A Day In The Life Of A Photographer

A Day in the Life of a Photographer

The flashing alarm clock rings loudly in my ear as I awake from my dreams. I hit the snooze button many times before I actually get up and out of bed. Today I have plans to meet with a friend for a photography shoot at her house. These photos will be added to my ever-growing portfolio. Although still groggy, I am, however, incredibly excited that I have photography as one of my plans today. For me, photography is a part of my everyday life. I take my camera everywhere I go, whether it is down the street, down town, or just to a friend's house; there is always something to photograph. Something is always going on around, so it never gets boring.

After I get dressed and do the normal morning routine, I sit on my unmade bed and stare at my dresser. I have a decision to make: 35mm or digital camera. For this particular photo shoot I decide to go with the digital camera because I figure I will have to do some digital photo editing whenever I get back to my house. I use the 35mm camera, usually, on still life photographs and not so much on photographing people because people and their expressions are so unpredictable when on film. When I am using a digital camera I can see the photograph right after it is shot but with 35mm cameras I have to wait until they develop and it may not be what I'd hoped for. It saves me a lot of money on printing also. So, after I decide to use my digital camera, I pack up all of my equipment and head off to her house.

As I pull up to the gravel driveway I honk my horn a couple of times to signal her to come out and help me with my equipment. My friend comes running out of the front door. We get all of the lamps and the backdrops for the photo shoot out of my car. With our arms full, we struggle to balance everything and get into the doorway without dropping anything. I enter the living room. She has cleared out a large space for me to use for the shoot. I tell her to place my photography tools on the ground and to go upstairs and get herself ready.

"I'm ready!" she yells as she gallops down the stairs in the massively puffy pink and white dress. I would compare it to Barbie's wedding dress. I am just finishing up getting everything organized and ready to photograph as she waits patiently on the bottom stair.

I tell her that I'm all ready as I flip off the living room light and flip on the spot lights. "What exactly would you like me to do?" she asks. She has never been photographed before today so I assume she must feel a bit awkward. I tell her to just relax and to look natural. I do some sample shots and show her what to do and how to pose so that she feels comfortable.