It is such an honor to spend time with Deanna&Matty, being a photographer herself it means a lot that she would choose me to photograph her family.

I met Deanna when I was a student at Lakeshore. She was both teacher&mentor for my senior years – and also a professional photographer. Unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, I took a range of subjects – science, math, arts – I kept my options open.

Some members of my family looked down on becoming a photographer and tried to convince me to get a more reliable career, one that you could make a million dollars doing. At one point I even thought of becoming a nurse – they almost got to me! In my heart there was that nagging feeling that I wouldn’t be happy unless I had a camera in my hand.  Newborn&kids were my passion and I knew that photography was what I wanted to be doing.

Money isn’t everything. Yes you need money to survive, but being happy is the most important thing in life. This hasn’t been an easy trip – and I still have a long way to go – but luckily there are people in my life who support me and believe in what I’m doing. I couldn’t do it without them.  I am so glad that I didn’t listen to those people telling me I couldn’t do it. Every day I push myself to become better; a better photographer, a better person and I do it to show those people that I can.

Deanna is one of those teachers who truly care about their students. It was Deanna that gave me the push I needed to follow my dreams – and assured me that yes, I could make a living as a photographer – with a lot of hard work! In the face of all those negative voices telling me I couldn’t do it, Deanna gave me the confidence&support to follow my dreams and I am forever grateful.

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