From disposable cameras to raptors 905 photography The Journey To Living My Passion

As a kid growing up, I still remember the thrill I felt when I had a new roll of film to take to the store and have developed. I would wait for what seems like an eternity, to carefully pull back the sealed envelope and take my first glimpse at the fruits of my labour. I took disposable cameras everywhere and kept meticulously organized photo albums from every vacation to documenting my daily life. I think I knew then, that photography would always be a part of me, no matter what road I chose to go down.

I always considered myself someone who loved the arts, and I became obsessed with film, television and music videos from a cinematographer’s perspective. The funny part was, I never really considered myself as someone who could do those things having grown up in a fairly traditional generation where most of us graduated high school and became police officers or teachers; I chose the latter. I devoted my time to my education and playing sports, always considering photography and videography as something that I did not quite have the skills to achieve professionally.

After graduating from University, I was beyond privileged to have my parents gift me my very first Canon DSLR as a graduation gift. It was there that I fell in love with creating, all over again. I travelled to South Korea to teach English and documented every minute of my life for years on that Rebel XTI until it had no shutter clicks left to give. I began shooting my travels, portraits of friends, weddings, sports, engagements, families, live music and concerts; basically, I shot anything I could get my hands on. I still shoot a variety of things and specifically have my own wedding photography business that is my secondary source of income at the moment. However, over the years, I have honed down my niche to focus solely on my interests and what is a financially viable way to do what I love.

Finding the courage to do what you love is one thing, finding your niche AND a way to pay your bills is an entirely different story and takes time in my experience. Over the past two years, I have worked hard to build my name up in the sports industry, resulting in opportunities I am forever grateful for. I regularly shoot the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League for ATB News and I am a contributor to West End Phoenix. Most notably, last year I was hired by Maclean’s Magazine to cover Jurassic Park during the

Raptors Championship Playoff run, where my photos were featured online as well as in the commemorative issue. The road to get here has been full of setbacks and successes. There is an even longer road ahead because I feel like I am not even close to where I would like to be; getting paid regularly to shoot professionally and letting go of my day job.

So how did I get to where I currently am, and what am I doing to continue to propel myself forward?

I focused on learning the skills of my craft. I remember starting out and having all kinds of technical issues during shoots, coming home after a wedding to find out half the pictures I took were out of focus or underexposed. I never had formal training to learn photography, so the internet has easily become my best friend to access some of the best free training the world has to offer. Adobe Creative Suite and SkillShare are monthly paid memberships and have thousands of tutorials on how to upgrade your talents in a variety of areas.

Education:

There is absolutely nothing worse than trying to shoot sports photography without a camera and lenses that can handle the game’s fastpaced nature. When I began shooting basketball, it was on an 85mm prime lens that my sister would lend me and do not get me wrong, the bokeh looked pretty, but it was not realistic to continue shooting on something designed for portraiture when you need something for speed. Having a computer with the

Invest in your Gear:

correct specifications for speed and memory so that you can cull, sort, and edit your photos efficiently is paramount to proper workflow and turnaround times for your clients. There is no excuse in this industry for not meeting a deadline, and your gear needs to make the cut.

Network and Do Not Take No for an Answer:

I still remember the day I stood in line at Nike Crown League with a white spectator wristband watching all the approved media get their orange cards on black lanyards and bypassing me in the crowd. I had heard about Crown League through the grapevine and registered myself online, packed up my gear and headed downtown Toronto to see what it was about. The league ran for five consecutive weeks and I showed up week after week, with my white wristband and used the chance to connect with people at the event, fellow photographers and videographers, until eventually on the last week, I was given my own media pass to cover the event for a local basketball news outlet, On Point Basketball. Over those five weeks, I made connections that turned into continued work in the field; got the chance to be on the ATB Media team covering the Raptors 905; and built a portfolio that was noticed online by a freelance photo editor, Jalani Morgan, who gave me my initial opportunity with Maclean’s. In short, network with people as much as possible.