There’s something to be said for pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. For a number of years now, I have been sitting comfortably in my niche: families and kids. I knew where I wanted to shoot (a field!), I knew who I wanted to photograph (kids! babies! parents!), and I knew I didn’t want to stray too far from that. I was afraid if I got too far from my genre, I would be spread too thin…that my specialty would go away…that I would become too generic.
But here’s the thing…I wasn’t really in my niche. I’ve talked about it briefly before, but my growth as a photographer has been a long, slow process. I’ve learned a lot from others, but I’ve also been super guilty of not always doing my own thing. When I was in Illinois, I had this amazing field to work with, I usually had nice, even overcast days to work with, and there were a lot of families in my area. I got comfortable, a little lazy, and too be honest, pretty scared to get outside my comfort zone. I did what I saw other photographers doing.
And then I moved to Texas. I didn’t have my perfect field anymore. I had to meet new families. Even though I was home, I was definitely no longer in my comfort zone. And a funny thing happened. I started to grow. I started rediscovering why I loved picking up my camera every day. In the beginning of our move, I barely was photographing anyone, so all I could do was practice. Every. Single. Day. And I started to find my voice. I realized I didn’t need a perfect field. I actually am drawn to textures, and color, and architecture. My husband thinks I’m a super weirdo, but when we go new places, I’m always looking up, admiring the details in the buildings above me. (How cool is it that someone so long ago sculpted artwork into their buildings?! Why don’t we take the time to do that anymore?!) I discovered downtown McKinney, which is full of so many of these things I’ve always been drawn to, yet never paid attention to. I have yet to discover so many of the historic towns around me, but I’m so excited to explore!
And yes, I know shooting in downtown McKinney locations can be super cliche. But I am trying to approach this old/new approach in a way that isn’t cliche…in a way that speaks to me and the things I have always been drawn to as an individual. I love finding the little details in downtown McKinney that you would normally walk right past and never notice…the way light hits the building at a certain time of day, the gorgeous symmetry, the patina on the walls. It’s not about doing what everyone else is doing…it’s about finding the things that speak to me as an artist and bringing those out in the sessions that I do.
And so, in this year of self-discovery, I realized that I loved the thought of trying out senior sessions. I wasn’t sure I would be any good at it…I haven’t worked with teenagers in a long time, I’m kind of shy and dorky, and honestly, I haven’t really had to do very much posing with little kids. But I put out a model call, and lucky me, the first senior I got to work with was gorgeous Janea. I’m not going to lie…she pretty much did all of the work in this session. I was so nervous about giving directions, but she knew just what to do. She made my job that day incredibly easy. And the best part? She inspired me. She made me realize that there was an entire genre of photography that I had been too afraid to delve into. I had been holding myself back.
And so in the weeks since I had the joy of photographing her, I have been studying like crazy, getting ready to take on a new year of seniors. I look at this first session, and I am so thrilled with how it went, but my mind is full of ideas of what I want to do differently as well. I love that open-ended feeling of possibilities. I am excited to see where this new endeavor will lead.
Christina Freeman is a wife and mother to 3 little ones who enjoys capturing details of ordinary life from behind the lens. She currently resides in Anna, TX and loves photographing other families, babies and children in Collin County including Melissa, Van Alstyne, downtown McKinney, Plano, Princeton, Farmersville, Prosper, Frisco, Wylie, Celina, Little Elm and other Dallas suburbs. Contact her to get a conversation started today!