so, i created this blog in 07, mainly because a friend (who shall remain nameless) created one and i wanted to read all her latest. she's a great writer. since then, she's stopped blogging altogether, and i've become more and more passionate and involved in my photography - hoping to build it into something that possibly one day will provide me with the freedom to work when i want - how i want. oh, and make enough $ to keep the lights on.
so here i am - writing my first blog. my introduction, i guess. now if i can just keep myself motivated to update it regularly, i'll be in business!
so the name - toni4ball - came about because i play pool. leagues, tournaments... i'm very involved in the pool community (sometimes more than i can handle).
it's been a passion of mine since about 1994 when i started playing leagues with my mom & dad at shooter's in burnsville, mn. shortly after i began working there, and i was officially hooked. i also love purple, and since the 4ball is purple, well.. you get it. 
it just kinda stuck. also, i guess it kinda ties in that i really started getting serious about photography while playing in pool tournaments. i started taking pictures of the players, the venues, etc. at every event that i attended. the players loved getting the photo link after each tourney, wondering if i might have caught them in action! it got to the point where people would start calling & e-mailing shortly after returning home from an event asking when the photos would be ready. it was kinda neat, all these people enjoying my pictures that much.
then it happened.
a friend & fellow pool player called me and said she absolutely loved some photos i had snapped of her daughter at a mutual friends birthday party, and asked me if i'd be interested in taking her 2 year photos! of course i said yes! and from there it has just snowballed - from referrals, to people seeing her photos & those of other clients on Facebook, and on and on and on... i've absolutely loved the journey so far.
i recently shot my very first solo wedding, and it couldn't have gone better! was it a little stressful? i'd be lying if i said no, but that's par for the course at weddings. i remained calm, using my handy dandy checklist and we managed to get all of the family members together to get the requested formal photos done! ahhhh... i've photographed weddings before, with my sisters and for friends as a favor, but this was a big step. my official first wedding - all by my lonesome. i loved it. :) i'll be creating a blog for each of my photo shoots, so watch for them in the next few weeks...
alright, i think that's enough for my first entry. time to edit some photos and maybe write a couple blogs on some of my early sessions.
thanks for reading, and if you happen to be a client - thank you for trusting me with your family and children's photos. you're the best!
