kylie morgan: Why I Do What I Do // Tangible Memories

Most of the stuff I share on this blog is my photography work, pictures of my clients.

Which I LOVE sharing. I wouldn't share it if I didn't like it!

I love being able to record and document my work,

and I love showing how unique each of my clients are.

It's fun being able to scroll through past posts,

and seeing my work then

and my work now.

It's mostly a way to show me what I can work on to better myself in the images I'm creating.

I always wish I had kept a journal,

kept a journal and been good and consistent at journaling.

Lets be honest, I probably have about two entries in the journal I do have.

One from 2007, and then one from 2011.

That sounds about right.

So maybe it's a good idea to start journaling, through blogging.

Amongst sharing work of my clients, why not put more work into it

and show not only my photography work of other people, but my personal life as well.

Technically its all one in the same right?

I wouldn't take pictures if I didn't like

documenting life.

That's what this is to me really.

It's why I do what I do.

Right out of high school I went straight to college, thinking I knew what I wanted to do with my life. At that point in time I did want to be a photographer.

I loved creating things, I always have.

I spent my first semester of college in Utah, where I didn't push myself enough to gain what I could have out of it. And that's my own fault.

Regardless, I didn't spend my time doing what I love. I kind of was just there cause I was there.

Nothing was clicking at the time, and I wasn't having any "breakthroughs" with life.

So I left, spent a semester at home working--all of which I don't even remember what I did,

and then proceeded to head down to school in Hawaii.

Let me tell you, if you're not a creator, Hawaii will make you one.

Life was unbelievable down there. And it got me into taking pictures more and more,

because I wanted to document this time in my life.

Lucky I had friends who loved pictures as well, so they were kind of my guinea pigs ;)

I knew I still wanted to focus around photography, and went back and forth between the business-class side, and the photography sides of things.

I spent my free time obviously at the beach and exploring the little island of Oahu,

ending up with thousands of images from that short year.

(Which, to see a summary of that year of my life, it's under the "personal" tab in the category page, scroll through that bad boy for a while :) )

After my year there, I enrolled at Boise State, where I was part of their graphic design program because I could still work on pictures on my own time, but having a legit design degree might help me have a plan B.

Halfway through the semester I realized that I had absolutely no idea what I would even do with that degree. Probably something would come of it, but I literally am the worst person at riding those kinds of things out.

I need outcome, and I need outcome now.

Not a strong suit of mine...

And I took decent pictures, I did work here and there for people and for myself, and I focused on photography in my spare time.

But it wasn't ENOUGH time.

There weren't enough hours in the day to go to school, do homework, go to work, feed my adventuring soul, and try to improve my photo work--the one thing I wanted to do most.

So, after a year at Boise State, I decided to call it all quits.

I'm still not sure if that is a good idea,

but I'm pretty confused on how to even start again in school or what year I would even be in....so I'm just gonna go ahead and stay out of it.

ANYWAYS.

I finally had more time to create.

I have more time to make things for my future home that I'm dying to make.

No, it doesn't bring me money, but maybe one day our home will be the cover of a magazine because it looks like a million dollar home from refurbished items ;)

I have more time to plan my business,

to plan the next step I need to take (which currently am at a total loss),

make lists (seriously, lists are my best friend and my worst enemy. It's a love/hate relationship),

to submit my work into contests,

go on adventures,

and

to capture moments in peoples lives to be relived.

Taking pictures is SO much more to me than just taking a picture to have a cute picture to show my fellow Instagramers what I've been up to lately.

It takes work. It takes A LOT of planning.

And planning isn't always easy.

Hours on end have been spent in my room organizing and planning, and it still doesn't seem like I've gotten very far.

Half the time is just spent thinking on where to go next, I don't even get to the actual planning stage. (yes, the thinking and planning stages are different)

Really I just want to take good enough pictures for magazines for everyone to see.

Like can that happen already?

Little by little it's adding up (fingers crossed) and hopefully will become something magnificent.

And everyone I have worked with is SO different. Everyone is unique, and this above anything else makes me realize that.

I get to work with people first hand, I get to know their story, and that helps me best portray them and who they are.

So I'm not just taking pictures,

I'm clearly not the only one who makes the picture what it is,

The picture wouldn't be without the one in it,

I'm just a contributor.

So really,

We are creating images.
We are creating tangible memories.

We are creating images of that moment in life that can be looked back on years from now, and hopefully will in turn bring back so many feelings and emotions that coincided with that time.

I am so blessed to live in a day and age where these kinds of things are made available, and where these kinds of things are thriving. Im clearly am not the best in the business--I am not by a LONG shot,

but I love what I do regardless, and I plan to stick with it.

...Sorry Chase, good thing you'll have a degree ;)

I'm thankful that I've been given the opportunities that I've been given, and the capability to explore and create.

I cannot wait for when I am older to flip through books and printed blog posts, and photos with my kids, to point out people and places, to tell them stories through photos, and to show them that there is so much more to the world than the little town they live in.

To tell them that every body matters, and that every body has a story.

So much to be seen, and so much to be done.

So,

this is why I do what I do.