People Photography In Review: 2021 [NORTH CAROLINA PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER]

January 2, 2022

I never anticipated that I would have this many faces in front of my camera in 2021. Actually, I never anticipated even picking up a camera in the first place. At the end of 2020, I decided I was done. I retired my trusty old Nikon gear to storage, turned down shoots, and dubbed photography as a niche of the past. I was fourteen years old when I started shooting, and assumed photography would always be a crucial part of my life. Well, one day I grew up, experienced life (nearly overnight) as an independent adult, moved across the country, and adhered to the idea that adult life must be boring, rigid, and responsibilities only. No room for fun allowed. Bah!

Last year, I wrestled a lot of “inner demons” and unsexy crap in my personal life. I reached quite a crux and thought life would hand over the answers or some “EUREKA!”, when really, I was the one who needed to change and make some dang moves. Photography was back on my radar, but I needed to spruce up my gear. I initially envisioned a very small, very humble upgrade. And then I apparently decided to go big or go home. Canon’s R6 and 35mm 1.4 remained a fantasized tab on my phone for, uhm, two months.

What have I got to lose?

It became the question I asked with, well, everything. A camera was first on the list. And for some reason, investing in a camera caused some of the most organ churning distress I have ever experienced. What did I have to lose, besides a pretty penny from my savings account? Nothing. I don’t think I have ever prayed over an inanimate object – and if I was doing the right thing or not – as much as I did with that camera. I’m not even kidding. Before I clicked Buy (shiver!), I texted my mother and asked her to pray that I would have the strength to do it without feeling overwhelming guilt or distress after. People were coming out of the woodworks asking for shoots, wedding photography, and I was even preparing for a photojournalistic internship in Moscow – yet something held me back.

That thing? My freewill to make a choice. I could either take the risk, or continue building my safety nest. Click.

From there, it was like life exploded with faces in front of my lens. I was floored, grateful, ambitious, but mostly? Joyful. I felt that old, familiar giddiness like I did as a teenager. Creating has always been like therapy to me, and people will forever be my palette. Photography was the most unexpected surprise last year. It was like a gift to my soul. It sparked a new joy that cleaned out the inward cobwebs and sadness and replaced it with a new hope.

I really have no resolutions or even a word of the year, other than to play more. This is much how I feel with photography. We tend to forget the simple art of play as we grow older, but I think we need to learn to see life through the eyes of a child more often. Photography is just that for me.

Enjoy the beautiful faces who filled up my 2021. These faces all come with an incredible story – highs and lows, triumphs and failures, joys and near death experiences, pain and redemption – and I see the Divine imprints of the Creator on each one. To everyone who trusted me with their wedding, portrait session, story, and allowed me into their personal life: Thank you. My heart is grateful. Happy 2022, my friends. xo