Hi there,
I'm Vanessa and this is just the beginning of an interesting endeavor.
You see, I've technically been a photographer since the summer before 8th grade. Though I can't write "14 years of experience" on job application, I can say it has been an ongoing journey to get me to this next chapter.
To sum up that 14 year: I took my first black and white, darkroom photography class at the Silvermine Arts Center in Connecticut one summer and clearly got the bug. I then took photography all throughout high school: darkroom, digital, honors art, you name it. However my goal was to be a professional dancer with photo being a second love. After 3 college dance auditions and an early onset existential crisis, I pulled a 360潞 and decided I would be a photographer. That's 4 years, plus 4 at Marymount Manhattan College, takes us to 8, throw in a graduation, the stress of finding a job in the arts, working as a producer at a loft in Brooklyn, a wedding photography editor and then landing photo retouching gig. I segued from a few stints of unemployment and freelance into full-time and spent the last 4 years at a cooperate fashion brand working as a photo retoucher. What started off as something new and exciting grew into the classic "soul-sucking job" no one wants to have. I found myself dreading going to work every morning, not being fulfilled and feeling like my photography career was slipping away from me just as dance did. So, this summer I took a major leap and quit my job to go freelance. Goodbye security, consistent income and benefits, hello endless possibility.
That brings me to here... I have now been out in the freelance wilderness since June 7th, and so far the hustle is real, but the feeling of freedom is even more real. I'm still mostly working as a retoucher because I have bills to pay, but the goal is to really step my photography up a notch.
My old friend 
Here's to going with the flow and sharing it along the way.
-Vanessa
P.S. Please feel free to hold me accountable to shooting, posting and being creative!
