It’s funny how things work out. I didn’t start out with a plan to be an Event Photographer or wedding photographer or any kind of photographic profession. In fact, I kind of just fell into it head first whilst chasing my passion – to take better travel photos.
It all started, with that first message I received back in August 2014 from my closest friend who lives in NZ. He messaged me telling me how he was heading over to London and that we should plan a trip, Nice!! Messages were going back and forth and then finally he dropped the bombshell… “I can get you a camera with my staff discount”!! BOOM! – It’s probably worth mentioning at this point that this friend works for a large well know camera manufacturer. by then end of our conversation and planning, we;d planned a trip to 4 greek islands and I had a DSLR coming with some lenses!!
Why does time always seem to take ages when you’re waiting for something exciting to happen?!! I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas… I was so looking forward to it that much!
Anyway, putting my eagerness aside, I realised that it has been a while since intimately knowing the inner workings SLR cameras, let alone a DSLR – Other than a few drunken nights using my friends camera bodies with their 50mm lens and despite often switch off from the ‘goings on’ to take pictures, I still, in my opinion, had nowhere near the right amount of knowledge to utilise (or even justify having) such a piece of equipment – I needed to learn and I needed to learn fast. Now the wait time didn’t seem so long, but at least I had a deadline to work with.
I can’t tell you how many late nights I lost to countless youtube tutorials and articles swatting up on the basics of photography, but it was a lot. Have you ever started to learn something and realised that the more you’re learning, the more you want to know? …Like a thirst has been awoken. I remember one night I was still going when my morning alarm sounded to wake me up for work!! I could not wait to get that camera in my hands – the was piling up!
I’m not going to going into teaching here, but if you’re a budding photographer you need to know these topics inside out
- How cameras and SLRs work
- The Exposure Triangle – Aperture vs ISO vs Shutter Speed
- Correct vs Creative Exposure
- Composition – the rule of thirds.
Fast forwarding a little, my friend arrived and headed to the greek isles for some rest, relaxation and photography.
Here are my highlight images from that mission.
Shortly after this holiday, a friend asked me to partner with him doing wedding photography and, at the beginning of this year, I fell into the events world.
Fast forwarding to present day, Both are moving along their start-up phases, I’m doing what I love more and When I travel I see the world in a different way. I considered myself a global citizen before but my love of it has increased with my passion for travel photography.
The first official event: ILEA Panel at Dinerama
The most recent: ILEA @ Smith & Wollensky
I’ve really gone full steam and taken every opportunity to learnt more, share my goals with other and expose myself to the work by helping others – it’s been a great and priceless experience. I’m saying you should pimp yourself out but by putting yourself in the right places for networking and building a brand on quality that is exciting to clients takes time and effort and even though I’ve thrown a lot at it this summer, it never seems like work when you’re lovin’ it!!
I hope this has been a useful illustration of how, if you want something and you’re passion about doing it, you can learn it and excel (and if you’re thinking about photography, you have a few starting points). Also, you never know, this endeavor could even be a game changer – you just have to start at the beginning and see where it takes you
Please feel free to share your successes – I would love to hear what you’re learning or any new skill you’ve picked up – don’t be shy…!!
join me on instagram: @dbp_uk, @arohaphotoz, @exquisitelocations
Enjoy.
Thanks sharing. :))
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