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NoBS Member/Photo of the Month: Dawn Schubert

Congratulations go out this month to NoBS member Dawn_ellen (aka Dawn Schubert) whose image was selected as the Photo of the Month. Here is Dawn's story about how she got mixed up in this crazy business of ours and the story behind her winning image.

"Photography has always been an interest of mine. I remember growing up thinking that I would love to be a photographer, but I NEVER had the confidence to pursue my dream.

When I went to college I took a test that supposedly showed my strengths and weaknesses in order to to help me decide what field of study to follow. I scored EXTREMELY low on the technical and mechanical part of the test. My strengths were high on the artistic side. It gave some suggestions for careers and one was in visual arts. I thought about photography but then remembered the technical/mechanical scores and quickly changed my mind. I get very frustrated when it comes to the mechanics of things. As a result, I went into the medical field and fed my artistic side with painting and mosaics.

After having three kids, my husband and I agreed that it would be best for me to stay home and raise the kids for a while. Then for my 35th birthday my husband bought me a digital Rebel and that was it! I was bitten by the photography bug. I wanted to learn EVERYTHING I could about that camera. I wasn’t content with the automatic mode button; I wanted to learn how it all worked. I started going to the library and book stores and searching online for any information I could get my hands on. I wasn’t employed so I would spend a good 40 hours a week studying and practicing. I would continue to get very frustrated with the technical side of photography, though. I knew what I wanted and I was determined to learn how to get it.

My husband was very supportive and every Saturday morning for an entire year he would take me out rain or shine and I would give myself an assignment and we would drive out to the country and shoot in different light settings. I would go home and download my images read some more to try to figure out what I did wrong then back out the following weekend to shoot again and correct my mistakes. I was determined to get it right. I started getting asked by people to take their portraits. I would tell them I really didn’t know what I was doing and I needed practice so if they didn’t mind I’d be happy to practice on them. More and more people were asking, and I did it but I sucked. This just made me more determined to learn portrait photography. I did more reading and researching then one day in early 2008, I found NoBS Photo Success. It was a God send. I quickly jumped right in and posted my images for critique. Getting my images CC’d by professionals was a little unnerving but I knew I needed it to get better. I started learning more about shadows and light and it all started to somehow make sense. I also learned slowly how to edit in photoshop. I continued to read my manual for my camera on a daily basis until it all finally started sinking in.

Just a year and a half after joining NoBS (four years after receiving my little Rebel) I have a thriving business and a studio under construction. Thanks to my husband George for being there every step of the way. We have made some lasting friendships and would like to say thanks to Danny and Diane (We Shoot Ya) for helping us learn off camera flash and always being there when I have questions. Rob and James, you rock. Thanks for the forum. I certainly don’t feel like I have arrived since I have so much more to learn (and I do everyday), but I am on my way!

About the Photo of the Month

My winning image is actually a swipe from Danny. He shot a Ballerina when I went to visit him last year. I had fun processing this image with a texture and some lucis art and a little bit of design house too. I love my job!"

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More of Dawn's Photos

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