My Humble Beginnings - A Biography Straight out of college I was on my own (in every way possible) and in a new city. I landed a job at an advertising agency which seemed amazing, until I realized it's true meaning... I was trapped behind a desk all day, not being creative.
Now, I've always been a wild woman, a free spirit, a creative soul, so sitting behind a desk in Corporate America was not how I wanted to spend my life. As an Art major in college I knew I wanted to do something creative but I couldn't put my finger on which medium I wanted to persue. I remember a specific moment, sitting at my desk, next to the window thinking to myself, "I cannot live the rest of my life like this". I thought, "what is the one thing that I could eat, breathe, live?"
So (living near Albany, NY at the time) I googled "Albany Wedding Photographers" and emailed the first person who appealed to me on the long list of photogs. After some correspondence I went and met with my first mentor, Tom, and the next thing I knew I was booked for several weddings… carrying his bags around! (Hey, ya gotta start somewhere!). Tom was generous enough to lend me his old digital camera so that I could practice at home. He also was caring enough to take the time to sit and teach me the basics of owning a photography business.
I then met another local photographer, Niki, who hired me for several weddings as a second shooter. This was an amazing opportunity, allowing me to actually take control of some photographic situations at weddings. I still had to carry bags around but this time I was shooting too! (bonus)
Working full time during the week and second shooting on the weekends was my life for about 3 years. I loved every minute of being a second shooter. Very rarely did I ever think to myself "I just worked all week, I don't feel like working all weekend". Shooting weddings became my passion and I looked forward to it every week. On my own and hardly paying rent, I put aside every penny I earned from photography so that I could someday buy a better camera. About a year later that someday came and I bought a brand new Nikon D300 with a Nikorr 17-55 prime lens. Woo Wee!
Life was great. I landed a new full time job at an Online Media company and was rocking (more info here). I even started booking my own weddings, booya. About a year into this role and a few promotions later, to my dismay (or was it?), I received word that my full time job was promoting me (Yes!), shutting down the Albany office (No!!!) and moving us to the headquarters in Boston (Boston?).
In my first year and a half in my new city of Boston I was doing really well, blowing my quota out of the water month after month and building a new portion of the business like woah. It felt as though all my dreams were coming true, I was masterfully executing the "corporate ladder". After a while this extremely demanding role and the whole Corporate America feel was wearing away at my soul. In the words of Jonathan Fields "I was becoming more and more successful on a path that was making me less and less happy."I knew it was time to throw in the towel the day I started referring to myself as a "caged song bird".
In June of 2011 I took the leap of faith and brought April K Photography full time…and never looked back!
Why Wedding Photography?
Love...
…and the fact that love has no words great enough, and no explanations or descriptions that truly encompass this emotion.
I believe that we, as a society, have been raised to believe that words are the most powerful form of communication. Sadly, this is not the case when it comes to love. Love is an un-spoken emotion that is globally understood and no words are needed. It's a language understood by all of mankind.
Chances are, no author can capture the essence of love… but if my clients, no, strike that, if YOU are truly in love, there is no doubt I can capture and turn it into a work of art.
I look forward to hearing your story over a beer or cup of tea!
Love Sparkles,
April K