Photography is Poetry

Hi, I am Christina.

My love for photography started when I was just a kid- with disposable cameras. I wanted to snap a picture of everything I would see. As I grew older, the love I had for photography grew as well. I started learning more about photography using my mother's cameras- first a 35mm film camera and then stepped into the DSLR world. My mother would always say I had an eye for Photography.

After high school, I was introduced to Adobe Photoshop. Within a few months, I had self taught myself much of the program With the years, and many changes within the software, I became fairly proficient with the program- self-taught.

Around 2010, I started a hobbyist photographer, with a high interest in Boudoir and women empowerment. Just 1 year later, I went from a hobby to a legit full time business. While I loved what I did, I didn't find Boudoir completely fulfilling. I began taking workshops to gain more experience in other styles. I quickly fell in love with babies and military families. Christina Rush Photography went a different direction, shifted away from Boudoir, to Newborn photography and documenting military homecomings.

Being that my husband is military, we moved quite a bit. I was well established in photographer in Hampton Roads, Virginia for several years. Then, we moved to California where my photography continued to flourish until my husband and I were thrown a curveball.

In 2014, shortly after our move to California, I found out we were pregnant with our son. He was born 8 weeks early due to severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. I took a step back from photography to focus on him, and my family, and healing my body from damage done by HELLP. I limited sessions to no more than 4 a month as I navigated having a medically fragile preemie and soaking up life as a new mother. I focused on capturing every moment of my son and watching him grow through my lens during that time really sparked my love for photography and why I loved photography.

We moved again, back to Virginia, and I decided to not reestablish Christina Rush Photography for a bit. My husband deployed again, my son and I moved home to Tennessee... and then we moved again, again, again, again and one more time in just 2 years.

Now, we're planted in Tennessee. We are home. I never want to move again!

During all the moves and time I stepped away, I was about to focus on where I want to take my creativity. I've taken the time to go back to school to get my degree in Visual Communications with a dual concentration in both Photography and Graphic Design.

Many have asked, If you know photography, why go to school for it? Well, I was self-taught. And also, after so many years, you really get set in your ways to an extent. I wanted to push myself out of my box and push my creative thinking. I wanted to take things back to basics and back again. When you've been doing things for so many years and suddenly start back at the beginning again, it's a challenge. The first class, there's no sort of editing allowed, you're faced with assignments that are out of your wheelhouse or styles you honestly just dislike shooting. It forces you to look at things differently and it really makes you realize just how over critical you can be of yourself! And, I'm sad that I'm almost done with the program because I am enjoying it so much and the teacher's I've had who push me. I've had teachers tell me, "I know you can do [this] all day long, but let me see you do [this]", or challenge me to look at something in a different light.. literally. And to see what comes from this push has been so rewarding.

Where does the graphic design aspect come in? Well, that I'm not entirely sure yet. I have ideas and right now I'm trying to nurture that part of me and see just what I come up with. I have a plan, in some capacity, to combine my abilities with graphic design and photography to create something truly unique. Through my website and social media platforms, you can watch as I evolve into the artist I desire to be.