In 2019 my sister, Liz, asked me to take her engagement photos. I obviously was flattered, but thought, “are you sure you want ME to take your engagement photos?”. She was confident I would be able to take some great photos for her. I wanted to prove her right, so I took an online iPhone photography class held by my wedding photographer, Amanda Donaho, and I learned a lot! I learned about exposure, framing, lines, and editing. I practiced and practiced until I felt confident that I could surpass Liz’s expectations. Liz and her husband Tyler were my guinea pigs and ever since their photo shoot, I’ve loved taking pictures for people. For their shoot we went to Schiller Park on a very hot summer day. When we parked we quickly realized it was Village Valuables Day where bargain hunters from all over Ohio come to German Village for one big yard sale. It was crowded to say the least. What I thought would be an obstacle, turned out to be a blessing and a learning experience. People were so complementary of Liz and Tyler and congratulated them and an owner of one of the beautiful homes in German Village showed us to a hidden ally behind their house with amazing lighting and a cool brick wall. It was a photographers dream! I had so much fun during their shoot and it showed promise to my photographing future. I hope to continue with these stories as I take more photos for people!