Why should you take pictures and do photography? Photography is the science, art and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. So why take pictures? You should take pictures for one you can tell a story with the pictures you take, you can also show the places you have been, you can meet new people through photography, and lastly you can express yourself through the pictures you take. My friend Marc said, “Photography to me is an escape from reality and it allows me to show people what I see and how I see it.” Photography to me is, “A way to express yourself. It’s a way to show people how you see things in the world and it captures a moment in time for memories.”
To start off, you can tell a story with the photographs you take. The saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” is very true. When you look at a photograph you might interpret different as the next person. All photographs have a story behind it and why the photograph was taken that is just up to you to figure that out, but the only person that really knows the story is the photographer.
“A photograph has the ability to convey emotion, mood, narrative, ideas and messages – all of which are important elements of story telling.” -Darren Rowse
Also with telling a story, photography captures a moment in time to help tell a story. For example, one of the greatest photographs taken is the V-J day kiss. This photograph was taken in 1945 and it captured a man kissing a women when the war ended. This picture can tell a huge story. Could the women be his wife? Could it be his girlfriend? Or just some random women? Who knows, but that is all up to you to interpret and figure out. That is all one reason why you should take pictures because you can tell a story by the pictures you take.
Secondly, when you take pictures, you can show your friends and family the places you have been. Imagine you are sitting at the beach in Hawaii under some palm trees, the waves are crashing, you feel a soft breeze coming from the ocean, and see the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen. That is the moment that you want to take this picture and show it off to your friends and family. When you take a picture it is meant to be shared with people because you never know who would be looking at the picture. Perhaps you take such a great picture and someone actually wants to buy that picture from you? Also with showing the places you have been, it can also show a memory of the places you have been and visited. Don’t you want to have memories to look back on? Don’t you want to share those memories with others? This is why you should take pictures.
Another reason to take pictures is that you can meet new people and brings more connections to you. Also it can change your life. My friend Marc said again, “The reason why I do photography is because I love the connection it had brought me with other people.” With that statement it is very true because with doing photography, it brings you closer to others around you. For me, I was really shy talking to girls and I was afraid to be shut down even to just have a conversation with them, but when I started to do photography it gave me so much more confidence in myself and meeting new people. Photography could also let you meet new people and open up many doors for you if you just give it a try. A guy by the name of Frank McKenna gave 10 ways photography can change your life. One way it could change your life is going on photo walks, which is literally going outside and taking pictures of the things you see outside your front yard. Another way it could change your life is maybe you'll meet a stranger, learn their story. Appreciate how blessed you are. And one last way it could change your life is doing a 365 day project, by taking one picture a day; it could be meaningful or it could be a random picture, but take a picture a day and then you will see the beauty of the world around each day.
And my last point is when you take a picture, you can really express yourself through the picture. You can convey happiness, loneliness, love, ect. You can do whatever you want and show how you feel through the pictures you take. My friend Josh who is also a photographer said, “Photography is a means to expression. It allows me to show my feeling or thoughts without having to say anything.” Photography can be an escape for you. Anyone can push down a button and show feeling through the picture. He also mentioned, “There are so many techniques I use to relay my emotions to my audience. I can change the lighting, camera angle, and especially the subject matter to get my point across. For instance, if I am feeling in a gloomy mood I may use shadows, a lot of negative space, and very dim lighting to portray my subject matter.” So you guys can convey any feeling you want through the picture you take.
To wrap it all up, Photography is a means of escape. You can tell a story with the pictures you take, you can show your friends the places you have been by taking pictures, you can also meet new people by taking pictures, and lastly you can show your feelings through the pictures.
“Your unique perspective can go further than just showing people how you see a scene. Photography also lets you express yourself—your opinions and beliefs. You do this by choosing what you photograph, and how you represent it. This aspect of your photography is ever-changing as you change. You get a sense of what a photographer is like as a person by looking at their body of work. This part of photography is absolutely fascinating as a viewer, and fulfilling as a shooter.” - Lauren Lim.
Photography also opened so many doors for me to see the my surrounding area in a different way. Ways that most people would not see and I am thankful for the gift of seeing the world in a different perspective
