Since i began taking photos at the age of thrirteen, I was very private with my photography. I was never one to pull up my photos as a result of that I never recieved feedback from people. Im also a self taught photographer, meaning that I have taught myself how to shoot in every single mode F stops and all as well as how to deal with Lightroom and Photoshop. Photography for me was a hobby, I never saw my photos as something that I could use to make a career out of let allow attend a college for. I went from nature photography to sports photography, I spent 6 NHL seasons shooting the Chicago Blackhawks just for fun. When I was shooting the Blackhawks those games where really the only time that I ever picked up my DSLR, it wasn't until my senior year of high school that I dove head first back into photography, making a successful comeback none the less.
I was pushed to create a portfolio before I applied for Columbia College Chicago. Once I began to build my portfolio it came to my attention that I only had sports shots and some old nature shots. That's when I began looking for models to shoot with, the first one I shot with was one of my friends. After the shoot, she and I brought my photos to my art teacher someone who I trusted to help me find my artist flare. The first thing he said, which was along the lines of, I wasn't expecting photos like this, these look like they belong in a magazine. Which I took with a grain of salt, I spent the rest of my senior year taking senior photos, and reciving the same positive response.
Even with people telling me that I had an eye for photography at seventeen that some photographers spend their whole careers trying to find, I never saw it. For me, I can't begin to explain my photographer's eye, I just point and shoot, I couldn't tell you what draws me to a specific location or a specific angle. I can however tell you that I do not find my photos 'amazing' let alone something where I have never, and not to toot my own horn, recieved a negitive comment for. It isn't a modesty thing either, I just don't see it.
