You don’t need an expensive camera, 5 lenses, a tripod, and a bag full of other camera tid-bits to call yourself a photographer. Capturing something is doing just that. The way you do it is subjective. All you need is a brain with a dose of creativity, so I think majority of you are covered there. Taking up photography will do much more than take up space on your computer storage disk, I promise. Here are other, much more worthwhile reasons to take up photography.
1. Look at things from a different light and/or angle (literally)
How many times do we have to look at something until we see it a new way? When we’re driving on our long and windy Indiana roads, do we see it as just that, or do we see it as a photo-op that soon becomes your new laptop background? Change your perspective, and be intentional about it.
2. Unleash your creativity.
If you’re like me, you often describe yourself as art-inept. I can’t draw, paint, play music, or anything in-between. People don’t come to me when they want to make cool bubble letters on a poster. But when you’re holding a camera and take a cool picture, is that not art? Did you not just capture an image in your own unique way and will eventually do something with it, even if it’s just sending it to a friend? You never know what can bleed out of your creative side until you try.
3. Find new relationships.
Obviously, it’s kind of a cool thing when you find someone who shares the love of your same hobby. With photography, its fun to collaborate your ideas with someone else’s, just to see what you can come up with together. When you come across a unique photo, you feel the need to share it with them because you know it serves as a dose of inspiration for the both of you. You also know they’ll offer you constructive criticism on the lighting, angle, and lens choice of that photo, which of course you appreciate.
4. Challenge yourself.
After a while, you see what you like and dislike in your photos. You find your favorite scenery, emotions, and environment to capture a moment in. As time goes on, you push yourself and make it a goal for yourself to continue creating permanent memories of your own and others’ lives. It only takes one person to tell you that your photo inspired them, or that they’re really happy you snapped a particular shot. Those are the things that will get you to challenge yourself to accomplish more.
5. Constantly add to your life’s scrapbook.
A friend of mine who taught me a lot about photography said one of the reasons he loves it is because it’s impossible to reproduce. No moment will ever be the same. The expression of someone’s face as they walk into their surprise party, a little cousin’s first steps, watching your older brother cross the stage and receive a diploma; to capture these moments is a gift. Documenting the big moments are just as important as the little ones.
Stop missing life’s snapshots and pick up a camera (or iPhone). You never know what you’ll end up capturing.
