Still in Paris, shopping for the perfect scarf…this time it’s Rachel Ballard who’s writing for the Brand Camp blog!  She shares her love of photography and of Polaroids in this post.  If you dig her work and her words, you should sign up for the Bloom e-course she conducts with much love and even more artistry.

–

Finally deciding that photography was what I had to do wasn’t an easy thing. I would toss and turn about it, write lists of pros and cons about it, ask anyone who had an opinion worth listening to what I should do… Then I had a breakthrough.

I was going through a shoebox in my closet that had all of the Polaroids my grandfather took of me as a child, and inside I just felt something happen. I didn’t need to lose sleep over this. I didn’t need to make any more lists, and I certainly didn’t have to keep asking other people to approve of what I loved.

I got out my Polaroid cameras. I turned them over and over in my hands.

Then I began spending all of my available cash on film. Wait- stop right there… This is not what I recommend doing. I was simply so excited to have figured it all out…I couldn’t stop myself. Lucky for me, this was several years before Polaroid stopped producing film, so I was able to get it for far cheaper than I can now.

It didn’t take me long to figure out what subjects I enjoyed photographing the most. I decided to incorporate Polaroids into portrait and wedding sessions. Most of my clients were excited and interested in what their photos would look like- having known the nostalgia of Polaroid at some point earlier in their lives. And since I enjoy photography as an art form so much, I went about having shows in local galleries and coffee shops.

Mind you, my success wasn’t overnight. I built up my collection of images slowly, and began networking with area artists, and then started ‘meeting’ great artists online. I found myself surrounded by an amazing community of people who loved film, and loved Polaroid as well. I was able to find continuous inspiration through sites like Flickr, and by reading other artists blogs. After a couple of years of working on my images and developing my style, I added a gallery shop to my website. I was really overwhelmed when people started buying my work. I would imagine it on their walls- and I felt so proud of myself.

I opened an Etsy shop later on, and then people began commissioning me to take photos for their walls. I work as a portrait photographer, and I do have all the fancy digital equipment, but my heart still lies with Polaroid film. I will use it until I can no longer buy it on EBay- and now, thanks to The Impossible Project, I hope to continue by buying their amazing new films.

I firmly believe that if you love it, do it.

It will take work, and focus. But that’s why it’s called a labor of love, right?

xxo- Rachel B.