'Photography Changes Everything', Marvin Heiferman; blog response

What does photography mean to me? 

Photography has been a part of my life for a long time. When I was young, my mom did photography as both a hobby and a side job. Whenever she wanted to try out a new location, different style, or just play around with her camera, she would turn to myself and my sisters to step up as the 'models.' My mom's interest in photography led to my own interest and I received my first proper camera in 8th grade as a hand-me-down from my mom. Before this, I would just borrow my moms or use a little one. This lead to me doing photoshoots with my friends all throughout high school and turned to my interest in sports photography. While most my knowledge of digital photography is very self-taught, I love sitting down and looking all the pictures I take, choosing the best, editing them to my liking, and sharing them to the world. 

Marvin Heiferman says in his article, "photography excites us to the point that it makes us greedy to see more." In my experience as a photographer, which I get major imposter-syndrome to self-identify as, that is very true both externally and internally. I've really become to love sports photography since I started doing it last fall. After every game, the first thing I want to do is get my photos off my camera to post my favorites on my photography account. I often will even prioritize this over doing homework or whatever else I need to do. Then, I'm dying for the next game so I can do it all over again. It doesn't even matter the sport, I want to be there and taking pictures. I sometimes get paid for this, but I also will skip out on working to take the pictures because I enjoy it even without getting paid. Externally, since I started doing the sports photography, I often have different athletes coming up to me to ask if I'll be at their game or if I have any pictures of them. I even will have my sorority sisters or friends asking if I can bring my camera to an event we'll be at so we can have some nice photos. I always say yes to this, because I love it. But people always want more. People love seeing themself.

And I don't always use my fancy and expensive camera to get pictures. I am also always taking pictures on my phone. Heiferman talks about how the usage of smartphones has increased the amount of pictures being taken; I 100% agree and think it's a great thing. A common thing on Instagram now is a "photo dump" both on people's feeds and stories. Basically, people just take 10 random pictures from their life and post them. This is a major contrast from the old style of Instagram where people only post photos of themselves, from one event, or centered around one specific thing. I like the concept of "photo dumps" because it allows people to have more fun, be creative, and capture small moments from their life. Then people can share these moments with the world, sharing a little part of their life.  Heiferman says, "to see and experience the world, we don't only look at pictures; we take them, and often." I really like this quote and feel like it accurately represents why I like photography and social media. Everyone gets to share little parts of their world.

Overall, photography gives people the opportunity to share with everyone else what they see and what they enjoy. It gives a peek into their life that most people wouldn't get to normally see. To me photography is about creativity and personal expression.