It's a Living

I shoot people for a living.  It's a good living.  If you'd see my fee, you might think it exorbitant, but you get what I pay for.  Few are as well trained or well prepared as I.  I'm very thorough.  I examine my sites very carefully and know my targets very well before going in, and if I do my job right, no one will even notice I was there.  Go second-rate and you're likely to end up with a mess on your hands.  The last thing you want is sloppy results from the professional you've hired to do what you can't very well do yourself.

Lots of preparations go into what I do, but when it comes down to the actual shooting, speed is of the utmost importance.  Both speed and patience, really.  You have to wait for that perfect shot, and then when it's there, you have to make sure you don't miss it.  I'm very good.  I almost never miss, but when I do, I'm quick to recover and try again.  You have to be.

As far as who I'll shoot, I'll really do whomever my clients ask me to.  Celebrities and dignitaries are not uncommon for someone of my calibre.  As far as personal requests, spouses are the most frequent.  Parents are probably next in line.  Of course there's children, too, though I still feel a little uncomfortable shooting them.  I much prefer adults, but the customer is always right, even if I warn them that it isn't my specialty.  I assure you, I'm always relieved when the kid jobs are over.  Some jobs just can't be done fast enough.  Yet, as I tell my clients, it will all be over before they know it.

One thing I always love about my job is the travel.  Granted, traveling all over the world is not required in my line of work, but I make sure to take jobs that take me to exotic places.  I don't even fully charge my clients for the travel expenses.  I just like to visit new places, take in the local color.  A shooting is much less stressful when I know that I can retire to a comfortable room with a jacuzzi afterwards, in a hotel where no one really knows who I am.

Overall, it's a great line of work.  It can be a little tedious at times, but that's when you just have to get creative.  My clients are always so happy with my work, and that makes it all worthwhile.  If you need some new pursuit, I'd recommend it, though you do need to make sure you have the right equipment.  No cheap junk for me, and you shouldn't settle for less than the best either, especially when it comes to tripods.  You definitely don't want those slipping at the wrong time.

So with the right equipment, the right training, and a little creative energy, maybe you'll be as good as I am some day.  Well, maybe not that good, but you might come close.  Just don't go stealing any of my clients, especially the lucrative repeat customers.  Though maybe the ones that ask me to shoot kids... those you can have.

Elizabeth Elaina

My name is Elizabeth Elaina Richardson.  My birthday is September 2.  I have two older brothers and come from a couple of struggling artists who gave up on the art and started teaching around the time they started having children.  My brothers love to paint and their paintings are always the topic of much conversation.

My parents were born in Minnesota, but now we live in Kansas where it is much warmer, comparatively speaking.  We live in a cute little two story home with two beds and two baths.  It's blue.  My eyes are also blue and my hair is somewhere between brown and blonde.

My parents like to play games, but they hardly have time for that anymore.  Sometimes they like to play games with me.  They try to include me as much as they possibly can.

Lots of people like my parents.  They have many friends.  I have lots of friends, too.  Some of my friends are my own age, but most of them are quite a bit older.  In fact, I'm friends with lots of the same friends that my parents have.

In addition to my close family, I have four aunts, three uncles, and six cousins.  My family is always smiling a lot.  In fact, its hard to find evidence that they ever don't smile.  They get very excited about many things.

My parents are fans of television and various specific television shows, movies and various specific movies, and, of course, art and various specific artists.  I am a fan of public broadcasting, eating, dirt, and art, among other things.  My parents seem to think it is very cute that I am a fan of dirt.

My parents think lots of other things are cute, too, such as the way I sleep, the way I stare at them, the way my brothers race in circles around me while I watch them.  Lots of people like the things that my parents find cute about me.  In fact, more people like stuff about me than they do stuff just about my parents, even people who aren't even my friends!

Of course, I don't really understand any of it.  I'm just a baby, after all, and Facebook knows more about me than I will know about myself for many years to come.