Meet Your High Desert Portrait Photographer for Playful Families

Nice to meet you!

Well hello!

I want to introduce myself and give a little backstory so you can see if we’d be a good fit. Or not. No hard feelings. Seriously.

This is how I became a professional photographer and fell in love with taking pictures of people. You should grab a cup of tea and maybe a snack. This will be long-winded.

I grew up disliking photography. Hating it actually.

Shock and awe, I know! I’m not the usual, "I took a class in high school and fell in love with my camera”, blah blah blah, person.

I mean, I did have a 110 camera as a kid ( remember those? No? Ask your parents) and then a 35mm later when I was older. But I never loooved taking photos.

Even as a new mom, I didn’t take thousands of photos of my kids. Whoops!

My dad was and still is a landscape photographer.

We would go on all the road trips when I was younger. He’d take 8,697 photos of mountains, rocks, bugs, and more mountains. And, if I were lucky, every so often, I’d be in the photo too. I was about 1/2” tall in a 3×5 print. Often, my finger would make an appearance as a size reference for a rock. Woooo!

I’m probably being dramatic. Although I distinctly remember one photo of me hanging on the hallway wall. I had just fallen into the freezing cold river of melting snow in Yosemite. And I was crying. Ugly crying! Ah, precious memories. Ha!

Pins, scissors, and thread.

Fast forward many years, and I opened a handmade shop on Etsy.

I sew. All the things.

I have a sewing blog where I share patterns, reviews, and sewing tips. I had to learn product photography to sell my items on the interwebs.

Lots of online lessons, courses, and a few cameras later, I sorta figured it out. However, I still felt like something was missing.

When the 2020 Pandaroo hit, I decided to take a photography course online that wasn’t only about product photography. Up until this point, I only knew how to take pictures of stuff. And things.

I learned so much from the course, and something inside of me awakened! But, alas, I still felt like I wasn’t “getting it”. I decided to enroll in some photography classes at the local college.

It was through my very first in-person class that I realized what was missing in my photography.

It was people! People were missing from my photos.

I loved connecting with strangers and taking their photos. It was like I found something hidden deep inside me. Once I realized I wanted to take photos of people and not things or stuff, it all came together!

I took more classes and then decided to give it a go at a photography business. So, here I am!

Here’s why I’m able to offer something unique for you:

I’m not a regular photographer, I’m a cool photographer (Mean Girls reference) wink, wink. I’m different.

I’m invested in finding something fun and special in you. I want to photograph the side of you that is screaming to come out.

I want to photograph you laughing or crying. I want to sprinkle a little magic into your images, even if you only need business portraits (aka headshots). And, I will print those images so you can hang them on your walls. You deserve to have your gorgeous face all over your home.

If you’d love to create all the magical memories and celebrate yourself, book a call! Can’t wait to chat with you.

Cheers,

Annette