7 Things I’ve Learned in 7 Years of Photography
Hi, I’m so glad you’re here! My name is Grey (she/her) and I am a documentary portrait and wedding photographer based in Nashville, Tennessee. This blog is a home for my thinking and writing about photography. To keep up with my work, you can find me at @greykenna. Thanks for being here!
This past New Year’s Day marked another anniversary of doing photography professionally— this year, I celebrated 7 years behind the camera.
Something about the medium of photography seems to compel us to distill what is most important to us about a moment, a feeling, a person. Witnessing this for seven years as a portrait and wedding photographer has taught me so much about human nature. This is one of the things I love most about this work— the way photography makes me a student of humanity.
In honor of these last 7 years of photography, here are 7 things I’ve learned.
1. The key to making a good portrait of someone is to love them, and then photograph that.
2. If you want to get better at photography, start photographing your own life and don’t stop. You don’t need a fancy camera, just photograph whatever makes you feel anything. Get up close and far away. Photograph lots in black & white. Keep archives. Look back at them, print out your work. Notice what evolves and what stays steady. Keep going.
3. You never know when a photo you take will end up being one of the last photographs of a person. This doesn’t need to be scary or sad - just something to remember.
4. Slowing down and being present has helped me more than posing ever has. You don’t need advanced directorial skills to make beautiful photographs, you just need to be able to notice.
5. Life can be so hard, sometimes relentlessly. Find the thing that helps you stay in touch with the world, helps keep you tender. For me that thing is photography, but it can be anything. Let it in and let it change you.
6. What you’re going through, thinking about, wrestling with, dreaming of, avoiding, feeling, etc will show up in your photographs. Even (especially!) when you try to push it all away. Unfortunately, the best thing to do about this is embrace it entirely.
7. We all want to be safe, loved and understood. Sometimes that message gets lost in translation, but it’s still true. Be gentle with people. More often than not we are all just doing the best we can.
