First Post

I feel, in some way, obligated to write a long "Wow! My first post! I can't believe I have a blog"-thing, but the truth is I'm a total blog junkie. (Blogkie?) I have a personal blog, and now I've joined the wave of wonderful artists in my field who also have business related photoblogs. Yeeee ha!

So for my first post, I think I should let the world know a little about who I am.

My name is Emily Loftus. I am an artist, wife and mother. In my youth I thought I might grow up to be someone famous. The famous thing went away when I remembered how much I *don't* love auditioning for roles. I still sing my butt off at home, and the children think I'm strange.

I worked as a photographer in a national chain portrait studio during 2003 and 2004, and found myself LOVING the work, but eventually hating the constraints of the work. (I'm sure I'll get into all that in more detail someday) I have been an avid photographer my entire life and wanted to bust out of the mold and do something for myself. Finally, one day, the courage to make a change in my life came upon me, almost in a flash, and I did it. I put myself out there and have been working on my own ever since. My business has grown and changed a lot since I started it, and I work now in a totally different way from how I worked when I began. I started out with a mish-mash of equipment and no real direction. Now, I work exclusively with natural light, and my subjects are 95% people under the age of 21. The other 5% are the parents of my younger clients.

I am a wife of nearly 7 years now, to my best friend. A mother of two young children aged 6 and 4. I am a native of Reno, Nevada and can't imagine myself feeling at home anywhere else. I have three fabulous cats and a wonderful extended family. That family consists of a sister, with whom I am VERY close, a brother who is an amazingly talented singer and songwriter, and two great parents who have been happily married for 27 years and who keep me smiling, laughing and loved all the time.

2006 has been a remarkable year for me professionally. My business is growing like I never dreamed it would and I am extremely proud of how I've grown and progressed.

I shoot exclusively with natural light, and work primarily in my clients' homes.

So, I invite you to join me as I grow, learn and create. I look forward to getting to know many new people through this blog, and I hope that you all get to know me.

Next time, less yapping. MORE PICTURES!