Why I am a photographer

For as long as I can remember, photography has always been my favourite hobby. I have always been fascinated by cameras and the art of it all. In the 8th grade, I got my first digital camera as a graduation gift. It was red, sparkly, and almost never left my hand.

In high school, I was enrolled in every communication technology course, and was an avid team member of our schools television channel. It was here where I learned the basics of capturing and reporting. I created video segments and news stories about events happening in the school, as well as participated in back end production such as editing, and live broadcasting. Photography has always been an art form I turned to, whether it was reporting on school events or having impromptu photoshoots with my friends, I couldn’t get enough.

I took a detour in university, choosing to study social work at the University of Waterloo. I loved photography, but couldn’t imagine it as an actual career. So, photography became something I did for fun, but it always felt like something was missing. After five long years of school and nearly two years working in the social work field as a child and youth worker, I finally decided to take the plunge into photography full time. It was probably the scariest leap of faith I’ve ever taken, but I hit the ground running and haven’t looked back.

Now, I could not imagine doing anything else. I have captured people all over the world and made connections that brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined. I am honoured to capture life's greatest moments, whether that’s capturing true love at a wedding, the happiness of welcoming a new baby, or those beautiful everyday moments. There is something innately captivating about freezing these moments through my lens, and knowing these photos will be cherished for years to come. Because at the end of the day, when the party's over, when your babies have grown up, or when memories start to fade, photographs have the ability to take us back, even for just a moment.

Annie Leibovitz once said, “A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.” This is what I aspire to create in every photo. When people let their guard down I am able to capture those intimate emotions that come from raw moments. I think this is what has drawn me to wedding photography; emotion, energy and love are all around and it’s intoxicating. From the happiest moments to the bitter sweet ones, the chances for me to fall in love with the people all around are limitless.  

So when people ask why I do it, I say it's for the passion, the timelessness, the purest love for the craft, and because it speaks more words than humans know.