This past week my cousin Abigail came over and so that of course called for some picture time. She is a budding photographer who wanted a little coaching, and I was so honoured that she asked me! We had so much fun taking photos! I always love shooting with a young photographer, because it serves as such a great reminder. A reminder of where I started and that I’ve actually made progress. A reminder about why I began photography in the first place: to freeze time, to capture moments, to preserve memories.  A reminder to take pictures purely for the joy and pleasure of it. Because so often when you are focused on developing a business, editing photos, and perfecting your art, you forget that at one point in time, photography was only a hobby, something you did just for fun. And while I wholeheartedly encourage all amateur photographers to get out there and really work hard to improve their photography and even build a business, sometimes you just need to step back and look. And remember to take photos simply for the pure joy of it, let go of all the perfecting pressure, and just shoot. For fun.

So that’s exactly what I did the other night with Abigail, and it was so good! In the midst of an overwhelming seasion, it was the perfect encouragement and inspiration to keep going, and enjoy it. So thanks a lot Abigail for the wonderful evening; coaching you that night did more for me than you’ll ever know. In fact, it wasn’t really me that did the teaching that evening, it was you.

And if you’ve stayed with me so far, here finally are the photos.

 

Photo credit: Abigail Thiessen

Photo credits: Abigail Thiessen ^

Photo credit: Abigail Thiessen

Photo credit: Abigail Thiessen ^

Photo credit: Abigail Thiessen

Photo credit: Abigail Thiessen ^