Meet Liz!

Well hello there!

I have been taking photos for as long as I can remember. One vidid memory I have is grabbing either my mom's camera or a disposable camera and taking a bunch of photos of the Christmas tree in the living room. My maternal grandfather used to do the same thing I guess, but he did it to be funny. I must’ve only been about 6 years old or so, but I remember seeing the printed photos as a teenager and being like wow I actually had decent composition.

With every other hobby I have dabbled with, when I go back to things I created when I first started, I would absolutely rip myself apart, but photography has been the one constant thing that I have been proud of myself for. I am by no means a perfect photographer, but I am almost always satisfied with my work.

I don’t remember what my first camera was, but I know it was a point and shoot one. I was just happy to have a camera so I could take pictures and selfies and post them on MySpace and Facebook. The first one I bought for myself was a purple Nikon point and shoot, which doubled as a vlogging camera, then when that one kind of died out, I got a similar gray one but that one wasn’t doing it for me either. When I was with my first serious boyfriend, I remember I bought a camera that was technically point and shoot, but looked like a DSLR and I loved it. I carried it every where but still wanted to up my equipment to get the shots I saw in my head.

Fast forward to a terrible, awful, scarring break up (lol) with this boyfriend, and me smack dab in the middle of some retail therapy. I took a leap and bought my Nikon D3300 and was OBSESSED. I trained myself on how to use the camera, how to adjust the setting to improve my photos and just immersed myself in how to take incredible photos. Like all my other cameras, I brought it almost everywhere with me.

Then this year, after some health issues and basically realizing my self worth and finally putting my happiness and sanity first, I decided to quit my full time job and do photography full time and it truly has been the best decision I have ever made in my life.

I've said a few times that I almost always had my camera with me, now my camera barely leaves my hand. I take photos as frequently as I possible. I know these days its easier with camera phones, but there's still something so nostalgic and classic about using a separate camera that was built to purely be a camera and that's it.

My main goal is to capture people as originally, uniquely, and naturally as they come. I don’t edit my photos too much, because I want to encapsulate people exactly as they are when I took that photo. I know that the photos I take will eventually become memories so I want make sure that I capture the overall essence the person/people have so they can look back on that.

Going forward, I’d love to do more concert photography, more personal brand stuff, and really tackle any subject/theme/type of photography that people are up for! Im ready for anything and want to capture as much as I can while I'm here.

One last confession for you guys then I'll wrap this up. Lately, I have realized that I am a memory hoarder. I have thousands if not millions of photos on my phone, actual prints, on my computers, everywhere. I love holding onto those memories that are instantly captured when you click the shutter button. Being able to capture those moments for other people is such an incredible feeling. Knowing that people can look back and see how much they have changed since I took that photo brings so much warmth to my heart and makes every shot I take worth it.

If you have read this far, thanks! I appreciate it! Thank you for joining me on this journey. I am so proud of where I am in the first few months of LWP and have so many plans to push LWP forward. Here's to more of Liz Wadman Photography!