I have to say, I had a blog post on my “to do” list for over a year now. I think it’s only appropriate to kick this off with a question: Why photography? Why now?
The early days
For those of you that know me well, you know I was always “the girl with the camera”. It was always something that I did. I can’t even say it was my passion, it was always just part of who I was. I vividly remember my dad taking me to electronics shop and buying me my first film camera. Gosh… that was such a long time ago. I can’t even recall the brand. To be fair… I will be 40 this summer, so yes… that WAS a long time ago.
So where did it all began? I would say in that camera shop, but it was way before then. My dad always took photos of me and developed in our little storage room in our apartment. It was a tiny closet... I vaguely remember standing next to him and watching images become alive right in front of me. Every time I go back to Lithuania, I pull out my old albums and look at black & white photos of me, that my dad took many years ago. Besides these photos, I would only have awkward daycare photos at Christmas plays, where I was crying for the most part.
Back to that camera shop… from that day I was always taking photos of my friends, buildings, things… Again, I never thought it was a passion, it was something that I just did.
My photography adventure (I still didn’t know it was love) continued as I came to the states. I brought my same camera that my dad got for me and just kept shooting EVERYTHING. I made friends from different countries, I made albums (scrap books… yeah, I was totally into that) for everyone that I was saying goodbye to and still did not know that I had something special.
I met a person who introduced me to DSLR camera around 2005 and I started learning manual shooting (are you bored yet?), then started taking photos at my old job and still, it was something that I just always did (you hear me repeat this phrase, but only because that’s how I felt). So many friends and co-workers always told me to do photography for a living or at least on a side, but I just never thought I was any good. I just did this for myself. Besides, I didn’t know where to start, when I thought of photography, I imagined some crazy double exposures, experimental work and I was just a person taking photos of people.
Becoming a mother
In 2019 my son was born. I took over 7,000 photos of him on my iPhone by the time he was 5 months old. At the time my mom was visiting from Europe and she just looked at me and said “Why don’t you take photos of other people and their kids?” It’s like a light bulb that went off (my signifcant other is still bitter, because he has been telling me to do photography for a few years now. He just said “you never listen to me, that’s what I’ve been telling you”). Anyway… I reached out to a local mom group and this is what I said:
August 26, 2019
Going through midlife crisis and evaluating my career choices. Would any of you be interested in a quick photo session? I am talking 30 min or so.... You and your babe. Nothing formal, just a lifestyle/natural light photography. It’s completely FREE, I just want to dust off my camera and see if I still got it (if I ever had it ). If anything, you’ll at least get some candid shots (we all know what a great job dads do in taking pictures of us ). DM me for more details
As embarrassing as this post is, this is where it REALLY all began. Ok… let me tell you… the moment I picked up my camera, that was it. Not once in my mind I doubted myself, not once in my mind I wondered “what the heck am I doing?”... it felt like this was something that I was meant to do. Do I regret not starting photography sooner? Absolutely NOT! I probably would have not discovered family photography at that time in my life and I would have not found that same type of love that I have now.
It all makes sense....
Becoming a mom, gave me such an unexplainable and surreal understanding about Motherhood. I can see the love, I can feel the love and I can UNDERSTAND. I can RELATE! As I was getting older and older, I had such fear, that I will never be a mom. That’s all I ever wanted and it might not even happen. So when I did have my son, my whole life just gave me a whole new meaning. Having my son, opened up my heart. I was not just looking through the camera lens with my eye, I was looking with my heart.
The point of this story is not to brag about how I did this for so many years, it’s a story to never give up. Chase your dreams, even though you don’t know what they are. But when you do figure it all out, you go for it! There is nothing that can stop you. The only person that stands in your way, it’s you. Don’t listen to ney sayers, don’t compare yourself to others. It’s your life, it’s your journey and there is no one that can tell you what your journey is supposed to look like. I went through my life getting two Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s… I had amazing jobs, but I always said... "I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up". I always did a good job at my corporate job, I just never wanted to climb the career ladder. I wasn’t lazy, it’s not that I didn’t love my job, but because that WAS JUST NOT IT. That was not what I was meant to do. I still have my corporate job and I love it! I am so thankful for being able to provide for my family and work for amazing company. But when my regular work day is over, I pick my camera up and I come to see you!
Let's chat! Let's create some memories
If you hire me as your family photographer, I will not just simply give you my time. I will give you my whole heart. I will give it all. I will look at your photos, I will laugh, I will cry, because these photos make me feel the love, connection, the bond. I don’t have many photos of my son and I. I waited for motherhood for so many years, I treasure this little child who opened up my heart and showed me what love really is. By taking insane amounts of photos, I wanted to freeze every single moment. BUT! Besides crappy selfies, I barely have any candid photos with him and I.
So why do I do this? I want you to have those memories. I want you to feel with your full heart. One day your kids will grow up and all that there will be left for you, for your kids, for their kids- these photos.
Let’s chat! Let’s create something special.
With love,
Your Atlanta Lifestyle Family Photographer
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