LAKE PARK — Becky Platt stands in the front yard of her home in Lake Park, taking photos of her niece, Sammie Grace Pettigrew. Sammie Grace’s mother, Heather, stands behind Platt, making funny faces so that her daughter will smile for the camera.

Instead, Sammie Grace walks away and over to two neighborhood dogs who are playing in the grass.

“Taking pictures of kids is the hardest,” Platt said. “You just have to go with the flow with them.”

Taking photos of kids isn’t a strange concept for Platt.

As the owner of a small photography business, Platt Photography, which she runs out of her home, she has been taking photographs of children, weddings, sporting events, you-name-it, for years.

I was introduced to Platt by my mother who thought she had an interesting story and by my cousin, Platt’s sister-in-law Heather.

Platt grew up in Lowndes County and graduated from Lowndes High School in 1988. She began dating her future husband, Jody Platt, when she was a sophomore and he was a junior. After high school, she went to Georgia College in Milledgeville on a gymnastics scholarship.

It was during that time that Platt was introduced to photography. Jody began modeling and Platt would always attend the photo shoots with him.

“I’ve always liked taking pictures,” Platt said. “I got my first camera when I was maybe 10 years old. It was a little point-and-shoot, so I would always go around taking pictures. I never thought of it as a career until Jody was modeling and I went to photo shoots with him.”

Platt ended up finding a school, Southeastern Center for the Arts, in Atlanta where she could study photography.

“It was a year program. It was very intense, everyday, and kind of geared toward the fashion part of photography, especially with [Jody] being a model and all.”

During that time, Platt worked at an advertising agency but decided to move back home and get married.

Becky and Jody married in 1992 and she began working with Deland Guthrie and Scott Nichols. She worked, helping them out at the studio or going

to weddings.

“I started doing more portraits and weddings,” Platt said. “Fashion photography isn’t big around here. You have to go to Atlanta or Orlando, Miami, places like that.”

Five years later, the Platts welcomed their first child, a daughter named Autumn, who is now 12. Four years after the birth of their daughter, the Platts welcomed a son, Addison, who is 8.

“I wanted to stay home with them and a way I could do it is to do weddings on the weekend,” Platt said. “I wanted to stay home with my kids and be a mom.”

It was during this time that Platt went into business for herself, staying busy. Eventually, she quit advertising her business.

“There’s so many other photographers out there,” she said. “I didn’t want to have to worry about competing. That way I (could) stay home and be a mom.”

Right now, Platt is a part-time photographer, doing portraits for family and friends. She also works part-time with her mother, Robin Yorke, at her accounting business.

She doesn’t miss the fashion genre of photography. She still pulls her camera out at random times to take photos.

“She takes photos of Sammie Grace all the time when she keeps her,” Pettigrew said of her sister-in-law.

Taking random photos keeps Platt in the photography mode, especially with the holidays coming up.

“This time of the year, people are wanting photos for their Christmas cards,” Platt said. “A lot of friends call us and say ‘Christmas card pictures!’”

“(My favorite part of photography) is being pleased with the outcome and capturing moments, especially with weddings,” Platt said. “A lot of brides and grooms don’t remember their wedding day because it’s so crazy. They get their pictures back and that’s all they really have is the pictures and maybe a video.”

One wedding Platt shot was of Boston Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew’s 2001 wedding in Hahira.

Most recently, Platt has gotten into sports photography. Her son just finished with tackle football and is getting ready to start wrestling. Her daughter is on the Lowndes Middle School softball team and barrel races.

“I’ll go in and take photos of (everybody),” Platt said. “I love the sports. Football, softball, I did all of their pictures this year because the parents enjoy having pictures of their kids in a fun action shot. It’s just hard to look through that view finder and see what else is happening around you.”

Platt is also heavily involved with her children’s school activities. She is vice president of Moulton-Branch Elementary’s PTO board and is a room mom there. She also volunteers at Lowndes Middle School where her daughter attends.

Currently, the Platts are preparing to sell their home and move to the Dasher area where they have bought 20 acres of land.

“We’re hoping to build out there,” Platt said. “We’re digging a pond for it right now. That would be a great place to take pictures.”

After 17 years of marriage, two children and countless photos taken, Platt recently had her 20-year high school reunion.

“It was fun seeing people that I haven’t seen because most of them have moved on,” she said before laughing. “It’s funny how a lot of people still live here in Valdosta, but you don’t see them. Then the people you don’t want to see, you run into all the time.”