My sister was the one that piqued my interested in a smaller, more portable camera, and I have to say that it has been one of the smartest purchases I’ve ever made.
Other than cheap point and shoots, my Nikon DSLR was one of the first big purchases for Justin and I. We were inspired after seeing my cousin Kelley around the holidays back in 2009/2010, and she showed us the capabilities of the Nikon that she had. It goes without saying that you can’t really do much with a great camera unless you learn how or have natural ability.
Justin and I had absolutely zero ability with our new DSLR, but we had two small kittens, and were planning an upcoming ski trip, so Justin pulled out the DVD that came in the box and put it in our DVD player. I’m sure I laughed at him because WHO ACTUALLY WATCHES THOSE THINGS (that falls into the same category of “registering” your new dishwasher. . "!)" But as it turned out, he learned a lot and actually taught me how to use the camera and get a nice blurry background. He took these photos of baby Gravy and our first cat Biscuit!

Over the years I got a little more comfortable, but it wasn’t until my girl Jordan sat down with me and REALLY taught me why and when to adjust the settings in manual that it clicked. I still feel like there is so much to learn, but I can say I’m pretty comfortable behind the camera these days.
So I had this enormous DSLR and then I had 2 kids. And pretty quickly I rea...