Photography Lessons I Didn’t Expect
Trying to balance being present in the moment and documenting the moment is chaos on a whole different level. I’m not sure why I thought I could casually take a few photos and still float through the event like a normal host and guest. No one asked me to be the photographer. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t assigned.
It was a classic Felicia move:
“I’ll just get some setup shots.”
Then the morning of the wedding:
“Actually… I should be the photographer.”
I’m grateful I got to be both present and behind the camera. But there’s something to be said for being fully in a moment without a lens between you and the people you love. Presence is a different kind of art and a harder one to practice when you’re used to documenting everything. I believe it is also something that most of us forget in today’s world… possibly something to blog on for another day.
What This Experience Taught Me
From the moment I decided to pick up a camera, I knew two things immediately:
I do not want to be a wedding photographer.
I do not want to be a newborn or small-children photographer.
Both fields are saturated for a reason. They require a certain personality, patience, and tolerance for unpredictability that I simply don’t have (or want). I’ve never liked the mainstream rituals around weddings, and I’ve never loved the idea of pretending to be or look a certain way. And with children… let’s just say the idea of photographing them is terrifying in a very specific way.
This experience made that crystal clear.
A Lesson in Grace and Growth
I’m still a very fresh amateur photographer, and while I’m happy with the experience, I’m also trying to give myself some grace. Not every picture came out well. That little camera window lies… it lies hard.
What looks sharp at a glance is sometimes a blurry mess when you zoom in. Lesson learned.
I’m also still figuring out:
how to read and control lighting
how to adjust for movement
when to anticipate a moment vs. react to it
Since I’ve been focused on food photography, my world has been still, predictable, controlled — the exact opposite of a live event. With food or product photography, your subject doesn’t move. You get full creative control. You get to perfect the shot.
People photography doesn’t give you that luxury.
And honestly? I like the quiet of still-life work better.
Looking Forward
Even with the (many) challenges, I’m glad I did it. It pushed me. It taught me.
And it showed me what I don’t want, which is just as valuable as discovering what I do.
I’m ready to take more classes, learn more techniques, and understand my camera in a deeper, more intuitive way. Not soley because I want a side hustle, but because once I care about something creatively, I need to learn it well. That’s part of who I am.
It was nice to be challenged without external pressure.
Just me, learning in real time.
And appreciating the experience for what it was: messy, imperfect, and exactly what I needed.