My Journey – Before and After

Sudbury, Parry Sound Photographer

Sudbury, Parry Sound Photographer
For my first blog post, I thought it would be appropriate to tell you a little bit more about me and why I chose to become a photographer. I was born and raised in Parry Sound, Ontario. I grew up with my brother, sister and parents in a small community outside of the city, Humphrey. I now live in Chelmsford, Ontario with my amazing fiancé and 2 great children. I work full time but my passion is photography. I enjoy capturing everyday memories and raw emotions. I want to be able to remember today’s moments as they are, like a minute stopped in time. What better way to do that than with a photo? I enjoy being in the outdoors, a nice quiet day on the lake, no cell phones, no interruptions. Just the sun, the birds and a live well full of pickerel or any fish will do! Yum! I have really slowed down and am enjoying the simple things in life.  A good cup of coffee, a good tune on the radio and getting to spend everyday with the people I love most. Everyday I am blessed to be surrounded by the ones I love and doing the things I enjoy most. I want to share my journey of how I have gotten to where I am today, as a photographer. Let’s roll back the clocks.

 In April 2012 my younger brother welcomed his beautiful baby boy, Jordan in to the world. This was the day I decided that I wanted to be a photographer but not just any photographer, a newborn photographer. Little did I know how much work that would be. I had always enjoyed taking photos, loved babies and thought this will be easy! A few days later I bought my very first DSLR, a Canon T1i. A very basic entry level DSLR. I shot my nephew’s newborn session with the kit lens. I had no idea what an aperture was, what my white balance settings should be but I jumped in feet first. I shot the entire session on auto. I kept telling myself, you can fix anything when editing. (I had also purchased Lightroom 4) Woah was I wrong! Here are a few images from my very first session, errr well the very first time using my new camera.

After this session, I thought I was the cat’s meow! I thought I was ahhhmazing! Looking back now, what was I thinking! I knew that I needed to improve still so I read everything I could find on photography. I learned more about shooting in manual but still shot everything in auto. I would bring cheat sheets with me when shooting so I could remember all the mumble jumble I had been reading. I also took every opportunity to shoot anyone who would stand still, including my poor son!

Over the summer I practiced on my son as much as he would let me! He hated being in front of the camera and still does to this day.  He will give me the longest sigh ever and say ” Aww mom, do I have to?!” I always promise it will be just a few but I always managed to pull of 30 minutes! With a little bribing of course! I was also still reading and thinking I was oh so very talented! In the fall, I convinced a friend of mine to drive north with me and be my model for the day. We drove down many back roads to find as many cool locations as possible! This in my mind would make my images great!

While shooting this session with Alyssa, I thought it went really well but when I got home and imported the 100’s and 100’s of images to lightroom, I was disappointed. Half of  the images were out of focus. What did toggle my focus point mean? What was the little flashing red dot when I took a picture? I had no idea! I managed to get some decent images that I loved. (Thank you Alyssa for being an amazing model for the day! Your beauty is the thing that made these images!)
After this session, I continued to learn as much as I could about photography but my disappointment of how hard this was really had me down. I didn’t shoot anyone but myself until April 2013, when I welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Claire into the world. (Trying to do a newborn session of your own child was super difficult! Especially when you really have no idea what you are doing!)

After a move up north to my fiancé’s hometown, I jumped back into really wanting to become a photographer. I shot many different people, families and newborns. I offered free sessions to anyone and everyone! The time seemed right to start building my portfolio and really give this my all! I was once again determined to become a photographer!

2013 – Various sessions

Sudbury, Parry Sound photographer

2014 – Various sessions

Sudbury, Parry Sound Photographer

In April 2014, I stumbled upon a website that changed my life! Clickin Moms is an online community of all women scattered around the world that share one main interested, photography. (www.clickinmoms.com) Clickin Moms’ offers so many great things from workshops to a forum. There are hundreds of tutorials , educational tools and of course amazing photographers to chat with! In May I signed up for a few workshops and it changed my life! I was no longer shooting in auto! Everything just seemed to ‘click’ for me during these workshops. It changed the way I look at photography. It changed so much. The next few images are after my discovery of Clickin Moms.

After Clickin Moms – 2014

Sudbury, Parry Sound photographer

My journey to become a photographer has been long and tough but it is far from over. I still have so much to learn! There is still so much I want to achieve. For me, being a photographer is so much more than getting a fancy camera and taking pictures. It’s the depth and emotions the image shows. It’s about learning how to utilize the equipment you have and not to get caught up in flashy lenses. I may be a ways away from my goal of being a full time photographer but I do know where I want my journey as a photographer to go next. I know what path I need to take to get there. I know that one day you (yes you) will call me to be your photographer, to capture your most treasure moments that you will share with your family and friends for years to come!

A huge thank you to all of my past volunteers/clients for allowing me to capture your most treasured moments. I could not have come this far without all of you!
I look forward to working with you all again in the future!
All the best, Allison Lucienne 🙂

Do you live in the Sudbury or Parry Sound area? Are you looking to have your moments captured by a Sudbury, Parry Sound photographer?
Are you looking for more information about available prices and packages? Please visit https://allisonluciennephotography.com/investments/
To book a session with Allison Lucienne Photography, please visit https://allisonluciennephotography.com/contact/
or email info@allisonluciennephotography.com

Sudbury, Parry Sound Photographer