You know the phrase, find something you love to do and you’ll never work a day in your life? There are definitely some jobs that could fit in thereI. There are definitely dome jobs that do not. Think of a writer who wants to get that novel out of their head and onto paper, but they go into work everyday writing copy for a marketing firm. It might be good practice, but I’m sure it feels like work going home and using their brain to write again. An established novelist who only writes when they want to could feel more freedom from work if that was all they did.
A common question to ask yourself to find the perfect job is, what job would you do if you weren’t getting paid. Ha! That’s an easy one. – concert photography., right?. i have a love hate relationship with that kind of event photography because photographers are only tolerated to be there for a few songs; we don’t get paid. Hours and hours of work and waiting around to get a handful of photos to go alongside an article I also have to write. I’m not just doing it for free, I’m doing extra work to make it possible, therefore I must love it.
I do, but I don’t. My goal is not to have photos of celebrities or well known artists. I only request to photograph bands I enjoy OR people I know put on a really great show. Since I started in 2014, I’ve realized it is the latter reason that drives me. When people like my concert photos, they often like the performer and pay little attention to the photography. Other photographers might comment that I have taken a killer shot. Well what makes it a killer shot? It isn’t the performer, well it is, but not because of their notoriety or fame. What makes a killer shot for me is capturing emotion and movement.
I take a massive pay cut for an annual event in Dayton and it is one of my favorite sessions. it is usually 10 hours and the parameters they want me to shoot in are not ideal. Mostly vertical images in a medium-sized JPG format. This makes it difficult to edit and if I do get one I like, it will not likely be something I can print 30”x40” for the office wall. Still, I love it as much as I love conert photography. If I could photograph the feel and excitement of people on a daily basis, whether it be real or a performance, then that is what I would do.
So what doI enjoy photographing most? I’ve been asked this so often. my answer would be those killer shots I get from humans being - not from celebrities. Capturing amazing feats, hair flips, sweet jumps, and raw emotion is my true passion. I do it for free, and I do it for cheap. It also helps with my imposter syndrome.