A Love Story (With Some Drama)

Dear Photography,

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, so naturally, I’ve been thinking about love. You know, not the candlelit-dinners-and-roses kind, but the all-consuming, exhausting, exhilarating kind. The kind that keeps me up at night, makes me question all my life choices, sometimes even makes me want to pull my hair out… Yet, it somehow feels worth it…

Yeah, I’m talking about you.

We’ve been through a lot together. Like, a LOT. The long nights, the early mornings, the hours spent tweaking one tiny highlight because somehow it matters. The existential crisis over whether I should have picked a normal job. The clients with “just one more request” that turns into an album redo. And don’t get me started on memory cards failing at the worst possible moment. 

Why are we even in a ‘relationship’?

Sometimes I wonder – am I in too deep? Should I have just become an accountant? Their spreadsheets don’t ghost them after inquiring about rates. Their clients don’t send reference photos of completely different lighting setups and ask for the same thing. Their deadlines aren’t “ASAP, but also, can we take our time?”

But then…

Then, I see the moments I captured. A proud father’s tears. A couple’s unfiltered joy. A tiny hand gripping an even tinier one. And suddenly, I remember why I do this. Why I always come back. Because photography isn’t just a job. It’s proof that something real happened, that someone was here, that they were loved.

Photography lets me capture a moment in time, convert a fleeting glimpse into a lifelong memory, and play a tiny part in someone else’s life story. 

So yeah, I’ll be honest, you’re exhausting and you can really test my patience. You demand everything from me. You make me doubt myself. You make me work harder than I ever thought possible.

But somehow, you make it all worth it. And, as a wise person once said, or maybe not: “Love is weird.”

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the photographers out there. Keep creating. Keep capturing. Keep loving the craft – even when it drives you up the wall.

With love (and mild frustration),
A Photographer