I still can't believe they asked me to do this...
The lovely Sally at Derby College EC asked little old me to go and give the lovely level 3 students at Derby College Equestrian Center a talk all about my photography business and how I got to where I am now.
I'm not going to lie, I haven't "spoken" in front of people since school, and the thought of doing it was absolutely terrifying, BUT I really wanted to do it. There's something about managing to do something that scares me that gives me such a buzz. Although to some people it seems easy enough to talk in front of 40+ students and teachers, it's not something that sits in my comfort zone.
It's not often I get asked about my story... From vaulting to eventing to photography, and lots and lots in between... Essentially I am a self taught Equine and dog photographer, and only recently have I invested in myself to help me learn how to be better at "business" and "marketing". This suddenly dawned on me after I'd spoken. The first 18 months of my business I have basically been winging it, learning everything I can for free, and look where it's got me! It's amazing what a bit of hard work and determination can do! And I'm really proud of how far I've come.
It was a real pleasure sharing everything with them, and the bonus was that they each had a quick 10 minute photo session with the college horses (though some of them bought their own horses in!) afterwards.
It was a really miserable day, so we ended up working in the indoor, which in itself was a massive challenge for me, as I've never taken photos in an indoor arena before - certainly not portrait shots!
So here's some of the photos from the day... The support from the students afterwards was completely overwhelming... And I managed to get through something that scared the hell out of me without choking, vomiting or swearing (bonus!)...
Lunar Photography, Equine & Dog Photographer in Derbyshire