Mayo — Twenty-two-year-old Rebecca Miller of Mayo has a lot going for her and she is well on her way to a promising future as a professional photographer. Just in the last year she has contracted with over 70 clients under her business name of Photos by Ecca.

A 2009 graduate of Lafayette High School, Miller was born and raised in the Cook’s Hammock area of Lafayette County and now lives in the town of Mayo. As a side job she has been working as a waitress at Old Florida Company Coffee House for about a month now.

Miller recently underwent thyroid surgery for hyperthyroidism but the good news is that her latest test results show no sign of cancer and she doesn’t have to take any medications.

When she was a young girl she said she used to have slumber parties and dress up all her girlfriends. Then she’d take pictures of them with a small digital camera. Later on she got a Kodak and more recently she bought a new Nikon D40 Digital DSLR camera with new hopes now of obtaining an even better camera to further her capabilities as a photographer.

Miller said she originally wanted to be a model, but when people took head shots of her she said they didn’t do it right, so she told them, “Here, let me do it,” and so the passion blossomed.

She said she has always had an interest in photography and her daughter Scarlett Adele Suggs, now 15-months-old, was her inspiration to get started in her chosen career, as she took photos of her newborn using a rustic, country theme. Many of her girlfriends, she said, were pregnant at the same time and when they saw Miller’s work they all wanted the same for their newborns.

“I did that,” Miller said. “Then I got a wedding, and then I got another wedding, and then I got engagement photos. Then I got Miss LHS, then pageants and birthday parties. It’s crazy. Then I got all the senior girls who wanted the rustic, country photography with the boots,” she added.

Her scope reached even farther after that on into Branford and Suwannee County. In her first year taking professional photos she snagged over 70 clients and in her second year four more have been added. Her creative imagination for backdrops and scenes for her photo shoots continues to expand, including the use of water reflections in her pictures, and she is excited to show off her new ideas.

Miller aspires to take her business to the next level with her own studio.

“I have all the studio equipment, the computers, the editing program, the big flashbulb lights and the umbrellas, but I just don’t have a place to set all that up,” she said.

Miller also has a treasure trove of props and country clothing that she utilizes in her photography.

Her website www.photosbyecca.weebly.com has a catchy and fitting logo that states, “If you don’t have a smile I’ll give you one of mine.” She also has a Facebook page with an impressive number of photos of her outstanding work. To contact Miller just drop her a line at photosbyecca@hotmail.com.