Community Spotlight - Tanya Mayfield

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I live in Columbus, Georgia, but I am originally from Birmingham, Alabama. I graduated from the University of Alabama, where I met my husband. We will have been married 25 years in December. I have two daughters, age 15 and 19. I worked in nonprofit marketing for a while, but then stayed home to raise my girls. Besides photography, I like to do craft projects and spend time outdoors. I also like to bake and decorate cakes. During the pandemic, my oldest daughter started photography as a hobby. Now, she is pursuing a career in photography. I’m so proud of her and happy to have passed my love of photographer on to her.

How long have you been taking a photo a day? 

This is my first 365 project with this group, but I did a guided 365 project in 2018. It had a photography lesson each day, and then I took a picture to practice that skill. It was a great learning experience for me. I have always loved taking pictures, but I have only been shooting in manual since 2016, when I started learning photography from Shultz Photo School online. I’m really enjoying how encouraging and positive the 365 Picture Today group is.

What prompts are your favorites? and which ones do you dread?

I enjoy the challenge days because I like learning new photography techniques or practicing ones I haven’t used in a while. I dread prompts that involve photographing strangers. That’s out of my comfort zone.

What is the strangest thing you ever photographed?

The strangest thing I’ve photographed recently is a macro photo of a cicada, during the midst of the cicada invasion of the south last spring. After that, I noticed myself taking pictures of bugs more, which is strange because I do not like them.

What tip do you wish you knew sooner? 

I think a tip that has helped me is to move around when taking photos. It’s easy to put your feet in the ground and keep them there. Changing angles, even climbing, because I’m short, helps you get a new perspective and keeps your pictures interesting. 

Where do you find inspiration? 

I started learning photography to take better pictures of my family. Shooting in auto, I missed some great shots because I let my camera think for me. I decided it was time to learn how to make my camera work for me. Most of my photography involves my daughters and their activities, sports, and events. I wanted to capture my daughter’s childhood in photos. I want them to always have a visual record of their memories. Several years ago, we gave my parents a digital picture frame. I load pictures I take on the frame periodically. I love going to their house and seeing the girls grow up through pictures on that frame.

Thanks, Tanya, for sharing a bit about yourself. You can check out more of her images on Instagram: @tanyaluluphotos