A New Season

Becky Field (BA ’05) sang her first solo at Kingsburg Covenant Church when she was just 4 years old. She was so small the choir director had her stand on a step so she could be seen over the pulpit. She seemed destined for a career in music and spent her time at Fresno Pacific University making that dream a reality. But over the past decade, Field has allowed the Lord to take her
in a different direction and is using the creativity he gifted her to put the focus on others. Instead of standing in the spotlight, she finds herself behind a camera capturing moments that allow others to shine. 

Field grew up in Kingsburg, and like many who leave small towns, didn’t know if she’d return. But after living in Fresno for 17 years, she is back where she started. She and her husband, Adam, live in her mother’s childhood home, close enough to downtown she can walk to work at her photography studio on Draper Street, or Main Street as the locals call it. Adam splits his time between homeschooling and freelance IT work. The couple has four sons: Oliver, 14; Milo, 11; Xander, 6; and Rory, 4.. Becky has grown Field House Photography into a business that is successful enough to support the family and gives her the flexibility that often eludes working moms. While she struggled with the idea of calling herself a photographer instead of a musician, she has chosen to embrace this role with her heart wide open. 

“I tripped backwards into photography as a career,” Field says. “I’m building the plane as
I fly it.” 

Spiritual gifts for every season

Field started teaching private piano lessons at 15 and was hired at Reedley School of Music at 16, getting an early start working toward her dream of being a high school choral teacher. After graduating from Immanuel High School in 2001, Field jumped headfirst into her music secondary education studies with a teaching emphasis at FPU. In addition to carrying a full course load, she juggled the rehearsals and performance requirements of her major with various on-campus jobs. 

By her junior year, Field realized her natural talent as a musician and teacher didn’t extend to conducting—a discovery that left her feeling lost and uncertain about her future. Her professors encouraged her to explore other teaching options, so she returned to Reedley School of Music and teaching private lessons. When she graduated from FPU, many Valley schools were cutting their arts funding, leaving few choral conductor jobs available. Rather than pursue a teaching credential, Field took a marketing job in the Bay Area, where she lasted one week before moving home. She had no idea what to do next, but with the benefit of hindsight, she knows the Lord was working.

“I see his hand in guiding me away from public school choral conducting,” Field says. “He said, ‘We’re going to let you have some hard moments in getting you where I want you to be.’”

Back in Kingsburg, Field became part-time music director at Concordia Lutheran Church while continuing to teach private voice and piano lessons. In the meantime, her undergrad experience working in several FPU offices opened a new door: Field was hired as the executive assistant to the dean of the School of Humanities, Religion and Social Sciences. During seven years in that position, she grew her professional skills, met her husband and became a mom. 

Photographing her children reawakened a childhood love of photography, and her hobby became a side hustle. When she left FPU in 2012 to homeschool her growing family, taking photos became a way to supplement her income from music lessons. Friends loved Field’s photos of her own children and asked if she could shoot their families. Feeling unqualified to present herself as a professional photographer, Field enrolled in a three-month intensive photography workshop and studied every photography book she could get her hands on. Setting what she calls her “imposter syndrome” aside, Field started offering family portraits in 2013, and recommendations from satisfied clients allowed her to quickly gain experience. She also taught an intro to digital photography class at FPU and had a display of her work on campus. But still she wrestled with calling herself a photographer. 

“I was used to being known as a musician and an admin at FPU,” she says. “I initially struggled to be taken seriously as a photographer.”

After having her fourth son in 2019, Field took a leap of faith to focus full-time on photography, giving up her 25 private students. She admits that stepping away from music completely felt like a bad break-up and led to an identity crisis. As she wondered if she was squandering her spiritual gifts, her mom reminded her of Ecclesiastes 3:1, which says, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Field has learned to rest in the promise that God is using her in this season.  

Creative passions collide

Field House Photography serves as many as 150 families a year, and recently added school portraiture. In her busy season, August through November, Field works 65-hour weeks. She recently hired a fellow FPU alum as her administrative assistant, freeing Field to focus on clients and the creative aspects of the business. Field bills herself as a family life photographer, and loves shooting imaginative, theme-styled sessions. Her flare for storytelling and imagination is evident in her work, and she believes her musical background informs her desire to capture beautiful moments.

“Music and photography are both all about creativity and artistry; it’s just a different medium,” she says. 

Field often first meets families during maternity photo shoots, and then has the honor of following those families as they develop and change over the years. “My favorite aspect of my job is meeting people, specifically watching kids grow,” she says.

Lasting life lessons

For many college students, their role never extends beyond that of student. Field’s situation is unique in that she experienced FPU as student, staff and adjunct professor. She says wearing those different hats and honing skills like time management, prioritizing, flexibility and discipline perfectly prepared her for the role of small business owner. But what she values most from her time at FPU was how faculty and staff cared for her as a person. She credits them with helping her become who she is today. 

“They challenged my beliefs and ability to take in new information. They didn’t teach me what to think, they taught me how to think in a loving and safe way,” she says. “I learned how to make others feel valued and respected.”