Erin LaBelle
Photographer / Writer
Everywhere!
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Got a Bachelor's in French with a minor in English.
Tried photography in college but was overwhelmed.
Worked for a translation company and taught high school French.
Went to night school for photography while working as a nanny
Went to photojournalism program after realizing every at art school wanted to photograph products
started grad school for photojournalism but was sick of learning in school
Did newspaper internships where I really began to learn and awaken through people's stories
Then I became a mama and homeschooled my kids like little journalists.
Education
High School
Career
Photographer / Writer
I am a visual storyteller, writer and unschooling mama.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Art
Writing
Communicating / Sharing Stories
Day to Day
I work for few hours each morning after I drive son 2 to school and before son 1 (homeschooling teenager) wakes up. There really is no typical day because I shoot portraits and weddings and I volunteer at a county clothing center. I am also a chauffeur since we are a one car family. Each day is different but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for middle school students
Shoot lots of photos and look at lots of photo websites / books.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Family:
"Photography and the way you are dressing is just a stage. You should be a television news anchor on CNN, newspaper photojournalism is not a real job. You need to do something more intellectually challenging since you are so smart. Your children will not be normal if you homeschool them."
