When I paint, I only know what I know. When I photograph a person, upload an image and edit it, I only know what I know. I have never been taught anything in either subject. I have never taken an art class and I have never taken a photography class. I have never had someone sit in front of me and say, Emily....look, this is what you do.
It has all be trial and error, and still is.
In the beginning... it was all about the likes. If you liked it...that meant "good." If you didnt like it... that meant "not good."
Photography came first for me, about three years first and I almost gave it up several times. It was frustrating and extremely difficult and I did not want to create photos like everyone else, yet that was all I seemed to be doing. I knew there was something in me though and if I kept trying and practicing, that hidden gem would surface.
Then painting came. I began to explore different mediums and eventually found my home in pencil sketching and watercolor. Each watercolor is freehand sketched by me then watercolored. I watch the water and the paint become one and it truly is something marvelous to watch.
I watch the mother holding her child as I photograph them and when I go to edit the photograph I play with the highlights and the shadows and the expressions change and the emotion of the story I am trying to tell shifts into something more beautiful and it truly becomes even more marvelous to watch.
My photographs are no longer about "likes." My watercolors are not about "likes." You either like my work or you do not, and I am perfectly at ease with that because I know that my work is not for everyone and that is perfectly ok. However, those who admire my style, I try to go out of my way to make them feel appreciated 
That is why one photograph can take me almost an hour to create...like a painting. I want you to feel what I feel. Sometimes I tear up after I create a photo, like this one for example. It is not just another photo, it is a painting, a masterpiece, a work of art...emotion, a mothers expression of love for her child. That is why some of my work is darker, or people are not always looking at the camera. That is why I put finishes on my photographs, using colors to shift emotions. Your photoshoots are not just another paycheck for me, your photoshoots are another opportunity for me to do what I love, art.