I've been a photographer for 5 years and I love every single aspect of it. I love editing the pictures and organizing photo shoots. I love the power of being behind a camera and being in control. However, I always have thoughts that cross my mind that involve photography.

1. Why don't I have my camera with me?

This has been a thought I’ve had before. I’ll be out somewhere and see something really great that I want to take a picture of, and then I realize I don’t have my camera with me. I usually end up using my phone to take a picture, but it’s definitely not the same. A rule I’ve heard multiple times is to always have your camera with you.

2. That would be such a good shot!

Anytime I’m out walking I always see something that would make a great picture. Like I mentioned above, if you have your camera with you, use it. If you don’t have your camera use your phone or make a note in your head to come back and take the photo later. It’s better to take the picture now than have to come back and hunt for that perfect shot later on.

3. This gives me a great idea for a shoot!

Whether I’m looking at Pinterest, another photographer’s work, or the world around me I always see something that inspires me to use as part of a photo shoot or to use as a basis for a concept for a shoot. I love seeing ideas or other people's shoot to get ideas on what to incorporate into a shoot I could do in the future. I may see a DIY flower crown on Pinterest and make that to use in a spring shoot or try to use some poses I saw a photographer used for someone's Senior pictures. Either way, the word is full of unique ideas that photographers can use to their advantage when having an idea for a shoot.

4. Who let that person take the picture?

Hopefully, I’m not the only one but I always critique in my head different photographer’s work. Obviously, not all photography enthusiasts are pros at taking pictures, I still even consider myself a beginner. I talked to a friend of mine awhile ago about this issue of criticizing other people’s pictures and we both agreed on the fact that no matter what, it’s art. I know I can’t turn off my inner photographer judge, but I’m trying to be more mindful about other photographer’s work and see the good in it rather than what can be fixed. Let’s empower other artists more instead of critiquing them.

5. Why can't my model understand what I want them to do?

Every photographer probably has had this problem at least once: sometimes we have trouble getting our models to pose just how we want them. I often get models who tell me to “pose them how I want” or “don’t know how to pose.” While this is totally fine and I don’t expect them to be a Victoria’s secret model, it is hard for me to have them pose exactly how I’d like. I’ve learned that it’s a good idea to bring some ideas of poses the model could do via a Pinterest board or Google. I had to take dance pictures for an assignment, and my model came in with some poses she found online that she wanted to try out. Often I will tell my models to pose a certain way and while they may seem skeptical, the results usually come out pretty good. Hopefully, these tips can help if you have a model who has trouble posing next time.

These are just some thoughts I’ve had mulling in my head every now and then that have to do with photography. I am definitely not the best at photography but I am trying to learn every day. I’ve joined Photography Facebook groups, look at other Photographer’s work, took a Photography class, and practice on my own all the time. If Photography is your thing, then I encourage you to learn different ways to make your way of shooting even better, and who knows you may even get paid for it!