Life With the Finch Family: Fotofly Academy!!!!!

I officially started photography school at Fotofly Academy! It started June 17th and goes until September 25th. I go to school three nights a week and each class is over 4 hours long - so I'm in school for over 12 hours a week. It's pretty intense.

We took Noah to get his 1st birthday pictures at Fotofly back in April and we loved the pictures. A couple months later, Fotofly held a free workshop that I attended and I learned SO much in just a few hours. When the owner, Eric, hinted that they might be opening a photography school that would teach you how to become a photographer in only 3 months, my heart was sold.

After talking to Derek about it, I quickly realized that it was probably a crazy idea and I wasn't thinking logically. The school was going to cost WAY more than I was expecting, and we had our doubts seeing as they literally JUST opened the school.. but for the next little while I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't stop dreaming about how amazing it would be to FINALLY be able to professional looking photos!

Once Fotofly Academy was officially announced, I really, really, really, really, wanted to sign up. Derek and I talked about it and weighed all the pros and cons a bazillion times. It was like I really wanted to do it but then in the back of my mind I thought, yeah right, you know you're just getting excited about the idea of it and you know you shouldn't really do it. Kind of like when you go to the pet store and think about how awesome it would be to get this little kitty that needs a home but then you realize well, maybe it's not the right time. Or when you think about having another baby because they're so dang cute when they're small and you just really want to know what your next baby is going to look like but then you think well, I can barely handle what I have going on right now, another baby is only going to stress me out even more!

So one day as I was talking to Derek about it, after a while he turned to me and said, okay you're registered. I'm not going to lie, I felt pretty thrilled! It just felt good. So that was that. I was excited! Sometimes you just need to have faith that it will work out even though it's a huge risk and sounds insane... and this applies to having a second baby also.... (not an announcement...).

But over the next couple of weeks before class started, I kept having doubts and fears again. I contemplated canceling my spot. But then I would feel good about it at other times. I prayed and prayed and prayed and felt no definite right or wrong answer. So I figured that it was just up to me and it could go either good or not so good.

We decided it was going to be good.

So I'm half way through class now and I've learned a ton. We started with basic camera settings and cropping, moved onto lighting, posing, then composition and balance. Once we covered that we started with seniors (teenagers, not the elderly), then newborns, then babies last week and this week we're working on toddlers. Toddlers are fun... and extremely challenging. But I'm excited to be able to manipulate Noah!

The main thing with Fotofly and with the school is that their philosophy on photography is pretty evolved you could say. The main reason why they started the school was because they are tired of seeing so many amateur photographers (literally thousands if you search on Craigslist or KSL) who are giving non-flattering, distorted, flat, non professional, overall bad photos. And some charging a lot of money for it. Many photographers know nothing about lighting. It's quite strange actually. To say that Fotofly does not like flat photos is an understatement. I knew nothing about this concept before I went to their workshop. Now, it makes so much more sense. It is super hard though. It's so much easier to just stick them in the shade and take the shot. But it looks so much better when their face has a ratio of light, giving their face depth and shape. It reminds me of drawing in art class back in high school.. we were taught to shade one side to give the shape depth and make it look not flat. Or even if you look at old paintings of people, you will see a ratio!

So I do think that it's good that I am attending school rather than learning on my own. But then sometimes I think, well other photographers are giving flat pictures and other people think they're great and they're being paid. So does it really matter? But then I think, well that's probably why Fotofly is doing really, really well. They've only been opened for 4 years and they are soaring! Eric, the owner, who is also our teacher, has been doing photography for 22 years and he is the fourth generation photographer in his family. His dad is the one who originally opened Kiddie Kandids. He is extremely passionate about photography, super knowledgeable and extensively experienced (experienced in training as well). So I trust that he's going to make me a great photographer. I'm happy with my decision at this point.

Things have been a bit (okay, more than a bit) hectic around here but it's okay, we are handling it as best as we can. We discovered that Derek doesn't like getting his picture taken, especially when it takes several hours. Although it has been going better the past two weeks since I actually need to do real-ish sessions of babies and not just get certain shots with Derek or whoever.

Anyway, I'm enjoying it. I've had a few breakdowns, Derek and I have had a couple fights, I had to hold back tears on our first day shooting newborns, I've gone WAY out of my comfort zone and have made myself look like a complete fool but it's all good! I'm chasing my dream and doing what I've always wanted to do. My plan is that I'll most likely work part-time at Fotofly after I graduate for a little while. I think that will fine tune my skills, give me more experience and confidence and also help to pay off some of the school debt. Then I will probably think about starting my own business.

I've taken some really cool pictures on the way that I will cherish forever. It gives me such joy to see beautiful pictures of Noah and my family. It's kind of weird if you think about it, it's just a picture. But I think about the value it has. I think about seeing photos of my children when I'm old and wrinkly and I know they're going to be so special to me. And hopefully to them too.

Here are some of my favorite pictures I've taken over the last month and a half (not including any of my baby sessions - I'll do those another day). They're not perfect as far as technicalities but I'm still learning!