My family, friends and close colleagues have watched me over the
last two years occupy my free time with wreath-making, knitting and cake
decorating. There is really no rhyme or reason why I picked these activities. I
made a few wreaths as Christmas presents one year and was told they were good
enough to sell. They only took me about an hour to make, so I gave it a shot. I
have always wanted to learn how to knit. My ex's aunt taught me during
Christmas one year and although I love this craft, it is quite time consuming!
And the whole cake decorating phase came after the breakup of a 10-year
relationship when I took a class to get me out of the house. It just so
happened that I really enjoyed it and wasn't terrible at it.
In thinking about how I got into these hobbies, what comes to
mind is my long time love for anything arts & crafts. When 3-4 years old, I
would color endless Precious Moments coloring pages for my grandma. In
elementary school, my mom signed me up for 4-H where I sewed and created scrapbooks.
As a child and throughout my adulthood, my mom and I have a tradition where she
makes (the BEST) cut-out sugar cookies and I ice them in various colors and
designs. In middle school and especially high school, I took endless art
classes. My senior year I took about 6 different art classes where I would
sculpt clay, paint canvas, draw with charcoal, etc. Mind you, we had the
greatest art teacher of all time. Even those who did not like art ended up in
his classes just to experience his great humor and advice.
Of course I thought about doing something artistic for my career
as Senior year approached. I really like 2D Design and thought I might have a
future in advertising. But at that point, I had a boyfriend I did not want to
leave and didn't think a city was where I wanted to live long-term (my short
time in Pittsburgh proved that assumption to be right). The realistic side of
me told me that something in business was way more reliable and in the back of
my mind, I figured I could always keep art as a hobby.
College was hectic and stressful. There was no time for arts
& crafts when studying debits and credits! Interestingly enough, I had a
friend I met in college that commented to me recently, "I had no idea you
were so talented and artistic!" My response was, "I just didn't have
time in college to do anything but work and study!" It feels good getting
back into things that make me happy; especially since I just wrapped up 2.5
years of grad school in April.
So why photography now? The financial side of me would tell you
that making wreaths, knitting blankets, and baking cakes isn't all that
profitable - especially when you are a frugal person and don't have the heart
to charge someone $45 for a cake that will be gone in 2 hours. My friends are
constantly on me about "how much is your time worth to you?!"
Although I have thoroughly enjoyed making all these things for my friends and
family, I will admit that I tend to bend over backwards to meet people's needs
and earn very little profit for my time. That's not to say I won't continue to
make my fall wreaths, birthday cakes and close friends' baby blankets! I just
highly doubt that I will be opening my own bakery any time soon (despite how
many people at work keep saying that is what they are expecting).
Although better profit margins (okay, camera gear is A LOT more
expensive than an icing bag), I like the idea of capturing people's special
moments for them. As much of an introvert as I was growing up, I have really
started to enjoy socializing and interacting with people while photographing
them and their families. I like that they can look at these images and remember
how little their babies were or the love spilling from them during their
engagement. I love being able to sit at my computer and create art by editing
images through a special software. It has been so rewarding to give an hour's
worth of pictures to one of my friends and seeing their surprise at how well
their pictures turned out. With very little training (okay, let's be real, zero
training), I have been able to put smiles on people's faces. That in itself has
been so inspirational to me.
In all the little hobbies I've acquired, this is the one that I
feel could be something big. In practicing with my new camera (thanks Jack!), I
have decided to take it to the next level and make this legitimate. I have been
reading about techniques and settings, setting up sessions with friends and
family for practice, and creating social media avenues to get my name out
there. I hope that I can gather the support of my friends and family as I
pursue my dream to not just have artistic hobbies, but to make it something
much more.
- Megan Leigh