About
September 18, 2009[Short Version]
I’m a non-traditional, candid lifestyle photographer specializing in custom artistic on-location child, family and pet portraits using only natural lighting. Rather than the typical “cheesy” portraits, I enjoy capturing the essence and individuality of my clients by allowing them to just be themselves and turning their moments into memories. “Life, Love, Laughter…Click, a Moment Captured.”
I am a Photoshop expert and my background is in web/graphic design, and photo restoration and retouching, which I have done since 1997. Additionally, I also enjoy drawing portraits in charcoal. Having been obsessed with taking pictures since I was around 8 years old, I recently decided to turn that obsession into a career – and CandidHams Photography was born.
{You can stop there if you don’t have time to read…but if you do, please read on!}
[Extended Version]
OK…that was ‘Lovella the Professional’…I thought about just being ‘normal’ and writing a short paragraph summarizing my methods and background in photography like everyone else and leaving it at that…but like most people, especially creative people [wink] I am multi-faceted. You got my professional blurb, but now I want you to get to know ME – the person who you’re allowing into your home, around your kids, pets and family, following them around and digitally visually documenting your family’s special moments. I want you to feel at ease when you allow me, a stranger into your life for a few hours. It may look like a short novel, but I think it’ll be worth your while. So, with that said…
[Novella Ahead]
Lovella, the Human: I like moonlit walks on the beach, good books….oh wait, wrong venue [smile]
I prefer to get to know my clients and for them to be as comfortable as possible, so here’s a bit about me, my background, my life, work and my theory on why I prefer ‘natural’ photographs as opposed to posed ones!
I’m a married mom of one son, Cheytan (Sioux for Falcon) born Jan 23, 2009, who you’ll see quite a few photos of throughout the site – he’s my muse, my inspiration. In addition to my creative endeavors, in design and marketing, I’ve worked with animals collectively, for 17 years (sheesh! am I really that old???) as a Veterinary Technician, groomer, wildlife rehabilitator and pet sitter for aggressive, geriatric and medication-dependent pets. Because of my background with pets and animals, I’m very comfortable with working with photographing them.
I’ve always been artistic and creative – I love to draw and am a guitarist and singer/songwriter – and thrive on it. So when I got my first computer and began doing web design back in 1997, I quickly became a computer geek while learning design techniques and the latest web and graphic design programs [and loved every minute of it]. Around 2001-02, I branched off into graphic design. Web design (though I still do some) was becoming something that anyone with a site building application could do at home, and no one wanted to pay for the time and effort it took me to custom design something from scratch. [My artistic side was crushed but my practical side understood and agreed with them] Graphic design also allowed me more freedom.
I have always been drawn to beauty and I have been intrigued by photographs my entire life. As a child, I would go through rolls and rolls of film with my dollar-store camera, saving my pennies and paying extra for the one hour photo developing, much to my grandmother’s chagrin. I would then sit for hours and go through each picture, studying every minute detail. I can still stare at a photo for an hour and lose track of time. I also tend to lean towards the side of being a perfectionist when it comes to my art. When I would draw portraits of peoples’ faces, if the eyes didn’t have the right look, or something just seemed off…well, there went 8 hours of drawing into the garbage can. [I have gotten a easier on myself] I really am my own worst critic!
Waaay back in the 90′s, while learning web design, one of the first things I learned with Photoshop and kind of ‘fell into’ doing was photo retouching. Back in 1997-98 friends of mine were in a band and wanted their photos to ‘pop’. Always up for a challenge, I told them to let me work on it. I took tutorials and watched web seminars and with a lot of plain old trial and error, I learned how to enhance, retouch and restore photos. It was amazing! “You mean I can make this look even more perfect??? Awesome!” It also saved me a lot of money a few years later when I got into modeling. I was able to retouch my own photos if needed. My photographers liked my work so much that they hired me to retouch their other models’ photos.
Back to the present…after moving from NJ to North Carolina a few years ago, getting married and then recently having my son, I decided to make retouching work my main priority career-wise. Then, my husband, also my biggest fan, suggested I take my OWN photos…what a novel idea!
I had been working down here as a veterinary technician for one of the largest shelters in the country, but after being pregnant and becoming a mom, I felt I could no longer be a part of euthanasia. I was never comfortable with being around it, but something clicked in my heart after my son was born that just said, “no way, Jose, not gonna happen” when it came to even being in the room when shelter animals were going to be ‘led to the great beyond’, so to speak. Because of my newly-enhanced conscience, I was no longer able to fulfill my duties as a vet tech and had to quit. Scary, especially when everyone else was scrambling to find a job with the bad economy, but I felt there was good reason for it. Several, in fact. I could raise my son, and I could work with my passion for photography.
Because I have been in front of the camera, as a model, (and hated it), I FULLY understand how anxious it can make some people – ESPECIALLY for headshots and photos for modeling portfolios and such. “Do I look stupid?”, “Do these pants make me look fat?”…[wink] – you get the point. I tend to be a comedienne and will do anything to make people laugh and feel more comfortable – mostly at my own expense! You need me to wear a bag on my head? No problem! [side note: you laugh, but I requested just that on my first modeling shoot] — I just need to cut a hole out to see the camera, k? But in all seriousness, if you aren’t comfortable, it will show through in your photos. My job is to make sure you look your best and are happy with the end result. Just…reeeeelllaaaax…
I’ve found that concerning photography, animals and children are very similar. This is why I prefer ‘capturing a moment’ rather than trying to make a baby or a pet sit still long enough for me to get a semi-ok photograph. Maybe, juuust maybe, after pleading and begging a child, they might give us one cute smile, but the end result is a grumpy kid and stressed out parents – same goes for pets. I prefer to just let them do what they normally do and play a ‘fly on the wall’. Sessions with children should be calm and fun, not work…kids HATE work! I have no set limits to the number of photos I snap at any given session – I want my clients to be happy and will take as many as I need to so they have more to choose from. I’ve been known to belly crawl to get the perfect shot of Fluffy or Fido lounging in the sun too. [photography is hard physical labor! haha] My theory is, you can sit a child on a seat in front of a cute background and try to get them to smile any day, or try to convince your pets to sit still and not look like they’re being reprimanded for something, but capturing them in their normal routine, (or natural habitat, if you will, 
) just being them-[silly, adorable, bashful - insert appropriate adjective here]-selves is like freezing that moment in time – something you can cherish and look back upon forever. Some may disagree – but that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
So here I am. My name is Lovella, and I’ll be your photographer today. Welcome to my home on the web.
Cawl me, let’s tawk…{wink} |
704.951.7711
