How photography became part of my life
Hey there!
My name is Tasha, I am a portrait photographer in Phoenix Arizona. I am drawn to creativity! I have tattoos, my dogs are family members too, I met my husband when we were 9 years old. I beat him up for liking me.. ha ha I’ll have to tell that story another day but he is the love of my life (12 years of marriage this year).
I took photography like every other senior in high school and started my love affair for freezing moments. After kids and life happened I needed a creative outlet so I attended Empire Beauty College. I achieved a Cosmetology License in 2008 and fell in love with the beauty industry, this allowed me to work alongside photographers and creatives over the years.
While I enjoyed doing hair and makeup, there was something missing in my “creative outlet”. I really had the desire to be behind the camera to be honest. Maybe I was the artist with the wrong tools, wrong medium, wrong industry? Who knows…So I bought my first DSLR camera ( don’t judge it was a Sony a7, I’m a Canon girl now). Man the learning curve… when I learned photography in high school we shot ONLY FILM.
Yes I am THAT old… lol (34 years young to be exact).
During this time in my life my Husband was Active Duty Army stationed in upstate NY ( of course when he wasn’t deployed for a year at a time). I practiced with my new camera on my kids, friends, neighbors, and of course the dogs. I knew the basics of shooting in manual from the ancient film days, so this was super helpful. A few years later my husband got medically released from the army and we moved home to Arizona. By we I mean Me, hubby, our 3 kids, and 2 dogs.
I was a stay at home mom, but I just wasn’t happy being home all day. It took quite a long time to get my license for cosmetology moved over to AZ and honestly I just didn’t love it like I once did. My husband has always been the biggest supporter and was excited for me going back to school. So I wanted to make him proud.
I enrolled in The Art Institute online so I could tend to my home and children while working towards a goal. In April of 2018 I graduated from The Art Institute with an Associates in the Science of Digital Photography. We moved all over Arizona for a few years while different job opportunities came available for my husband, and I continued to grow as a photographer. Life was pretty good and we were already so used to moving around having been a prior military family.
Then all at once my WHOLE WORLD was shattered… my husband got really sick, and was diagnosed with carcinoid cancer in his lung. I know, I know! You cant believe I hit you with that one… There is a reason I am telling you this….. Its not to air out any dirty laundry or put our private life out there for the world, or sympathy…
Its part of why I am so passionate about my photography… Truth is my husbands diagnosis was a turning point in my life and what FUELS my work. I know the truth and reality is that not one person is promised another day on this amazing earth. Not me, not you, no one.
We have all been through things, truth is that through all the crazy things I have experienced in my life, I learned how important it is to take photos with your loved ones. Even if you don’t want to… everyone should. My husband used to hate having his picture taken, now he tells me “I know I don’t like being photographed but I am glad we do them.”
When my husband got sick, I took a year away from my camera and worked a 9-5 job editing for a company in north phoenix while my husband was the stay at home dad so he could heal and rest. In this year we learned a lot about how the other parent spends their day. That was a challenge in its self, but the best part was it strengthened our marriage and helped me grow as a person. I missed my camera at this point and needed to get back to it.
My husband began to get his energy and strength back and went back to work. I quit my crappy 9-5 job and dove so heavy in to photography. I became a sponge I learned as much as I could, I photographed as much as I could and I haven’t stopped since….. and I don’t think I ever will…
Besides the health stuff, I also realize my babies are growing and changing and really aren’t babies any more. My oldest is in high school this year. Time is against us all. I want people to have beautiful images of them with their loved ones, weather its you and your spouse, your family, or just the kids… Take the dang photos… You will be so glad later in life that you did.
So there it is my “WHY” I do it. Why I love it.
-Tasha
