Inspired, A Very Special Project | Bre Thurston Photography

I was fairly shy as a child, so in my adulthood, I’ve basically forced myself out of it. I’m very bubbly, smile and laugh probably a little too much, and am a true optimist at heart. I sometimes worry that people think it’s fake, but it’s totally not.

Honestly, I just love beautiful images. I never saw myself as anything more than a hobbyist photographer, but I’m also a bit of a perfectionist and it annoyed me that my photos weren’t as beautiful as other peoples. That’s what pushed me to grow into the photographer that I am today. The business idea was secondary to the fact that I just wanted to be good at photography.

Canon 5D classic (the old girl has been good to me), Canon 20D as back-up, 70-200 2.8L IS, 24-70 2.8L, 85 1.8, 50 2.5 macro, Speedlite 580EX II, Speedlite 420, radio transmitters/receivers (off brand) and handfuls of CF cards, batteries, and a couple of hotshoe cords. Oh, and gum, chapstick, business cards, and maybe a stale muffin that I forgot about.

I started off with a Canon Rebel XTi and the kit lens. At the time that I bought it, it was the most money that I had paid for a single item besides our house and my car. I was shaking!

Oh geeze, that’s like choosing a favorite child! I’d have to say my 85 1.8, which is funny because up until a few months ago, I would always talk about how much I hated primes. I had both the 50 1.8 and 1.4 and never really liked them. However, I’ve found that the focal length of the 85 is perfect for me and it’s just a sharp, creamy little lens. I will say that I ADORE the 70-200 wide open at the 200mm end, but I love how compact, light, and affordable the 85 is, so the 85 edges out the 70-200 if I had to choose just one lens for an entire session.

Join photography forums! I know that some people think that they are a time-suck, but I would not be where I am now without them. The critique that you receive, both skill wise and business wise is priceless. Just being surrounded by so much talent is bound to push you to become a better photographer. Not only that, but if you participate, you will make wonderful friends. Some of my best friends are photographers that I’ve met online (my mom is shaking her head right now…) Having that kind of support and education system is so great for you if you are hoping to open a photography business. Photographers as a whole are a very generous, helpful bunch so get involved and you’ll be paid back in spades.

I had a few. I think Jasmine Star was the first. I loved wedding photography more than anything, and the way she captures romance and beauty was truly inspiring. I also love Ben Chrisman – his wedding style is so, so different than how I see things so the first time I was clicking through his site, my jaw was on the floor. He was also the first photographer who made my cry in a wedding slideshow. The creativity is just insane. Lastly, I fell in love with Diana of Yan Photography. I first found her on one of the photography forums that I’m on. Her work is honest, real, and effortless. Not only that, but she is super nice.

I love moments – silly moments, real moments, romantic moments, and even sad moments. That sometimes means that I take a photo of my son on the toilet (sorry, love), my husband asleep on the couch and then his angry face when he realizes I was taking the photo (not sorry, he deserves it, haha), or tender moments between my loved ones. I rarely take things like landscapes or stills, it’s just not my thing.

Paul and Joanne Newman. They always seemed so genuinely in love, and Paul wasn’t too bad on the eyes either. Ladies, am I right or am I right?

Lighthearted, low-key, easy.

Oh, I can’t believe I’m telling you this…but just a few months ago I did an engagement session at Disneyland. Before every portrait session, I make sure that I have at least two camera batteries fully charged. Well, the night before I plugged them in but I didn’t realize that they were plugged into an outlet that wasn’t on unless the wall switch was turned on. I shot for about 20 minutes before I realized that my first battery was dying. No biggie…I put the 2nd one in, and that one was nearly dead too. I was so embarrassed, but luckily I always carry a wall charger with me so I took it to the camera store on Main Street and they had it charged for me in about 30 minutes. I felt so unprofessional and definitely learned my lesson – don’t plug your charger into an outlet connected to a wall switch! Thankfully my clients are awesome and laid back so it wasn’t a huge deal.

Oh yes. In July 2010, my husband, son and I moved from Sacramento to Riverside, CA. I was just getting my business up and running and then I moved 8 hours away. We had no idea if I could make it work in Southern California so it was a giant leap of faith…I had zero clients here. For the first several months, I was traveling back up to Sacramento all the time just to do shoots and continue to make money. Thankfully, things have started to pick up in Southern California and now I’m very happy with my ratio of sessions in both Northern and Southern California.

1 hour before sunset, or if I’m shooting at the beach, the 50 minutes before sunset and then about 10 minutes after sunset.

I have no idea! I’m actually going back to school part time right now, but I don’t know for what. I’m thinking of majoring in biology at the moment, but that could totally change. Talk about polar opposites right – photography and biology.

No, I have zero formal education in photography. I’d like to take a photography class just for kicks to see how it differs from the way that I’ve learned photography.

I had to make a conscious decision to change the way I shoot and how I direct my clients. I was actually on the verge of no longer photographing families because I was getting so frustrated. I couldn’t get adults to relax, I couldn’t get toddlers to look at me and I couldn’t get older kids to give me genuine smiles. I don’t like the posed, formal look but I didn’t know anything different. One day, I just decided, “Okay, do it your way” and I fully expected that session to be a disaster and for my clients to hate the photos. Thankfully, they didn’t. Most of my clients know what to expect when they have a session with me because they see the work on my site. They know that I’m going to be taking natural, candid moments so they open themselves up to that. However, I do sometimes have clients who say, “You’ll tell us what to do, right? We’ve never done this before!” At that point, I explain to them that yes, I will pose them and tell them what I want them to do, but then I will tell them to just relax, talk, play and be themselves and to completely forget that I’m standing there with a camera. It sounds simple because it is, and it works! However, for it to fully work, the photographer needs to be ready and willing to capture the moments…and trust me, they WILL happen in every session with even the most formal, stiff client.

My first love is weddings and couples. I love beauty, romance and emotion. I love storytelling. In the last year, I’ve also learned that I really, really love photographing families which is funny considering that I almost stopped shooting them at one point. Another love of mine is boudoir. After having my own images done and feeling so incredibly empowered, I wanted to offer that to other women. We are all uniquely beautiful and every woman deserves to know that.

I guess it’s as simple as having a couple, wedding, or family that is truly candid with their emotions. I love sessions where people are truly being open. For example, at a wedding, I crave bridesmaids who laugh so hard that they cry, groomsmen who are silly and outrageous, a groom who tears up when he sees his bride for the first time, and guests who dance like there is no tomorrow. At a family session, I want to see parents playing with their children, tickles, laughs, and parents who look at each other like they are thinking, “I love our family!” That’s all I really want. All the rest is just gravy.

I want to find and photograph clients who would fit the description that I just listed above. I want the courage to perhaps even turn away clients who aren’t a right fit for me. This is not a once size fits all business. I also have a set number of weddings that I’d like to photograph in 2012.

I get frustrated. I get jealous. I know those sound like negative things, but for me they aren’t. Those are the things that inspire me to become a better photographer. I love it when I’m looking at photos and thinking, “Gosh, I could NEVER take those! That makes me angry!” because then I’m spurred on to at least try. About twice a year, I find myself getting very frustrated at my progress and when I look back at those times, those are my greatest times of growth.

I hate feeling rushed and what happens to my photos when I don’t take my time. When I rush, my work suffers and I start to get nervous, and nerves are not a good thing to have in this business. I have to force myself to take a breath, slow down, and just get it done.

Digital. I live in a Facebook world, baby. That being said, everyone should also have large prints in their home and even albums, even if they are just 4×6’s in sleeves.