A few days ago, I was asked for advice about starting a photography career. It has been a long time since this happened. I love it when people take the time to contact real persons, not to look for answers online.

my very early photographic discoveries took place in the streets of Paris in the 1990's. As of today, this is still one of the favorite pictures I took.

My very early photographic discoveries took place in the streets of Paris in the 1990's. As of today, this is still one of the favorite pictures I took.

This post is for a friend, for the aspiring photographers, for the ones who love to see beauty everywhere. Why spending time, money, ressources on a creative career in the crazy-profit-materialistic-social-media driven world? You won't make any money being a photographer. You will encounter an unfair competition. You will struggle with calculations of light and aperture and more more more. But just do it anyway. If you don’t have a closed capitalist mind, then do it. Just do it. Go for it.

I hear people talk about the 'eye' for photography. But it is not just about the 'eye'. Photography is a process that drives your entire body, that makes you think, and changes the full perception of the world surrounding you. Photography forces you to have more than just one eye. You will look at the very little, at the intensely big, you will look at the broken, at the useless and all will make sense to you. And you will be tired. You will have to lay down, to kneel for one hour, to keep all your senses alert.

The possibility to photograph the very little is a chance and a treasure.

My photography journey started when I was 16. I was a student, working for CocaCola. One day, I was sent to an isolated gas station to sell the drinks. There were no customers at all. People were there to take gas, not to shop. So, when the official CocaCola photographer came, we spent a little too much time talking. The guy took pictures of the Coke display, which in my opinion had no interest at all.

Sometimes, one sentence can change your life. In my teens, three sentences changed the way I looked at life. 

Like every teenager, I loved art, but Coke cans? That was no art at all.

'It does not matter that it is a stack of cans. I will find the way to make it a beautiful composition, there will be beauty in my picture, there will be beauty in these uninteresting cocacola cans'. 

I looked at the cans, puzzled. Beauty in coke? Hmm... A few months later, I asked my parents to use their camera to look at the world. Then, when I turned 18, I received my first camera. 

Photography allows you to make sense out of the ugly, the broken.

Is it really insignificant that Cocacola opened my gaze on the world? I don't think so. Somehow, I believe it makes more sense. Trying to find beauty in the ugly was a challenge. If I was told to photograph the nature or the cute little babies, I might not have been driven to the need of beauty.

Photography forces you to look at the world in a different way. Like drawing, painting, sculpting, dancing, cooking, video making and so many other forms of art, it forces you to open up to the endless and often unseen possibilities of beauty.

But the problem is: is beauty really useful? (This is the second sentence that changed my life in my teens)  Does beauty bring profit? Do we need beauty to live? Often times the answer is no. My answer is yes. But that's another story...

Another chance offered by photography is the possibility to connect with people. Whether you take pictures for a client or pictures of groups, sharing the pictures is an act of kindness. When I take pictures during celebrations and I share them with the subjects or the parents, I can feel the smile on their face. I just know they are smiling. Making people happy is worth the time you spent. If you make money out of it, good for you. If not, it will make you happy anyway.

Yes, go ahead, take photography classes. If you can, don’t take online classes. Go on the field, meet people, talk to photographers, to the corner camera shop employee. Learn the basics, learn to listen to critique, to feedback, to advice. Take one class, two classes, a whole degree. For the sake of the beauty in the world. To change your gaze on the world. To connect with people. To cultivate the sparkle of hope. To change a teeny tiny bit the world.

To make money? Yes, sure, everybody loves money. But honestly? No, not really. Unless you have good contacts, good chance, a lot of time or you are a genius. Otherwise, you will face a few competitors: 

1/the long time established photographers. They have worked their ass off in order to become photographers. They went to photography school, they spent money and hours advertising, they took online classes, workshops, chemistry classes, they understand the whims of the light, the zone system, the subtle combinations needed to take a great photograph. They possess the finest equipment and the knowledge. Respect them. Strive to become one of them even if it will take years, lots of failure and lots of work.

2/the self-called photographers. These are people who have kids and a somehow OK camera. Because kids are cute and handy, and their camera is kind of good, these "picture takers" take cute pictures. They found a way to make easy and quick money. Don’t be scared of them. They know little about light. They know little about composition. They know how to capture a cute subject but often they need to learn how to reproduce the beauty. (of course, not always, some rare 'picture takers' are truly talented). I would not trust anyone to capture the joys of childhood if they only know the automatic function of their Costco-bought machine. I would not trust anyone who charges $50 for graduation, Easter bunny pictures or important moments of my life. Clearly, with $50, they have nothing to lose but also not much knowledge to give.

Having the eye for photography is a good start, but having the knowledge that you learn in school allows you to much more creativity and to really master what you want to photograph. Photography is a daily commitment, an honorable one, one that will make you look at the world in a compassionate way, one that will, ultimately, always reveal beauty. Don't look back. Your eyes will be tired to look at the millions of possibilities surrounding you. 

Note: I do not call myself a professional photographer. I have studied photography, know a little bit about the subject, I have worked with many clients, I understand some physics and some chemistry, I studied the history of photography and a few more things. But I am a mom, a teacher, an imperfect person and absolutely nothing compared to the great photographers out there. I am just at the beginning of my learning journey. There are too many subjects I wish I was able to photograph.