When I tell people I do photography, they often ask why. Why do I like photography? What about it gives me joy? What aspect of photography do I like the most? I can tell you a long-winded story of how I got into photography with lots of tangents that are probably not relevant, but for starters, we’ll go with a concise version that answers the questions. There is one long-ish story in there though! It explains the joy ☺

Why do I like photography?

I love the idea of what photography can do. Time keeps going and stops for no one, but photography can freeze one moment in time; it’s like a time stopper! Except it doesn’t actually stop time hahaha Photographs are a tangible piece of memory that help us to remember a specific time when our human memory (aka the hippocampus) needs a little extra help or sometimes we want to see the world from a different perspective. I don’t remember what I looked like when I was five years old, but pictures from when I was five show me! That’s what I love about photography and especially being able to capture a time in other people’s lives so they can remember!

(Here’s a picture of me at age five; my face hasn’t changed much)

Finding joy in photography

Honestly, I wasn’t sure why I found joy in taking photos; I just liked that it helped people relive memories. I found the joy two and a half years ago.

I was still planning to go to law school my second year of undergrad, but I had some hesitations and wanted to keep working on my videography. I was talking to a friend about internships and how I should probably get one when she told me about this nonprofit organization called Bring Me Hope that was looking for interns. She said she was applying and suggested I should too because they were doing some video things that I might be interested in and the organization is about advocating for orphans, which was what I wanted to specialize in at law school. So I applied and became one of the six original interns for Bring Me Hope! The organization holds camps for orphans in China and foster kids in the U.S., and the purpose is to shower these kids with Christ-like love and to be their voice for adoption back home. The summer after our first semester into the internship, we were given the opportunity to become staff at one of the locations for the China camps. I took the opportunity and was the staff photographer/videographer for all four weeks of camp in Yantai! It was such a great experience to love these kids I have never met before, and God taught me so much about Him and His love through it (an entry for another day). As the staff photographer, one of my duties was to capture a photo of each child to print out for their memory books they make during crafts time. I remember clearly one child and the joy in photography through this kid. His camp volunteers had a bit of a hard time understanding him and he was, at times, frustrating to handle. But the day photos were passed out, he took a look at the picture of himself and was absolutely over the moon! He couldn’t stop smiling and showing everyone else his picture! I couldn’t believe I made a kid that happy with just a simple picture I took of him. It was because of this occasion that I realized I found joy in seeing other people’s joy over their own photos. They’re not joyful because it’s a “good photo”; it’s the “I really look like this?” and “is this seriously me?” I love it when they can see how beautiful and confident they actually are; photography is a means for them to see that!

I actually snapped a photograph of him holding his portrait!

My favorite part

I’m eager to make new friends, but I’m an introvert so socializing drains me! Not to mention, I’m kind of shy when I first meet people. However, photography has pushed me to rely on God’s grace when I feel my capabilities are limited and it’s been SO good! Photography gets me out of my comfort zone so I’m able to gain friends, deepen connections with my clients, and grow my reliance on GOD, not in my own abilities. It’s a constant struggle because I second-guess myself all the time, but photography has been a great avenue for me to grow in many areas of my life. My favorite part about photography is making these connections with people that I normally would feel too shy to approach otherwise and cultivating a stronger relationship with my Father.

I also used to love editing too because I was able to use controls to get a certain look I want. It just took me a long time to edit a single photo so editing was tedious work. Since then, I’ve invested in education and learned how to nail the shot in camera to achieve the look I want! Now, I enjoy taking the actual photos and getting creative with the shots because I get the results in camera!

There it is! Answering the questions that get to the heart of why I love photography. Someday, there will be a post about the history part of how I got here. Until then, this should suffice and hopefully give you a straight-to-the-point look into my why!