Where it all started

Today I am only three months away from graduating Prairie View Photography School, this year was the biggest whirl wind of my life. Though I have only been out high school for two years, so much of my life has changed. I gradated from MBCI with the dreams of being a writer and attending Red River, but instead life had other plans for me. 

Instead of being accepted into the program of my choice, I attended University of Winnipeg, where I pursued my dreams of becoming a writer. It was not until mid year that I decided what I was doing was not meant for me, it was not my passion. This is when I started to look into more creative schools. At this point I was still unsure of what I really wanted to do with my life. It wasn't until a friend's father told me about PrairieView and how they had a diploma program that was excellent. Then suddenly it all clicked. I applied right away from that moment on my life completely changed. 

My skills of photography have climbed immensely as well as my creative side. As I look through my old photos and witness the change and improvement I am so proud of myself. When it all started I did not even know what aperture setting was, now I feel like a pro. Not only has this school taught me so much about photography, it has also taught me about myself. What my real hobbies are, how my work flow differs from others and most importantly my creative process. 

 

I feel as if I have had so many "ah-ha" moments in this program that I cannot recall. The biggest one that really boosted my confidence and assured me that I was where I belong was my first "green dot". Each week we, the students, are assigned a theme to shoot for and put up on display. And if your image is choose as a favourite from a teacher, you receive a green dot under your photo. We were a few months into the course and we were assigned the theme 'Faceless Portrait'. Automatically I had ideas streaming through my mind. That moment where I saw I had received a green dot was one of the best feelings I have had this school year. Knowing that someone actually liked my vision and my work is so rewarding. 

 

From that moment on I have pushed forward in my skills. Yes, I have had many ups and downs with my work but I still feel I am getting better. We are recently learning about commercial photography, which is what I really want to aspire at. I am learning so many new things, and each time I look at my final photos I am still amazed that I actually created something like this. For example, this week in our Image Capture class we were required to choose a photo of a product, then reproduce it. I compared my final image to the original and I was so happy with the result.

 

Each day I learn something new and experience something I never could have imagined possible. I constantly keep growing as an individual and as a professional. The most important thing I have ever learnt here is, believe in yourself, you never know what you can accomplish with a little help. 

Kaylene Kessler

PV Diploma Student

2012-13