June K Collins Portraits

Introduction: What makes me so special? Those are some strong words but I am sure they are on individual’s minds thumbing through several photographers looking for the right one.  It is a hard choice and no matter whom you choose, most of the time, the pictures will turn out great.  I even have a hard time picking a photographer.  I can take pictures but when I have to be in front of the camera it is hard.  And I am so picking when it comes to my own family pictures!  So I understand about all of the worries. There is a challenge in photography and I accept the challenge without fear :).  If someone doesn’t smile much, I try to get a picture of them smiling, if someone is upset, I try to cheer them up.  By the end of each session, I am convinced I have conquered my challenge.  It is kind of funny, I rush home and sit in front of my computer and look through the images.  It’s kind of like Christmas, you want to see what you got and are excited when you get exactly what you were looking for.  Silly it sounds but that is the best way I can describe it.  I end up consuming my free time with editing the images from a session.  Once I sit down and start, unless it is a wedding, I don’t stop until I am finished.  I know how it is to take pictures and not get them back for weeks.  I try to get the images back within days.  Sometimes it might take longer but I don’t want to keep my families/individuals waiting.  I don’t want to wait either! I want to show them what was created with their session.   The day I meet my families/person I am nervous.  I feel the images are great but I want my families/person to feel they are exactly what they wanted.  I am always on pins and needles until I meet with them, receive a call, email or a text message.   When I see that smile or watery eyes, my heart melts.  I confirm each time that this hobby or “job” is the greatest hobby or “job” anyone could have. So what makes me so special?  It is something each family/person I photograph will have to tell you.  I know I take great images, I’m passionate about photography and I love capturing emotion in my images.  I pour my heart into each session?  Or maybe I make the families/person feel comfortable, or they know me some how.  Or in my daughter’s case she is just stuck with me.  I don’t know but I am thrilled that everyone does come back.  It is the best compliment a photographer can receive! Since I started taking pictures in 2009, I fell in love with it.  I love to meet the family/person I will photograph.  It is interesting learning what someone wants and their personality.  Each session is so different from the last.  The day of the session everyone is always nervous.  To take the edge off, I always try and take basic/general pictures (something you would see from a chain store photography studio, I personally don’t like posing individuals).  After the first pictures are done, people start to relax and that is when the fun starts.  Serious pictures, funny pictures, loving pictures, I try to capture them all.  I love seeing emotion in my images.  Capturing that moment of emotion and having the family/person remember that day is a powerful thing.  It’s what I feel great photography is all about.