Lisa Jones has only been a professional photographer for three-and-a-half years, but she is already getting national recognition for her work.

She said she was always interested in photography, but she wasn’t able to actually become a photographer until her early 50s.

“It’s what I wanted to do in high school,” she said. “Life got in the way.”

Jones said once her children were grown and out of the house — with her three sons married and her daughter in college — she was able to take a look at what she really wanted to do with her life, and her passion for photography hadn’t gone away.

When she got the opportunity to work professionally, she took the leap, and now, she works primarily as a portrait photographer out of her home studio.

“I guess I’ll call it my midlife crisis,” she said.

Jones worked as a web developer for 15 years, and she spent the last four or five years working at Cullman’s Southern Accents Architectural Antiques.

Along with maintaining the store’s website, she also did marketing and photography, and that creative work reignited her interest in photography.

“I decided that portrait photography was what I was really passionate about,” she said.

Being a photographer isn’t as simple as buying a camera and taking pictures of people, and Jones said she took a year really dig in to skill.

“I knew that if I was going to do this, and I was going to do this as a professional business, I needed to know what I was doing,” she said.

Even after taking the year to learn the trade, there is always more to learn for a professional photographer, Jones said.

“There’s a lot to learn,” she said. “There’s a definite art to lighting, exposure and competition.”

As part of her continued education in the subject, Jones recently received the Professional Photographers of America’s Certified Professional Photographer Certification.

That certification requires a written examination and the submission of a photographer’s works, and signifies that the photographer has gone through the necessary education and training to take pictures professionally.

“If you’re hiring someone who has their certification, it verifies that you’re hiring somebody who knows what they’re doing,” she said.

Jones’ focus on portrait photography has recently paid off, as she attended the SYNC Portrait Photography Conference in Destin, Fla. earlier this month, where she received multiple accolades for her work.

At the conference, which featured the works of around 500 photographers from around the country, Jones walked with several awards, including three first-place finishes, a second-place finish and she was named the conference’s Photographer of the Year.

One of her images was also named Best in Show, and received the first perfect score that the conference had ever awarded.

Jones said it was huge honor to have the conference’s judges review her work and give it the first perfect score in SYNC’s 10-year history.

“I was probably more excited about that than any of the awards,” she said. “That’s really hard to attain.”

Jones has a new certification and a few new awards for her mantle, but she has not stopped with her pursuit of education, as her next goal is to work towards a master’s degree.

When Jones’ daughter expresses doubt in her plans for the future, Jones said she always reminds her that it’s possible to pursue your passions at any point in your life.

“I always tell her, ‘I’m 56 years old and I just figured it out,’” she said.

She said it’s never too late to start something new, and she would give the same advice to anyone who has a similar opportunity to do the thing they love, no matter their age.

“You’re never too old to dream a new dream,” she said.