How I Become A Photographer

I didn't grow up surrounded by cameras or stacks of family albums. In fact, my family perfected the art of staying out of a frame. My parents never had a single photo of the three of us together, one parent was always in front of the lens & the other missing the memory.

Growing up, the absence of those images created a kind of quiet ache I didn't know how to name & this urge to want to preserve everything for others.

Picture of My Mum & Dad...The Only One!

What I did have growing up was art & a massive obsession with books!

I was the kid who was always drawing, making something, tucked away in a little corner absorbing all I could from books I read, or writing poems in notebooks that no one would ever read.

By my early teens, that obsession with creativity had taken root in every corner of my life.

As a very anti-social kid (ha, truthfully, not much has changed as an adult), I never liked big crowds or even leaving the comfort of my bedroom, however, a family trip forced me out of the house at age 11 & this was where I was handed my very first camera.

My step dad - the official "unofficial" photographer of the family -  handed me a very basic point & shoot camera to snap an image of himself & my mum.

And as cliché as it sounds, I just didn't give it back.

I spent the entire day glued to that camera snapping pictures of St Columba Falls.

That night, my stepdad scrolled through the images & said they looked like postcard pictures & I really had something here.

And that's where it began.

When landscapes became my focus, my love for waterfalls, nature & being outdoors was discovered.

Growing up in the North East of Tasmania, there were never a shortage of landscape scenes to snap.

From rolling hills to beautiful coastline, I learned how to photograph exactly what was in front of me.

I spent hours teaching my self all about camera settings from photography magazines & learning as many techniques I could from multiple practices of trial & error.

Mt Paris Dam - My Award Winning & Favourite Landscape Image

People came later on. My first portrait session was in 2010 for a Mother's Day shoot.

I had no idea what I was doing!

I edited the final images on a dodgy photo app on my phone & charged $20 for the whole session!

From there, I photographed friends' weddings - my first one was $100 for a full day-  & continued editing on my phone until I saved up enough for Adobe Photoshop (on a disc back in the day) & for a proper camera.

First Ever Family Portrait - May 2010

My first official camera was a Kodak Z5010 that was an introduction to the digital camera world. I was wrapped with it!

Later, I converted to the Canon world by purchasing an 1100D, diving into the world of DSLR & interchangeable lenses eventually advancing to a Canon 80D.

Today, the 80D is my trusty second shooter at weddings, but my main man -the one I love the most - is the Canon EOS R5 for its full frame feature & higher MP capacity.

The First Official Picture Taken on my Canon 80D

I officially registered my business in 2022.

Since then, owning a small business has been a journey of learning, building, discovering my own voice & my place within the industry. I’ve realised there is no cemented blueprint for success. Finding my own way has been the most important part to my journey.  

Ironically, in such a visual industry, one of my biggest challenges to overcome was gaining the confidence to actually share my work.

Pursuing a Diploma in Digital Imaging & Photography changed that. Guided by some of the best in the field, & supported with valuable, encouraging feedback, I’ve grown not only in skill but in confidence to step into recognition at a professional level.

Entering competitions, like the MONO Awards, has also helped my confidence grow - my proudest achievement being highly commended in a competition a few years ago that had over 4,000 entrants!

Entering local art competitions/exhibitions has gained me sales of my work as well as recognition & also won me awards.

One of My Favourite Competition Entries From Last Year Commended in the People's Section

This year I've developed a love for food & product photography, exploring textures, vibrant colours & the tiny details that very much reflect my personal brand.

Specialising in family photography has been deeply rewarding. I get to give families the portraits the never know they needed - the ones I never had growing up.

First Food Photography Image for Diploma Assignment

For the past 17 years, I’ve pulled double duty—photographer by soul, barista by necessity.

I’ve poured thousands of coffees, wiped counters clean, memorised regulars’ names & orders. Yet, photography was always the undercurrent. The thing I returned to when everything else felt mechanical.

I’m working hard to put things into place this year to make sure I pour my last flat white. Not because I hate coffee—God knows I love it—but because I’m finally ready to go all-in on what sets my soul on fire!

I'm always drawn to the raw, the weird, the real.

Scarred faces, crooked smiles, hands that tell stories.

People who laugh too hard, cry too openly & live too fully.

I chase those moments because they were the ones missed in my own childhood. We were camera shy, not unphotographable.

Photography, for me, has & will always be about preserving proof: You were here. You mattered. This happened.

Maybe that's why my camera has become such a huge part of me because in some strange full-circle way, every time I pick it up, I am still that 11-year-old kid on a trip, seeing the world for the first time outside of her bedroom wall, & realising that if you press a button at just the right moment, you can keep a piece of it forever...