tangible advice. About a style of photography that I was so wanting to achieve. With kind hearts and a sense of humor. In just 60 minutes. So, I decided to make my first big investment in RMP, before it was really RMP. I invested in my own education and enrolled in two of their photography classes. One focusing on shooting and editing, and one focusing on posing clients.

These two courses completely changed the photography game for me.

I taught myself how to shoot in manual mode. You know that big ‘M’ on professional cameras? Yep, learned how to master that bad boy. By shooting in manual mode, while incredibly difficult at first, I was finally able to gain more control of my final images. I was able to tell my camera exactly what settings to use in order to achieve a style which I like to term, ‘light, bright, and warm.’

I started taking images I was excited about! And consistently! I was starting to react to different lighting situations based on the information I was learning in these courses. My photos were beginning to look more like what I envisioned from behind the camera. So, I continued to work my way through the courses. Here are just a few images from a 4 hour long, fun photo session with Laura again (man I did not realize how much I used your face at the beginning of this journey, xoxo)! As you can see in these images, I was experimenting with different poses and lighting situations. I am still so proud of these images! You can actually still find some of these on my website and in my Portrait Session Style Guide!

While these images are an improvement from my earlier days, I was still struggling. I realized that it would only be with lots of practice that I could achieve the level of consistency that I wanted. I will spare you some of the more boring sessions I did during that time. Think ladybugs on a leaf. Butterflies on a fence. So many trees.

After feeling more confident in my ladybug photography skills, it was time to practice on real life humans again! Below is an example of me shooting my boyfriend, Jon. These two images were taken at the same park in two different locations and lighting situations. While not perfect, I was finally achieving more consistency. And I was excited!

And here was my first practice couple session, with Laura (again, xoxo) and Kevin (and Koda). Of these images, one was near the parking lot of the park we were at, one was literally in the middle of the woods, and the last two were on a path on the edge of the woods. When I finished this session, and realized that all of these images looked like they could have been taken minutes apart at the exact same spot. I was finally comfortable enough with the skills I learned to officially open up RMP’s doors for clients!

Join me next week when I will be talking about how this passion of mine started to evolve into a real business. And how finding first time clients is a bit like wrangling a unicorn!

Your girl, Rach

 

P.S.

And as a fun little wrap of this post, here are a few side-by-side images of my littlest girlfriends! What a difference two years can make, am I right! And I am not only talking about the images. These cutie pies are growing up so quickly! And 2019 also blessed us with Mallory!