Let me take your picture

I hate blurry pictures.

A lot of the pictures come out blurry, so they just get scrapped. The most frustrating moments for me are when I spend time setting up and finding the perfect lighting just to have a picture without a true focal point. 

Last week I was trying to get a picture to post for national dog day, and not a single picture came out. I finally settled on one that at least had a focal point, but I was absolutely disappointed with the picture as a whole

Fortunately, I found out my phone was part of a faulty batch and I was able to get a replacement camera this morning (check to see if your phone is impacted here). 

I use an iPhone 6+ and three dollars worth of apps. The vast majority of my Instagram feed and what I follow online consists of professional photographers and professional artists.

When I had my initial meeting with the admissions rep at Toni&Guy, she asked me why I was looking around at different hair schools. I told her that I spent a few weeks looking at everything I'd done professionally that I refuse to do for the rest of my life and looked at what industries were left open.There were two career options that stood out, hair and photography. I wanted to pursue photography, but it didn't seem like a financially viable option. The hair industry would allow me to build a portfolio of work, and create a brand, so it allowed me to incorporate something I love to do into a career that I knew nothing about.

I love taking pictures. Of all of the hobbies I've collected over the years, this is one that I hold to the highest standard. I typically take around 500 photos a week trying to find the perfect moments, more if there's something big going on. I usually spend about five to ten minutes going through 50-100 at a time to narrow down the ones I like before moving into a final elimination process. Once I've made my decision on which photos I like, I spend about 5 minutes, per picture, drawing focus to specific areas and making adjustments. I do this because I want to give my images a unique feeling. The extra effort you put into anythingallows you access to a certain finesse. I know I'm not great at photography, but I'm certainly not terrible, and I'll be damned if the 18-year old version of me could hold a candle to the current version of me. I know that my eye for detail will keep improving, and the more time and effort I invest, the better my end product will be.

I keep that in mind with school and honestly, life in general. I'm not always going to be where I want, but brick by brick I'm building the road that leads me to my goals. One day I will be the barber I want to be, the same way I will be the photographer I want to be. I alone make the choice to be the person I want to be.