Looking back at my first year behind the lens feels like looking at a different lifetime. A decade ago, I was thrilled just to get a sharp focus or a properly exposed frame. Today, photography is no longer just about capturing what is in front of me—it is about how I choose to see it.
Ten years in this industry changes a person. More importantly, it completely reshapes your creative DNA.
The Early Days: The “Everything” Phase
When you first start out, you are a sponge. I shot everything. Weddings, stray cats, moody street corners, over-saturated sunsets—if it moved (or didn’t), I took a picture of it. My early style wasn’t really a style at all; it was an imitation of what I thought “professional” photography should look like. I relied heavily on heavy presets, dramatic vignettes, and flashy editing tricks to make up for a lack of visual direction.
Finding the Core: Technical Mastery to Emotional Connection
As the years pressed on, the gear became less important and the story became everything. I stopped chasing the perfect technical matrix and started chasing the feeling.
The biggest shift in my evolution was learning what not to shoot. Style isn’t just defined by what you include in your portfolio; it’s defined by what you leave out. I found myself drawn away from rigid, overly staged setups and pulled toward the quiet, unscripted beauty of candid moments. I traded vibrant, chaotic colors for a more intentional, timeless palette that focuses on light, shadow, and human connection.
What Ten Years Teaches You
If I could go back and speak to myself a decade ago, I’d offer one piece of advice: Don’t force your style. A photographer’s style is like a fingerprint; it develops naturally through thousands of hours of shooting, failing, experimenting, and discovering what moves you. It is a reflection of your own maturity, your heartbreaks, your travels, and how you experience the world.
Ten years later, my style is still evolving—and that is exactly how it should be. The moment a creative style stops changing is the moment the art stops growing. Here is to the next decade of chasing the light.
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