Today’s Feature Friday user is Megan Edwards

Here’s her story:

Hi, I’m Megan! I’m happy to call the most charming little town in Ohio — Delaware — home. I was born and raised in Ashland, Ohio, about an hour north, and my husband’s job brought us into the Columbus area. I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, but right out of college, pursued my minor instead (journalism/English), working at several newspapers in Ohio. I’m a gal of many backgrounds, having worked in customer service, private aviation catering (you wouldn’t BELIEVE some of the things stars order on their private jets), for the Boy Scouts (never had to wear a uniform though, thankfully), and now, for our county commissioners office. I briefly ran my photography business as a full time career for three years, but decided to cut back to part-time due to the need for better insurance and more stability.

I have three daughters: Josie, 4, Emelia, 9, and Natalie, 11. They’re amazing and have all been the reason why I’ve pursued photography. I’m married to a man I crushed on for years in high school, and we have one cross-eyed chubby dog, Daisy.

In my not-so-spare time, I run and exercise regularly (I try, at least). I also spend a lot of time running my girls to and from dance, and enjoy watching them take the stage. Oh, and I sleep somewhere in between. 😉

What she photographs

I specialize in family/child lifestyle photography. I spent the first five years out of the seven years I’ve been a photographer, worrying about props/headbands/diaper covers/beanbags. However, I spent all of the money I made on those items, getting mediocre results because quite frankly, I wasn’t trained nor patient in studio work. With no means to have an in-home studio or an out-of-home studio, I discovered you can make beautiful images with families and children living their lives in front of your camera. It is SO hard for busy parents to soak in the moments we miss so often, and I can’t quite explain how humbling and beautiful it is that I get to capture those moments forever.

I have finally found my “groove” in lifestyle photography, and can honestly say that it is so much more natural to me as a shooting style, than anything else. It only makes sense: I used to write for a living telling stories, and now, I photograph stories as they happen. It’s magical.

How she got into Photography

The photography bug struck me when I was a journalist. It wasn’t very often, but there were times we had to take the newsroom camera to an assignment and come up with a semi-creative way to take a corresponding photo. I always challenged myself to come up with different angles even on the most boring of assignments. I didn’t have a decent camera until I began dabbling in jewelry-making as a hobby seven years ago, and my husband surprised me with my first camera, a Canon Rebel XS. Soon I quickly gave up jewelry-making and stayed up until all hours of the morning, watching Youtube videos, asking for advice on forums (Facebook hadn’t really become a big thing then), and practicing editing in GIMP. I established my business in 2013, and haven’t looked back.

Fun facts about me:

-I once flew on a B-24 Liberator war plane on an assignment for the newspaper (one of the stories I was able to contribute photos to).
-I’ve ran three half-marathons and have my eyes set on a marathon and triathlon someday
-I played the flute for years, since elementary school, and was a proud member of several marching bands. #bandgeek4life

Be sure to check out Megan’s work:
www.megan-edwards-photography.com
www.facebook.com/meganedwardsphotography
IG: meganedwardsphotography
Twitter: MegEdwardsPhoto