A New Bio

Holy cow! It's been a long time since I've posted here. Actually, I have been using Facebook to share what we've been doing. The first part of the year has been super busy. Over the summer I will be updating this blog with our favorites. I am also going to add more personal photos that I love! 

One of my newest adventures is becoming a better headshot photographer. I used to think that headshots were simply photos of a persons head-and-shoulders. Man, was I wrong. In my effort to be one of the best I have come across Peter Hurley and his PH2Pro community. This group of photographers is very supportive and always willing to offer constructive feedback in an effort to others better. That's rare to find in a competitive field of photography. I have joined Peter's Headshot Intensive to hopefully learn from one of the great photographers and one of the first tasks is to write a bio. for my website. This was a good first step considering I have wanted to get this done for some time. Anyway, I wanted to share it with you all. Let me know what you think.

My journey as a photographer may be different from others you’ve heard. I don’t come from a long line of photographers and I didn’t discover my passion as a young boy. In all honesty, I’m just a “gadget guy” who will spend hours discovering the ins and outs of the newest technology, or anything for that matter. I graduated from George Mason University in 2001 with a degree in psychology and wasn’t exactly sure what to do with my life. Coming from a large family with a lot of kids, I thought education might be a good choice. I decided to go back to school and began teaching 1st grade in 2006. Little did I know, I’d meet the woman of my dreams in the classroom next to mine. She really was “the girl next door.”

Two years later, I moved to Arlington, VA to be closer to my soon-to-be wife, Allison. As my life was changing I decided to purchase a tiny “point and shoot” camera, the Canon PowerShot SD1000.  Every now and again while playing with my camera, I’d snap a photo that gave me new perspective of otherwise typical things, and this is where it all began. Over time, I developed a passion for photography that I couldn’t ignore. I must give props to my mom, who saw this new passion and bought me my first DSLR, a Nikon D60.

Fast forward to 2010 - I was a new husband with a new home, and the desire to take this photography thing to a new level. I must admit, when I began my photography business I had no idea what I was getting into. Tackling teaching full time, with dreams of excelling as a photographer, was tough. When I wasn’t grading papers or emailing parents, I studied material from the New York Institute of Photography, poured over books and watched videos from photography gurus like Scott Kelby and Peter Hurley. I reached out time and again to experts in the Northern Virginia area, inquiring and offering to work for free in an attempt to gain experience. Len Spoden, a well-known local photographer, brought me on as his assistant for weddings and other corporate assignments. My work with Len gave me opportunities to take risks in photography; I developed confidence in my ability to work with my camera and people from all over the country.  

After exploring many different types of photography, I’ve realized that what I enjoy most is telling the stories of the people and families I have the opportunity to work with. In a headshot, I want to convey who you are through your most natural expressions. In our family sessions, I aim to capture everyday moments of your family with candid and genuine photographs. Covey Photography is focused on capturing the true essence of professionals and families. Everyone has a story - I look forward to sharing yours...

Thanks guys for reading. Let me know what you think. If you want to see more check me out on PH2Pro.