How I Got Into Photography (And Why I Never Looked Back)

When I was a kid, I developed a deep passion for cars. I used to be obsessed with Hummers, then Lamborghinis, and now Porsches. I look at cars like moving pieces of art. At the age of 13, my friends and I started a car account called East Coast Exotics, where we would post pictures of cool cars we saw in our area. This is where my photography journey began. I just took photos on my iPhone 5 and they did not look fantastic. When I turned 16, my parents gave me a Canon Rebel T6 DSLR camera. I branched out from East Coast Exotics and made my own photography brand: LRG Photography. I taught myself how to use manual settings and improved my craft until I was confident enough to do professional shoots.

I didn't think I would be able to keep up my photography in college. However, I did one year at NOVA Community College, where I continued doing photography on the side. I was a biology major, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. I started touring colleges to transfer to and found out about Madison Automotive Apprentices (MAAP for short) at James Madison University. Initially, I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep up my car photography in an area with no car scene. MAAP was the sole reason why I applied to JMU, and I didn't even have the job at the time. I just wanted to be somewhere where I could be surrounded by cool cars. I changed my major to marketing, figuring that I could somehow fuse my photography work into that industry. I applied for MAAP and ended up becoming the first marketing intern. For nearly 3 years, I have been taking photos for MAAP and managing their blog, website, newsletter, and more! If you asked me in high school what I thought I would be doing in college, this would be the last thing I could imagine. I'm so thankful for my job and for the friends I've made through photography. It's been a long journey that just keeps getting more exciting!