Life Narrative Project

For my Online Storytelling & Audience Engagement class, I was tasked with creating an online project that represents an important aspect of my life. While there are many things about me which I consider “important,” I chose to make my project about photography because it relates to my academic career. I’m in a media major, so I’d like to talk about my favorite media: photos. I am a freelance portrait photographer, but I also love to take animal, landscape, and macro photos in my free time. As far as my paid work goes, I have taken anniversary, graduation, senior, friendship, prom, and wedding photos. My favorite subject for portrait photography is couples because it is so much fun to watch them interact and candid moments are the cutest! This gallery consists of photos that convey professional growth, personal meaning, or my creative style. Below each photo is a caption which explains why it’s important to myself and this project. Enjoy!

This is a photo I took of my brother last fall at the CSU Oval. I love this photo because this was when I learned to capture motion blur with my camera and I like how the falling leaves look.

This is a photo I took of my brother last fall at the CSU Oval. I love this photo because this was when I learned to capture motion blur with my camera and I like how the falling leaves look.

This is my dog, Hazel, running around my family's farm. I think this photo captures the joy on her face- it's easy to see how much she loves to run. At this point, I was learning to stop motion in a photo.

This is my dog, Hazel, running around my family's farm. I think this photo captures the joy on her face- it's easy to see how much she loves to run. At this point, I was learning to stop motion in a photo.

This is a photo I took of my mom holding one of our newborn puppies. I really like the texture in this photo and how it shows the detail in the puppy's face.

This is a photo I took of my mom holding one of our newborn puppies. I really like the texture in this photo and how it shows the detail in the puppy's face.

This is one of the first self-portraits I ever took. This was a big deal because I'm not usually in front of a camera, and it was very difficult to use a self-timer and manual focus to achieve a "good" self-portrait.

This is one of the first self-portraits I ever took. This was a big deal because I'm not usually in front of a camera, and it was very difficult to use a self-timer and manual focus to achieve a "good" self-portrait.

I took this photo of Caroline in Old Town, Fort Collins. I love the vibrant colors in Old Town and was really happy that the final photos conveyed those colors.

I took this photo of Caroline in Old Town, Fort Collins. I love the vibrant colors in Old Town and was really happy that the final photos conveyed those colors.

My friend, Nancy modeled for a photo essay that I submitted for a JMC class at CSU. This was in front of a building at the Oval and I love how the slope of the stairs mimics the slant of her posture in this photo.

My friend, Nancy modeled for a photo essay that I submitted for a JMC class at CSU. This was in front of a building at the Oval and I love how the slope of the stairs mimics the slant of her posture in this photo.

This is a recent photo of my mom in our backyard on my family's farm in Fort Collins. I think that her expression, combined with the color of the sky in the background, relates a sense of freedom. My goal with all of my photos is for them to convey s

This is a recent photo of my mom in our backyard on my family's farm in Fort Collins. I think that her expression, combined with the color of the sky in the background, relates a sense of freedom. My goal with all of my photos is for them to convey some kind of emotion like this.

This is the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. I don't usually do landscape photography, but I loved the composition of the rocks and the color contrast between the red rocks and the blue sky.

This is the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. I don't usually do landscape photography, but I loved the composition of the rocks and the color contrast between the red rocks and the blue sky.

Avery contacted me to take photos for her and her boyfriend's anniversary. I am always so excited to do paying photoshoots and loved the results of this one in particular!

Avery contacted me to take photos for her and her boyfriend's anniversary. I am always so excited to do paying photoshoots and loved the results of this one in particular!

I took Conner's senior high school photos, but I also got a few cute shots of him and his mom. Sometimes, candid photos pull viewers in emotionally more than posed ones.

I took Conner's senior high school photos, but I also got a few cute shots of him and his mom. Sometimes, candid photos pull viewers in emotionally more than posed ones.

This is my friend, Emma, in the flower garden at CSU. This shoot reignited my love for photography after a long hiatus because the color/placement of different flowers allowed me to be very creative.

This is my friend, Emma, in the flower garden at CSU. This shoot reignited my love for photography after a long hiatus because the color/placement of different flowers allowed me to be very creative.

This is the barn cat on my family's farm. It can be very difficult to take solid portraits of animals because they move around, but I was very excited to capture him in his natural habitat: standing in the hay.

This is the barn cat on my family's farm. It can be very difficult to take solid portraits of animals because they move around, but I was very excited to capture him in his natural habitat: standing in the hay.

My mom loves to drive her tractor around the farm. I took this photo during golden hour, and I love how the backlight frames her and the tractor. Golden hour is my favorite time to take photos because it makes everything look almost "heavenly."

My mom loves to drive her tractor around the farm. I took this photo during golden hour, and I love how the backlight frames her and the tractor. Golden hour is my favorite time to take photos because it makes everything look almost "heavenly."