My love for photography started when I was 12 years old. My father bought a used Nikon FM at a garage sale. He saw how it interested me and quickly said, “Here honey, you can have this.” I was hooked the second I learned how to manually load the film and heard the sound of the shutter opening and closing.
The first time I set out to take a portrait of someone I knew how important it was to isolate your subject. The lens seemed to clarify all that was beautiful in someone. In that moment I knew the camera helped me see everything more purely. It was as though all the chaos was eliminated when I looked through the lens.
I fully understand and love the technical side of what I do, but I am 100% an emotional photographer. Most times I don’t consciously think about the technicalities. The lighting is instinctual for me. It’s how I see the world. The light motivates me, but the emotion makes me come alive during a shoot.
After all this time, I still feel a moment of panic and self-doubt prior to every shoot. I often stop during my sessions to make everyone take a big deep breath. Most times that’s for me, but it seems to help everyone slow down and connect. The self-doubt is part of my process. If I stop feeling at least a little nervous then I’ve become complacent, and I would never want that.
It is very important to me to put my camera at my side many times during my sessions to ask questions about the people I’m photographing and sometimes just to observe them for a second. I cannot stress enough how essential it is to connect with the people you are photographing. You only have a brief amount of time to get a sense of who they are. If you look closely and thoughtfully you will see the little things that define them.
The moment I see someone’s true beauty come through things seem to fall into place, both for me and my subjects.
During my shoots, the stress of my own life melts away. Having the ability to disconnect from everything else, just be somewhere beautiful, and be in the moment with my clients is probably my favorite thing about my work.
I look forward to continuing on with my camera in hand and my heart on my sleeve.
To see more of my work follow me on Facebook & Instagram ~ Carolyn Devine Photography Los Angeles, CA
Thank you to this gorgeous couple for allowing me to showcase them here!