I wasn't sure what to expect today. It's a little chilly for May, and a lot windy. We're out on High Street in the dead center of Columbus, Ohio, and we're protesting. A group from Cleveland commissioned me to photograph the event — they rode down in a couple of charter buses, rallied together, and we all unloaded right in the middle of town.

Here's what nobody tells you about photographing a protest: it doesn't hold still. People move, the light keeps shifting, and the wind grabs every sign in the crowd. The same energy you're there to capture is the thing that makes it hard to capture. You're not posing anyone. You're reading a room that happens to be a city block, trying to be close enough to mean something and far enough back to stay out of the way. You learn fast that the job is half photography and half respect — knowing when a face wants to be seen and when it doesn't. It was my first commissioned shoot like this, and I'll be thinking about it for a while.

So how does a guy five months into photography end up being the one they call?

I bought my first professional camera in November of last year. Within the same month, I was laid off. I was an art director and in-house photographer for Manta at the time, but they were changing direction and cut everyone who touched sales. I'd been a designer for 20 years. And now I had a brand-new camera sitting on my credit card bill.

So I decided to take anything I could get. This is how it starts.

I've been saying yes to every project that comes my way, mostly because nothing was coming back on the design and marketing applications I'd been sending out — until this week. I'd assumed it was my age. Then someone finally replied, and the email went something like this:

You have your design and your photography portfolios on the same website. Naturally I'm going to check out your photography as well. And I have to tell you — based on your photography, you're a bad investment for design. Your photos are so good that we expect you'll be moving in that direction in no time, and we'd have to replace you 10 months from now.

I'm choosing to take that as a compliment.

So I'll keep taking on everything I can, building the experience to make this my full-time thing. Today's "yes" was a protest on High Street, in the wind, for a group that drove two hours to be heard. That's exactly the kind of work I want more of. Thanks for the feedback — let's see how I do as a full-time Columbus-based photographer.

Now I just need to find a studio.

Got a rally, fundraiser, conference, or community event coming up in Columbus? That's exactly the kind of work I'm chasing right now. Here's what event photography with Harry Acosta Photography looks like.

And if you're in Columbus, OH and ready to lock in a date for editorial, event, or marketing photography, you can schedule your session here!