Digital camera transforms mom into a businesswoman
By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Writer
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WELLSVILLE — When Jan Bloss’s husband Ron gave her a digital camera five years ago, she did what everyone else did — snap photos of her children.
But after paying hundreds of dollars for senior pictures of her teens, she had an epiphany.
“This is nuts,” she thought. “I can do this as good.”
So when her youngest son, Austin, became a senior, she went to Baker University’s football stadium at Baldwin City with camera in hand.
“I told him ‘Honey, I can do this but if the pictures don’t turn out we can have them done professionally,’” Bloss recalled.
But with the various beautiful outdoor backdrops available at Baker, it was a no-miss proposition, she said.
“They turned out real nice,” Bloss said.
So nice that other people who saw them asked her to take photos of their graduates. Then she was asked to do engagements and then weddings.
Photography involving people’s events have become one of her favorite activities.
“I like to observe,” Bloss said. “I’ve always enjoyed people watching.”
And people enjoy having Bloss taking their photos.
“Looking back, I never would have thought I would be doing this,” she said.
So much so that Bloss is turning pro. She received her Internal Revenue Service business number last week.
When she goes to a wedding, she’ll bring her telephoto lens so she can be in an unobtrusive spot but still take closeups.
With a digital camera and its small chips with massive amounts of electronic memory, Bloss will take thousands of photos.
At one recent wedding in a small town in the region, she filled three memory cards with thousands of photos and realized she didn’t have another card.
“I asked someone if there was a Wal-Mart in town,” she said. “There was and I ran there and back with a new memory card between the wedding and reception.”
After she returns home, she’ll sit down at her computer and begin picking her best shots.
“I love editing,” Bloss said. “I love seeing something and thinking ‘I love this.’”
As she drives around, she’ll notice something or a location that would be a great backdrop.
“I’ll think, ‘That will make a nice senior picture,’” she said. If she’s asked to take graduate or engagement photos, she’ll take her subjects back later.
“A lot of it is instinct,” she said. “It always seems to work out.”
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