My Photography Journey

As I write this I am in the process of thinking, how does photography align with my values?

Photography gives me a sense of freedom, freedom to capture actions, freedom to capture moments as they come and go. There's a sense of security for me knowing that I will have something to look back upon that has can trigger a memory of my own. When I look back at photos now, I realize I wouldn't have remembered so many details just from a thought. Not sure if this applies to other people, but I get a small sense of pleasure when I see photos of myself, and my family in the past. I think photography can really emphasize our values, it serves as a lens of what we value. 

Initially, my interest in photography started when I was a young girl, with the point and shoot cameras. I liked to photograph everything, including my friends, family, and myself of course. The anticipation of waiting to see the printed photos was always exciting. Eventually I took a class in black and white film photography, and learned to develop black and white film myself, and that process was an amazing learning experience. 

Photography is actually a very involved process, besides taking the photos, and developing them yourself or through a photo service, you would then have to pick your favorites, select an album, and prepare the photos for storage. I still have a few hundred photos I need to organize, and I tell myself.. I will eventually do it. 

Although, now that I've started a new photography journey, one where I provide my artistic and creative skill to other people, I've begun to manage a few thousand more photos. After purchasing a very expensive and professional Sony A7RII, and familiarizing myself with its superior functions, there is still so much more to master. The camera is one of the top 5 for photography professionals, and NO the camera is not entirely responsible for good quality photography.

With this recent endeavor, I've also learned a boat load of other skills and software, including but not limited to adobe products, marketing, wordpress, web design, and various other technical things. 

Despite feeling as if I want to do photography for a living, after crunching the numbers and really delving into the back-end of what goes on behind the scenes of a photography business, I'm learning that its not that simple.

Writing this out, has helped me put things into perspective, and I would like to continue providing my services to people; I just hope that this hard work can be recognized for what it is. A service to capture the moment in history forever, for those who observe them. 

Got to love photography.