Getting serious about photography...and gaining confidence

I feel as though I've been behind a camera for years. I've had loads of the little magic boxes of light and technology. My first digital camera was a Sony Mavica - that actually took 3 1/2 floppy discs, and I loved the instant results and editing ability of digital photography. It was a rubbish camera though - about 1 megapixel I think! I then moved up through two very lovely canon ixus-es (still have those - they're great) to a Nikon bridge camera, and was then given my first DSLR - a rather tired but noble Canon D60. This is when I started to get into photography as a creative process, but as I gained in skills, the poor old D60 just wasn't living up to what I wanted it to do. I got a pentax Q, which is great, but I really wanted a DSLR upgrade, so I recently bit the bullet and splashed out on a nice condition low shutter count Canon 7D. I love it.

I'm not a confident person, so it feels strange to step out from behind the shadows, and say hey! Look what I can do! I'm at the stage now though where I'm learning so much, and gaining in skills and confidence, that I'm about ready. Nearly. I was determined to use the beautiful 7D, so my lovely boyfriend (also a photographer) and I have set ourselves a series of creative projects - the first one being 'portraits'. '6 portraits in 6 weeks' was our brief, and just by going out there, finding models, taking the shots and thinking creatively I've learned a new set of skills along the way. I think my portraits have gotten better as I've gone along, and I'm more sure now of what image I want and how to get it, how to use subjects well and put them at their ease, and what makes a good portrait. Watch this space for further projects!

I knew I'd have to have a deadline, (I usually have a pretty 'Douglas Adams' attitude to deadlines) so I decided to submit my portrait series to Hull photography organisation illuminate, run by the very talented Hull photographers Anna Bean and Verity Harr, and I was accepted, and I'll be showing my work there on 28th October 2015. It was preparation for showing at illuminate that made me decide to put this website together, although I'm now critical of the technical ability of some of my earlier work, I've been suprised at how many good images I have in this digital portfolio. This in itself has given me confidence, and spurs me on to get better...and better. You never know, maybe one day soon I'll have the confidence to actually call myself 'photographer'.