Photography

I love trying new things. I’ve played five instruments, nine sports, including spearfishing. And they’ve taught me a few important things.

Skiing, for example, has taught me the value of imagination–there’s no wrong way, for example, to do a Japan-360–while spearfishing has taught me about patience and that holding out on a shot can mean the difference between a catch and a prize catch.

But perhaps the greatest things I’ve learned have been from starting my own photography business.

I thought it’d be easy: I’d create a website and photograph perfect weddings with great lighting just like in magazines. It ended up being harder than I thought: I’ve spent hours deciding between sans-serif fonts for my logo, I’ve stayed up all night culling through 1200 wedding images, and work non-stop on SEO to make sure my website comes up first in a search engine.

Some of the lessons I’ve learned, however, have been invaluable.

I’ve learned, for example, how to work with the tools I’m given. In photography, I often won’t have the gear I need for every situation, but I’ve discovered that having fewer resources often makes me more creative. My lenses are fixed focal lengths, meaning I have to move around a lot more to get the same perspective as zoom lenses, but it’s forced me to take photos from angles I wouldn’t have before. The same was true in middle school football: I wasn’t the biggest guy on the team, but I was the quickest and became the team’s all-star running back. I’ve been given talents in certain areas and I’ve learned to take advantage of them.

I’ve also learned to not be afraid to take another shot, both in photography and in life. When I initially didn’t get the acoustic guitar spot on the worship team, for example, I learned how to play the bass, re-auditioned, and ended up getting the spot.

But perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is vulnerability. My first few photoshoots were extremely awkward because, well, I was awkward. But one day my choir director caught me singing Beyonce and asked me to audition for vocals. I decided to take that step out of my comfort zone, audition, and I now lead worship at my church. Gradually I’ve become more comfortable with who I am–both onstage and during photoshoots–and I’ve even created close friends that were originally clients.

But if you’re thinking I want to study art, you’ll probably want to change lenses. Here’s why: I’m interested in studying international business, focusing on human rights and I hope to apply all I’ve learned from photography.

I’ll need to be vulnerable in order to gain a client’s trust, since being authentic can be the difference between a closed deal and a closed door. I’ll also need to prepare for adversity and during these hardships, I’ll need to be resourceful. However, resourcefulness shouldn’t be reserved just for recessions: sometimes doing more with existing resources can be just as good as doing more with less. Having an open mind to new possibilities while negotiating deals will be critical in acquiring long lasting relationships with customers.

But most of all, I want to continue trying new things and seeing different perspectives. In short, I’ll always be interested in trying new lenses.