The Forming of a Destiny

Photography.
Capturing moments. It's what she does. Whether that means sneaking in to catch me studying, or jumping across a table to get the perfect shot at a wedding. She loves it. Her camera is her robotic baby. Who is this woman I speak of? My mother, Dawn Caudill. Do not mistake my adoration of her work for a personal bias because she is family though. I have seen her in action; to her, it isn't just pushing a button or taking a shot. Every time her shutter snaps together she has frozen a moment in time. Captured it and locked it up, forever imprisoned in an eye drawing concoction of colors. Objects are meticulously framed by others. Into every photograph lies the heart of the photographer; she doesn't take pictures, she makes them.


My mom has always been an incredibly visual person. She has long been intrigued by visual art, always considering what the artist intended with each stroke of the paintbrush or why the eye was naturally directed to one particular part of a photo.  She, like most people, used to become frustrated with the typical "point and shoot" camera that she owned. It was not until my sister broke the camera that she was introduced to a whole new world. The strangely freeing world of Manual Mode. She began receiving instruction from a friend and was soon able to navigate her new camera fluently. Finally, she was able to create the picture in her mind, no longer relying on Auto Mode to choose the focus points.

She was finally in control.

Thus, her destiny as a photographer began to take shape. This was five years ago. I recall those days early on, when she would discover a new setting or tool. Once she had me ride my bike back and forth in front of her at varying speeds when she was learning to perfect blur. There were many fall days spent out behind our house with my sister posing while I held the reflector. (Her newest tool at the time.) Or my sister trying to hold the reflector while I attempted to pose. (We have our strong areas and our weak ones. My strength does not happen to be modeling.) The evenings outside when

Skipping down the boardwalk. (Photo by Dawn Caudill)

she discovered the Golden Hour. I remember the night we were sent to bed early: she had just learned about light writing and could hardly wait for the sun to set so she and dad could try it. Last year when she learned to create Bokeh. The hours she spent learning to use a 50mm lens. (Great for portraits and Bokeh) There was also one day, not long after she started doing something I think she referred to as "real life photography" which is basically photographing everyday moments unposed and without flash; I was in my room reading a history book for school when she quietly slipped in through the door and started taking pictures, plenty used to this treatment, I probably looked at her like, "Seriously, I am trying to work." But she said something like, "No. Go back to your reading." So I did. And I will never forget, she said to me, "Look natural. Stick your chin out a little bit more. Now tilt your head." She had me sitting in such a position that I felt far from natural. A particularly fond memory I have took place around the time she was learning long exposure. We had gone to the beach with our best friends, and after a long day of hot fun we got to have one last hurrah making pictures. She had us do silly things, or just walk across the boardwalk. She turned us into ghosts and took some photos of us jumping into the air holding hands. That was probably my favorite photo shoot. (One of the pictures is the lock and home screen on my iPod actually.) Just recently she made the leap from hobbiest to professional. There was a day that her and I spent looking for places to take pictures. We drove down some country roads until she found a spot and made me walk about maybe 30 yards away and pose. I thought it was just a test shot, but I posed to her liking and she snapped the moment. She was so happy with the photo until she realized that I had crossed my eyes. 

Now she does everything from portraits to weddings, but mostly portraits. I usually assist her.

Dawn setting up the octoboxes (Photo by Elizabeth)

Dawn taking pictures during her mini shoot. (Photo by Elizabeth)

Recently she had multiple mini Christmas shoots during which I took pictures of her taking pictures of people. It was fun. What I think makes her work better than others' is she has a unique way of doing children's portraits. She doesn't make them sit still and smile or look at a bird or squeaky toy or whatever like most studio photographers do. Instead, she lets them pose themselves. She sends them running and gets great shots. Then I play with the kids while she does the parents portraits. It's great. The photos look way more comfortable than the typical "say cheese!" method. 

Now that you have been introduced to Dawn, you may be thinking, hey... I need some moments captured...

Go ahead. Contact her. 😉

Phone: 919-273-4587
Email: dawncaudillphotography@gmail.com