I truly believe that as a mum, having a hobby that’s just for me makes me a better mum. How? When I spend a little time by myself with my camera – and sometimes all it takes is 15 minutes taking photos in the backyard – it helps me de-stress and recentre myself, enabling me to come back to parenting feeling energised, refreshed, and with a renewed ability to deal with the day to day challenges.

It’s also an opportunity to express my creative side, and to make new friends who are also into photography… having something I can chat about passionately with other women is incredibly fulfilling!

And that’s exactly what led today’s featured Grad to us! I’m thrilled to introduce you to Keziah Krikmann – CLG Enthusiast Course Grad, mum, wife, fashion designer, business owner, and now… photographer…

 

Meet Keziah…

Hi, I’m Keziah and I’m from Sydney, Australia. I currently live by the beach with my husband and two beautiful kids: Kai, my cheeky 5yr old boy and Zellie, my sweet 2yr old girl. I’ve worked for a really long time in the fashion industry as a kidswear designer, but Covid prompted me to embrace a more flexible life.

I’ve decided to take a break from the career juggle and focus on my family and photography, which has been soul-food in an otherwise crazy year!

“You need a hobby”, he said…

I have always felt the pull towards photography. Ever since I was a little girl, when my grandparents gave me a little Hanimex point and shoot and a roll of film, I’ve held in the back of my heart a little dream to explore this art form more and learn how to paint with light.

Fast forward 25 years, and that little niggling desire had never left. While I felt like I had kicked so many goals that I’d set for myself, learning photography remained that one untouched area of desire that I had never really discussed with anyone, and never pursued.

The grand moment for me arrived one evening, over a cup of tea on the couch with my husband. I had finally settled my (then) 4yr and 11mth old kids off to sleep, and was downloading my day onto him. He made a really simple comment, one which he had made many times before, but this time it stuck. “You need a hobby.”

Running a little self funded business wasn’t a hobby. Having a full time career (although being on Mat Leave), wasn’t a hobby. Raising my babies, wasn’t a hobby.

I realised he was right. I needed something for myself.

Through the course of that evening, I shared with him my little secret desire to learn photography.

Self led learning didn’t click

And that was my starting point of looking into a course that would suit the demands of mum life, but still cover everything I needed to know in order to use my camera in manual mode, and take the type of photos that I admired from other photographers.

I had tried to learn previously but not in any formal setting.  I had picked the brains of friends and family who knew things about the mythical Aperture and Shutter Speed, but a quick conversation isn’t nearly enough to fully understand the concepts.

I’d play for a little while, get freaked out by the various settings on my dial, and end up back in Auto.

I also used to pin ‘cheat sheets’ from Pinterest, but the lessons on them never resonated, and just sat on a board without contributing anything to my progress.

A photography course for mum life

I briefly considered attending a photography college, but that required me having to physically attend, find a sitter, and some one to pick up my 4yo from kindy… and preferably come with a cleaner and cook! It just wouldn’t suit. I needed to find a course that was:

• Online
• Used simple layman’s terms (to get through the baby-fog!)
• With live feedback and interaction
• And relatively short and fast moving – I couldn’t commit 6 months to achieving a diploma!

Oh, and the other courses I found were SO expensive. That was a huge turn off whilst I was on maternity leave and down to a single income.

Enter: Click Love Grow

I’d heard mention of Click Love Grow through some Facebook groups that I was part of – there were so many members who had done the Enthusiast Course and raved about it. So when I started looking, naturally I just opened up the tab that was hiding in my safari (and was never brave enough to close, in case I never found it again!), and read through the course outlines.

It just seemed so.simple. and appeared to be presented in a way that I could easily digest and absorb into my busy mum-life. As soon as I booked it, I did a little dance – I was so excited! CLG really felt like the perfect fit.

There were no scary terms, and I liked that each week with CLG covered a different topic. I get bored and disinterested in long winded courses that spell out all the theory for weeks, before you’re allowed to put anything into practice. I’m a practical gal, I like to hit the ground running and start practicing straight away.

Lou had such an approachable demeanor, and it made me feel like I was embarking on an adventure with a trusted friend.

 

Bite sized learning makes it easy

The biggest takeaway for me, was the simple explanation of the exposure triangle, and how the 3 elements work together. It just made so much sense!!! By breaking down each element into its own week, giving students the chance to focus on that one element and practice it, made a huge difference. It allowed me to feel that I was making tangible progress, in small steps.

At the time, my favourite lesson was practicing Aperture – I’d always wanted to take photos with bokeh and blurred backgrounds and had never known quite how to capture and isolate particular elements, facial features and characteristics.

I immediately felt like my manual shots were taking large steps away from my trusty iPhone (in the best direction).

A special corner of the internet

I think my favourite part of the course has actually been the community that I now feel a part of.

I’ve been able to connect in and be inspired by SUCH talented photographers, who are so incredibly generous with their time, knowledge and resources. Click Love Grow is the polar opposite of what I had heard about the photography community in general.

When I started getting inspired to upgrade my gear (from my 7yr old mirrorless), I felt completely welcome to reach out to various others in this wonderful community, to pick their brains and find out what/how they were using. EVERY ONE of them replied to my DM’s, and were more than happy to share what they knew, offered beautiful advice and encouragement, and were so supportive.

Click Love Grow is a special corner of the internet that has led me to push myself further, to continue learning, and how to turn my images from happy snaps into storytelling works of art that I am proud of.

 

Before & After

A side by side before & after side by side is one of the most powerful ways to showcase how far our students come when they take the Enthusiast Photography Course. So please enjoy Keziah’s fabulous before & after set!

 

Many thanks to Keziah for your beautiful images and wonderful words that I’m sure resonate with so many women. If you want to see more of Keziah’s photography check her out here and on Instagram.

 

If you’d like to learn how to master your camera, shoot in manual mode and confidently record your children’s milestones and life events… our Enthusiast Photography Course is starting soon and I would love to help you achieve your goals! Head here to get all the details and register…