My Progress (& Answers)

So this is how far I have come in the past 9 months!  Keep in mind while looking at the collages from the first few months that I lazily made on a random website instead of in Photoshop CS5 (the version I use if you were wondering), these do not consist of my typical photos that I took 98% of the time. They were 1000 times worse!!! I wanted you all who are just starting or haven't started yet but have a little desire to, IT IS OKAY TO BE TERRIBLE! It is completely natural.  You have to find your own style, what you like to take photos of, what you are good at, what you are bad at, what angles work, which angles don't, it's all just a really big experiment! I get a lot of comments on my work saying "Share some of your talent, I am so terrible!", "I'll never be as good as you", "How come I am not as good as you? What am I doing wrong?", and last but not least "I wish I could take good photos like yours but I don't have good equipment..."!!!!! They break my heart (and flatter me at the same time)!  I want you to hear that you don't have to have a Canon 5D Mark II like me or have a Nikon or even a DSLR for that matter.  You need to practice and learn to use whatever you have, to its maximum potential!  I have seen photographers who do better with an iPhone than they do with a DSLR!  Sounds crazy but I am not even kidding.  So just keep all of that in mind.

Now for the answers to the questions that my Instagram followers asked me:

1. When is golden time?   It depends what season it is and where you are in the world, but usually the two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset!  The flares and the tones are so rich and it is my favorite time to shoot, especially in the summer!
2. Do you live in Oklahoma? If so where?   Sorry, I don't!  I'm really close though and I go to Tulsa all the time.
3. Who are your favorite people to shoot with?  WOW, that is a tough one!  As you all can see, I shoot with Kelsi, JeLynn, and Bryley the most often and we always have a ball!  They understand the way my mind works when I'm shooting and don't second guess what I ask from them and do everything in their power to get it just right.  I have other friends that are just stunning but we don't shoot together that often so when we do our chemistry isn't quite the same. So to answer your question, my favorite models are Kelsi, JeLynn, and Bryley.  (Sorry to those of you who I may have offended.)
4. What is your favorite thing to photograph?  Can I make my answer super general and just say people?  I love shooting candid, sport events, lifestyle, portraits, just anything to do with people in it.  I still photograph other things but I enjoy myself so much more when I am around people and working with them.
5. What kind of camera do you use?  Well I have several different cameras but my favorite would have to be my Canon EOS 5D Mark II and if you want to see the full list of my equipment you can look here!  I even named him Mario (after Mario Testino of course).
6. Do you love me Jess?  You know I had to ask!  Yes of course I love you! <3
7. Do you love Duck Dynasty?  No! I can't stand that show but I know a lot of people who do like it.  My favorite shows are NCIS, How I Met Your Mother, and Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory.
8. Favorite food?  I have a completely unhealthy obsession with chocolate Twizzlers.  I was sketched out to try them but when I did, it was just love. (Wow, I sound nuts.)
9. What is a good camera for a beginner photographer?  Well when I was beginning I used a Pentax K-r which I named Penny.  She works wonderfully and I still use her.  I would definitely recommend it but the Canon Rebels are good for starters as well.  
10. Favorite flavor of ice cream?  Cookies & Creme for sure.
11. What kind of cameras do you use? And where did you get them?  Well you can see the full list of my equipment here and I got most of everything from B&H and I have gotten other things from eBay which has worked good and the items were in good condition.
12. How did you start getting followers?  How did you become so popular? Love your photos btw.  Thank you, I appreciate that!  I got my first 5,000 followers on Instagram when it was still a personal account before I switched to being a photography account.  I lost a bunch for a long time when I started photography because my photos were terrible and just make me cringe now!  I started getting better and started gaining again.  Once I got to 13,000 I did IG Exorcist to cull the ghost followers I had and I went down to 8,000.  By that I think more people realized I wasn't just about getting a bunch of followers but actually talking to them and being real with them.  Now I am at 15k (WOW! I still can't even believe it).  The first 10k are the hardest to be honest ;) The more consistent you are with your style you post and when you post the more followers you gain. 
13. Who do you love the most?  I love my parents the most.
14. Do you edit your photos? if yes then with what program?  Yes I do edit my photos! Unless I do a composite or expansion I just stay in iPhoto and edit there.  It works just as good and is a million times quicker!  I use Photoshop CS5 specifically, it's great!
15. Where do you get inspiration for your photos?  I get inspiration from songs so often!  I get inspired by locations or my models.  I either plan a shoot around who I am working with or where we are going.
16. Do you prefer using models or using yourself as a model in your photos?  MODELS. self portraits just aren't fun for me.
17. Who is your favorite character on NCIS?  Ziva for sure. But Tony is a stunner.
18. What are you doing on Thursday and Friday? ;)  Well Kelsi, I am hanging out with you. Great question.
19. How do you take self portraits?  You can see the list of my equipment, which includes the remote and tripods I use, here.  I often use the 10 second timer because its hard to do full body shots while getting my remote to fire and still be concealed.