Now that the end of the year is coming, I reflect over my career and I am so thankful and blessed to be able to do what I love. I can remember a time where I was attending classes at Solano Community College, receiving two AA degrees in Art and later I was working at Kaiser Permanente for five years. The whole time while learning photography as just a hobby. I never thought I would ever make this a full time career but I am so blessed that the door opened to start my own company, Holly D Photography. There were a few years there where I worked full time at Kaiser and business with my photography was picking up, so I worked full time on that as well. Soon after that I knew I would need to pursue photography full time because of how much Holly D Photography was growing. There have been so many people along the way that have imparted knowledge and wisdom to help me become the best photographer, and I am still learning! Here are a few tips that I like to advise others looking to pursue their dream of being a photographer.

• Know who is teaching you: Don’t learn from just anyone on the street because not everyone knows how to take great photos. You may need to un-learn some things that you’ve picked up along the way. Be careful about who you accept advice from and learn from photographers that know their stuff!
• Find your niche: Whether it be weddings, graduates, landscapes… find the best photographers in your niche to follow and learn from. Decide if you want to be a light and airy photographer (like I am!) or if you like darker and edgy. Find your niche and grow into it!
• Don’t give up: I remember when I was working full time while photographing full time and I had my moments but the greatest advice I could ever give is to never give up on your dreams.
• Knowledge is not free: Things that you like will come with a price and expert knowledge isn’t free. Anything that is worth something is worthy of a price!
• Don’t buy the kit lens; they aren’t all they are hyped up to be.
• Take classes, go to workshops and attend seminars. You can always learn something new! I recently took a workshop this year held by Roberto Venezuela and he showed some great off camera lighting that I’ve incorporated into several of my photo shoots since then. Keep learning because your growth is limitless!

And lastly, I wanted to share three of my favorite items that I love to use as a wedding photographer:

• Nikon D750 – What would a photographer be without their camera? There are so many intricate ways to change settings to create the perfect photo. I just love it!!
• 85mm lens – I love this for those nice blurred out backgrounds for portraits and bride & groom photos. It makes the photograph so beautiful and focused in on what’s most important, the subject.
• 70-200mm – This one is also for blurred out backgrounds and I love using it at wedding ceremonies to get a detailed close up shot of these romantic moments!