My Photography Journey: Pam & Roxy The Kitty

I know you all love when we have a photographer “case study” on the blog, so I know you are going to appreciate this one, featuring Pam and the infamous Roxy the Kitty!

We’ve all grown to love both Pam and Roxy in our Auto to Awesome student group - Pam is so wonderfully positive and helpful (she’s always there with a kind word for new students) and of course, we all get a kick out of seeing Roxy the trail blazing cat!

Although Auto to Awesome is geared toward “people” photography, you can definitely take those skills and apply them to different types of photography, which is exactly what Pam has done with her beautiful pet and nature photography (and her husband is a great model too!)

Without further ado, I’ll hand you over to Pam to give the story of her photography journey….

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and why you wanted to learn photography in the first place?

I have a pretty demanding job which is very technical in nature and I was looking for a hobby that would help me with life/work balance. 

Then 3.5 years ago we got our Bengal cat Roxy who is quite energetic as well as very photogenic! 

We quickly found that she enjoyed hiking, bicycling, camping and kayaking with us which led to chronicling her adventures and the start of her Instagram page @roxythe_kitty.  I kept wishing that I could take better photos to capture her energy and spirit. 

I also love to be out in nature and capture wildlife images - all of this together led to me wanting to learn photography beyond snapshot type images.  I consider myself a hobbyist photographer with an ever increasing passion for making photos.

When did you start to learn photography, and what did you try first? 

 I used to shoot film with a 35mm camera, but I mostly stuck to auto settings. 

My real educational journey started when I got my first DSLR a Nikon D5600 crop sensor camera with a kit lens (18 - 55mm) and I did what most people do - I watched YouTube videos and I read blogs on google.  I got very frustrated with the vast amount of information, so I hired a professional photographer for a 2 hour basics lesson which made a huge amount of difference just learning about the exposure triangle. 

I was hooked and started photographing everything I saw, however my images were still less than what I wanted them to look like.  I knew that I wanted to learn in a more structured manner, but at least I determined that this was not just a passing whim.

What things were you struggling with?

I soon found that while I had interest and passion, I didn’t have enough technical knowledge and I struggled with focus (especially at larger apertures) and lighting.  I didn’t understand the qualities of light or the impact of the direction and angle of light, so I often had my subject’s face in shadow or blown highlights.  The lack of consistency of my photographs was a huge challenge and I would often take dozens of photos in the hopes that one would turn out good.

Did you take any Live Snap Love courses? Which one did you start with?  

Luckily one day I stumbled across Audrey’s blog on Pinterest and I loved the way she explained things - it made so much sense.  I read all of the posts that I could find and I signed up for her newsletter and one day in my inbox came the 5 days photography course. 

I often send friends who are interested in photography to the LiveSnapLove blog because it’s a great way to get a feel for Audrey’s teaching style before investing in courses. 

I signed up for the Auto to Awesome course right away and I also signed up for Launch Into Lightroom and The Magic of Photoshop but I didn’t do these two courses until I had finished A2A.

Did you have a turning point where everything clicked and if so, what was your lightbulb moment?   

My turning point came during Auto to Awesome the second time through as I was a lot more comfortable about posting photos and asking for feedback. 

I can recall posting a photo of Roxy that I was really proud of - I thought that the lighting was pretty special, but her nose was a bit soft and I had cut her tail off with my framing.  Audrey explained that the soft focus was because I was too close to her and using a large aperture (50mm F1.8) which meant that the depth of field was very shallow.  For some reason the explanation just clicked and I can remember setting up a stuffed animal and running through all the apertures of my lens and varying the distance to my “model” as well as varying the distance between my “model” and the background. 

Doing exercises like this and just practicing really helped to cement these concepts and I was able to translate them into creating better images in the field.  I really appreciated the interactive nature of the course and Facebook Groups as people are very supportive and willing to offer suggestions or feedback.

What did you do next on your photography journey? 

Next I did what a number of photographers do - I upgraded my camera to a full frame DSLR.  I had been shooting with my D5600 for about a year and a half and I spent a long time debating what I needed in a camera.  In the end I determined that I wanted a camera that enabled better low light photography, high resolution for wildlife, birds and action shots. 

I also signed up for The Art of Light course as I was still a bit hit and miss with lighting my subjects since a lot of my photography depends upon the movement of wildlife and birds which can be quite unpredictable.

Were there any further “a-ha” moments?

One of the key turning points for me was when I started taking photos of people.  I know that Audrey’s courses are geared more for family and lifestyle photography which is not what I was interested in photographing.  I found her teaching style really suited me, so while I didn’t originally have much interest in taking photos of people, I have found that this is something that I now really enjoy.  I was especially proud of the skills I had learned when friends asked me to take family portraits for their milestone birthday/anniversary celebration and they turned out really well. 

The Art of Light course was also a game changer for me - it has completely changed the way I see light and not just for photography, but when I’m watching movies or going for walks.  In the morning when the sun rises, I will often see amazing reflections in my office window and I have to stop and just take it all in. 

In my mind I am composing photos and working out what my exposure would be if I was out with my camera.  I also found that practice is key to honing my skills and so I now bring my camera to work and I go for walks at lunchtime and capture scenes that catch my eye.  This has helped tremendously with my composition and being more aware of framing and point of view.

Were there any challenges at this next stage? 

Prior to taking the Art of Light course I was finding that I was avoiding shooting at certain times of the day or in certain locations indoors due to harsh or poor lighting conditions.  My understanding of hard and soft light as well as the use of reflectors and the inverse law have really improved my confidence and I actually now seek out challenging lighting conditions for dramatic photos.

How do you feel about your photos now?

I feel like I am making much more consistent and creative photos and that the end product is closer to what I envision when I look at a scene.  I also feel that my photos have more depth and interest as I explore different ways of capturing images and lighting conditions.  I’m no longer afraid of shooting in more challenging conditions as I have learned more effective ways of understanding light and how to work with it better.  I feel that I have progressed well beyond snapshots and I am really starting to explore the more creative side of photography.

Do you wish you had done anything differently?

I am pretty content with the way that I have done things as I find that I need time to digest concepts and time to practice the things that I have learned.  One thing that I didn’t imagine would happen when I started this journey was the supportive network of photographers I would find when I signed up for the Auto to Awesome course.  I feel that I have learned so much from watching their journeys and receiving encouragement and feedback from them.  It is such a positive and uplifting community and I’ve gotten to know several people outside of the forum and we’re even thinking about meeting up for a photography workshop. 

I have also recently collaborated with Misty Schuler who was previously featured on the Live Snap Love blog too.  Misty is so inspirational with her Photoshop composite skills and she is very encouraging and generous with her time.  I had taken a photo of Roxy which seemed to cry out for one of Misty’s wonderful composites and I’m thrilled with the way it turned out. 

These friendships are a really positive bonus of taking Audrey’s courses.

What gear do you shoot with, and what’s your favourite lens?

I shoot with a Nikon D850 and my favourite lens for my documentary type photography is my Sigma 35mm F1.4 lens, but when I’m shooting wildlife or birds I love my 70 - 300 mm telephoto zoom lens.

 What’s next on your photography journey?

I have recently collaborated with a local photographer to stage photography workshops to raise funds for a local charity.  I got such a charge out of seeing others get that spark in their eye when they started to understand their camera a bit better and move out of Auto mode.  I would like to build on this experience and develop more pet or nature photography focused workshops.

 What advice would you pass on to new photographers?

I would advise new photographers to take a good basic course (obviously I would recommend Auto to Awesome!) and experiment and practice a lot.  Once you have the technical skills then you can focus on the creative storytelling and compositional side of photography.  Most of all I would tell new photographers to have fun with it and play.  The beauty of digital photography is being able to make a lot of mistakes and not having to pay for film processing to find out that you could have done something better.

MORE ABOUT PAM 

I am primarily a nature, wildlife and pet photographer who continues to work on honing my skills and enjoying the process of making photos.  Living close to the Rocky Mountains in Canada I have all sorts of opportunities to photograph amazing wildlife and scenery.  I also have a wonderfully photogenic Bengal cat who features heavily in my photo sessions - you can find her on the links below. Instagram @roxythe_kitty, FB Roxy Thekitty, or her YouTube channel Roxy Productions and I have just started a non cat focused page @pams_images for my other photography interests.  My husband is an accomplished musician and I can often coax him to do a photoshoot by bringing out one of his favourite guitars and amps.  Learning to shoot manual with a DSLR has opened all sorts of new opportunities for me and I am especially grateful to have learned this skill which allows me to document my life in a more creative way.