Ted.aily: Discovering photography pt. 1

Two years ago, I started my journey as a photographer.

And I was awful…

Like truly terrible…

I had so much ambition when I first started, but soon realized that cameras were really complex and moreover, understanding and exercising my eye for photography was even more challenging. But along the way I learned a few valuable lessons:

lesson 1: take lots of pictures… with whatever you have access to.

My first camera was a Sony A6300 with a nifty fifty. I did my research and found what I thought would be the perfect camera for what I wanted to do… which was hazy at best, because I really had no idea what I wanted to do. I set out with camera in hand, ready to create my photography legacy, but soon realized that I had no direction. All the money I had just invested in a camera was great, but had no merit because I had no vision. Now looking back, I realized that sometimes, my favorite photos are taken straight off of my little iPhone SE. It isn’t always about the equipment, but sometimes just finding ways to spark joy with what you have.

As I realized just how lost I was, I started to look around, yearning for some inspiration and direction. After countless hours of photography tutorials, framing lessons, website surfing, and instagram browsing - I finally stumbled upon Peter McKinnon (my hero), after which I learned another valuable lesson:

lesson 2: find a hero… follow their work, obsess over their work, and try to recreate their work.

I watched countless hours of Peter McKinnon, “What’s Up”-ing and just felt a wave of inspiration to get better. After falling in love with his style, my goal simply became: how can I create something just like Pete?

lesson 3: take lots of photos. then take more. and then take even more.

My style changed weekly in the beginning as I tried to recreate The Pete, and slowly, over time (a LONG time), I started to find my niche and aesthetic. Within the first six months, I had filled four terabytes worth of hard drive space, and every week would look back in disgust, thinking to myself, “I can’t believe I took those terrible photos.”

But, regardless of the disappointment, I kept wanting to get better. I grew hungry to learn and the more I practiced, the more my appetite grew. I was out all the time, camera in hand, taking pictures of everything I could possibly think of - and I was finally seeing some improvement. As I started to improve, I finally decided it might be time to try something bigger.

lesson 4: taking it to the next level is hard.

I spent the next six months, reaching out to brands, people, and companies, trying to find ways to get my foot in the door. I contacted dozens of people a day, with no responses. After eight months of struggling to find ways to take photography to the next level, my sister reached out to me about a company (better known as Hipcamp) that was hiring contract photographers to take pictures of their experiences camping. I reluctantly applied, nervous about taking the next step - and was fortunate that they hired me soon after.

And thus began my true journey as a photographer.

to be continued…