Why I became a photographer.
Many reasons drove me to buy my first camera and start calling myself a photographer. Well, I always had that urge to capture anything I found aesthetically pleasing in a way that someone who is casually using their Samsung phone to take photos of their daughter’s birthday or any other event wouldn’t understand. Like any other artist, I found myself making sure even the smallest detail would shine in my 10 megapixels underexposed photo creation. No matter how underexposed or amateur-like, I was proud. That feeling motivated me to buy my first camera and perhaps give it a try, I mean why not?
Experiencing the magic of a DSLR.
So there it was, it was a sunny day and I was riding the bus back home with my new Canon EOS 1300d + 18–55mm lens and ready for my day out with my new camera.
Okay,
Camera, Check!
Tripod, Check!
Strawberry slushie from the local kiosk, Check!
Oh, and my fiancé (girlfriend at that time), Check!
At that time I lived in a small village in the outskirts of Larnaca city in Cyprus, Oroklini. My first photoshoot destination was the Oroklini Hills (locals insist on calling it a mountain but being born in Bulgaria I’ve seen mountains, and what I'm climbing with my little hatchback is a damn hill), due to its lovely view of the entire village and the sea next by, I found it a good start. And there I was shooting photos like I was holding a DP-27 soviet machine gun and trying to fight off nazis at Stalingrad.
End of the day, I couldn’t wait to edit my photos with Photoshop express and display them on Instagram. So I did, after posting my incredible oversaturated photos, I received an enormous amount of 5 likes. Girlfriend, Mom, Dad, Cousin, Brother. That did not matter, I was writing history.
First PRO photoshoot!
After getting better and better and ditching the auto settings, I decided to try and make some money. So what do you do first when you wanna make money and you don't know where to start? Correct. You go on YouTube and watch videos of photographers with 20 years of experience in the field tell you how you can make 1k this weekend, lol.
Oh well, so I started with €20 for a photo shoot. My first paid photoshoot was a maternity photo shoot, I remember I was so pumped for and it actually came out great. I was proud and happy that it went smoothly.
Unfortunately, you can’t charge people big money or any money if you can’t show them your professional work. So I did some free photoshoots which helped me build my portfolio and shortly after I found myself getting phone calls for people to book me!
Why do I do what I do?
I was proud, I was a business owner. But the inner artist remained there, no matter how much I was being paid by a client, the smallest detail was treated as a pillar for the final piece of art.
Yes, I treat my photography as a business, but first, it’s treated as an art. No matter if I get paid €5 or €5000 for a photoshoot, photography will always come to me as an art and a way that I can express myself.
I believe if you’re in it for the money the canvas will always be blank and full at the same time.
The ability to tell a million words, with one photo.
Because art comes before business.