Me
I'm Cami! I am first and foremost and a mom of four very individually unique kids ages teen to young adult, and a wife to a super supportive and amazing husband. My own family with its photographic challenges (I have two children on the autism spectrum) is what drives me to capture real and beautiful moments for other families.
In addition to being a photographer, I have been a preschool gymnastics teacher, a private music instructor, and writer/editor for several publications. I have had a lot of businesses and jobs, but photography is the one that has really stuck. I have a BA in English and focused on editing and Victorian Literature. I love to read everything! I get a lot of photography inspiration for my personal projects from literature, music, and dance. It’s all connected! Playing outside and general adventure seeking is something I'm always up for, but I also always want to be cozy in my own house (and bed). It's a constant struggle. Cycling is one of my favorite pastimes, and I have done a century ride, and an olympic-length triathlon! But lately I have put aside competitive sports and just do active things that are fun and social and make me happy.
And of course, I love taking photos--especially ones that really show life the way it is. When I first picked up my camera, I was dealing with two autistic toddlers (now teens) and a newborn baby girl. The few photos I have of that time are so important to me, especially the ones that showed when it was hardest, and the ones that showed that there was still love and light in those hard times. For me, photography shows my heart more than any other artistic outlet I've tried. In recent years, I have especially loved to use photography in symbolic, experimental, and artistic ways to get into the ways art can help us understand ourselves and our experiences, rather than just document them.
Teaching has always been a huge part of my life, so of course I teach several courses on both the technical and artistic aspects of photography, many of which can be found in my “For Photographers” link on this site. I had retreat for photographer moms and their tween daughters called The Little Women Retreat, and now run a retreat for my online workshop alumni about finding your creative voice and rhythm. I am often invited to speak at national photography conferences, to be interviewed for several photography podcasts, and to write articles, blogs, and tutorials for photography publications. I’m a Click Pro Elite member with Click Community, a Hello Pro with the Hello Storyteller community, and have been a member of the National Association of Professional Child Photographers for many years. I regularly have photos are articles published in international photography magazines.
During the fall and spring, I spend most of my time doing a modern approach to school portraits, mostly for kids on the autism spectrum. Considering that I learned photography to more accurately photograph my own autistic sons, you can imagine that this work is profoundly personal and important to me. Doing school portraits for several K-12 schools and daycares every year has significantly cut back the time I have to take on family clients, but it’s worth it for me to provide natural and beautiful portraits of children who don’t often have someone willing to take the time and energy to try to capture their personalities. My only regret about school portraits is that I don’t have more time with each student as I have to go so quickly to get portraits of them all. Over the years, I feel like I get to know these kids, and I have a personal connection and love for each one of them. This boutique service is run just by me, and my husband who helps me with some of the technical aspects of the work, so I am personally manning every step of the process, from preparation and picture day, to editing, to delivery and customer service. It takes a lot of time and energy, but my family knows how important this work is to me, and everyone steps up to help keep our household running during the months I’m focused on school portraits.
My Style
My sessions are creativity based—a collaboration of photographer and subjects. They are much less about environment and precise documentation, and much more about capturing the essence of this fleeting time in your life, the constant change and movement in life, the fun and the serious, the playful and the poignant. I know that people can hold a myriad of personality traits, moods, and ideas at once, and I love showing all the push and pull of that, especially with kids in those confusing and exciting formative years. I want those extremes, so I use extreme methods. Double exposures, light leaks, film soup, and other experimental techniques and creative play help me get to the heart of the stories, and give serendipity a chance to work magic in your artwork. During this session, you will surely end up with a few beautiful portraits, but overwhelmingly, you will receive something completely unique—something I couldn’t recreate even if I tried. My sessions are playful, cooperative, and sometimes even emotional. There are no rules, no stupid ideas, no problem when kids run off or teens don’t want to smile for the camera. I want it all. The more relaxed you are, the more you’ll be willing to really show me who you are. The slower pace of film, and my easy-going and fun personality usually put everyone at ease and ready to show me who they are.
After over ten years of shooting only digitally, I have also fallen back in love with film photography. I shoot almost exclusively on analog film, using cameras that are anywhere from 60 years old to brand new. It has brought and truth and magic to my photos that I feel was missing in my digital work. It helps me slow down and connect with my subjects and creates true-to-life and classic colors that print like a dream, along with the magical experimental techniques not possible in digital work. The images we make together are special in their scarcity and truth. I believe photography is more than just capturing a moment, it's capturing your heart.
Cami Turpin
