Hi! I am Bessie! Your Photography Educator

Jan 7

I am so freaking stoked that you are here!

I decided to start this photography education website to help you with anything and everything photography related! When I first started my photography business journey in 2015, I struggled finding information. I spent countless hours of googling things and watching a stupid amount of youtube videos. I found some photographers I liked and could trust, but there wasn’t one place that I could go to to really learn photography from the beginning. It seemed like people were ‘gate keeping’ information.

No one shares their camera settings.
No one explained exactly how they got to where they are now.
Something was always missing.

My goal is to have anything and everything photography related on this website. I want to create a one stop shop for you. Some place that you can go to in order to get any of your questions answered. A place you can trust and a place to help you not spend hours googling something.

The main subjects that I shoot are Elopements, portraits, and landscapes. This includes big weddings, family portraits, senior portraits, couple sessions etc. If you are looking for a newborn photographer, an event photographer, or action sports photographer, I may not be your gal. I can help you learn manual mode, learn your camera, learn the business of photography, but I won’t be able to deep dive into the ‘business’ behind those types of photography businesses.

So, for now, I just wanted to start this website with a post to say HI! So here is a little bit about me and my photography journey.

I started my photography business in 2015, but have always loved photography. I started out shooting on my parents polaroid camera and it went from there. I got my first film camera from my parents when I graduated 8th grade. I then took a few photography classes in high school where we shot film and created our images in a dark room. It was beautiful. After graduating high school I really struggled with transitioning from film cameras to the digital realm. I felt like digital just wasn’t ‘photography’, but obviously I got over that feeling lol.

While I was going to college all I could think about was being a photographer. Everything that people said to do was go to school, get a degree, get a career, retire yatta yatta yatta, but every career I looked into just didn’t feel right. Anyways, I kept chugging along. I got my AA at Columbia Jr. College and then transferred to Fresno State University to ultimately get my BS degree in Geomatics Engineering. Once I graduated with my BS degree I got a career at a California utility company. I sat in a cubical all day long behind a computer. Let me tell you, I was miserable. I felt like I was dying inside. I could feel my light diminishing. I know that sounds a bit extreme but it’s true. I am a creative outdoorsy person, and sitting behind a computer within grey walls wasn’t fun.

The entire time I was at my corporate job, doing what the world told me I was supposed to do, all I could think of was how amazing it would be to be a photographer. So, one day in 2015 I started my side hustle , Bessie Young Photography. That side hustle turned into more than I could ever imagine! I started booking weddings and portraits. I started selling my landscape photos. It was amazing! Eventually, I went part time at my corporate job and finally took the leap of faith and quit! It was exhilarating!

After that I decided I needed to help anyone and everyone I could start their photography journey. Whether that is utilizing photography as a creative outlet, a hobby, or jumping into creating a business. I don’t want anyone to feel stuck or miserable the way I felt stuck and miserable. So here we are today with my photography education site completely focused on learning photography and helping you with your photography questions and goals!

So, what questions do you have? Comment below and let me know.

I am so excited and can’t wait to start working with you to help you. At the moment I do have a few places for you to start! I have a couple of freebies for you plus a couple of EBooks!