An evolution

I’ve been thinking about my career as a photographer and one word comes to mind: evolution. I have evolved a lot since my early days as a photographer.

Granted, I haven’t been a photographer as long as a lot of people — probably about five years. But I think back to that first wedding I photographed and that first portrait session I had, and realize that I knew so very little about the craft.

Part of what has helped me evolve is, of course, experience. The more weddings I shoot and the more photo sessions I have, the more I learn and improve. Another way I’ve improved is through continuing education. Aside from some photography classes in high school and college, I’ve had no formal training in photography. I’m self-taught. I believe in continuing education and I’m constantly taking online classes to learn more tips and tricks of the business. You might say that I can’t get enough of these classes. I’d watch them all day if I had the time. But there has to be some time for work.

Probably the biggest way I’ve evolved in my career as a photographer is in editing skills. When I first started I knew practically nothing about photo editing, and frankly I did little if any editing to my images. Over the course of the last couple years I have made it my mission to master editing software programs. While I may not have them mastered, I’m a lot better than I used to be. And I hope my photos show that difference.

In fact I have spent some time going back to old photos and re-editing them. I haven’t done as many as I would like due to time constraints, but it’s been fun looking back at these older photos and seeing how I can bring new life to them.

Evolution — it’s a process that everyone should embrace in their life and careers. It’s been beneficial for me.