Photography has expanded and become kinda mainstream over the years, due to the development of technologies and massive usage of social medias. If 10 or 15 years ago the profession of a photographer was rare, now every “lazy” person with a camera, or even phone calls themselves a photographer.

For me, photography has three sides: one, when people take photos once in a while, usually during events, purely for memories. Second, when people want to show off as much as possible, and think that their numerous selfies, food or drink pics or mirror photos will make others jealous for some reason. And third, when photography becomes a hobby or even a profession, a sort of a natural state of a person. When you want to capture the beauty around and sometimes see the world through the lense. Some people focus on sky, others on nature, architecture or strangers, doesn’t really matter.

I’ve always had a love for photography. But throughout the years it has been becoming something more and more. This year I changed my aspect of it and understood it from a whole new different angle. Hence why I decided to make a post with all the pros of photography and reasons, why you should take pics more often.

1. Memories. The most basic reason. Especially if you’re a nostalgic person, photography is just another great way of capturing the moment and immortalizing it. Because, let’s face it, we all say that we’ll remember this good day forever, but sometimes our memory can fail us. And through photos you keep those beautiful recollections of the good days you’ve had.

2. Being present. I realized this in 2020, that photography helped me notice what surrounds me so much more. I had been living in the same neighborhood since I was born, but I started actually seeing it anew once the pandemic started and I was only allowed for short walks around. Cause before that whenever I was walking somewhere, I was doing it on an automatic mode, without even paying attention to my surroundings. And now I feel more present in where I am, trying to capture everything, even without a camera. So it’s basically like a third eye, and once it opens, you start seeing the world differently.

3. Noticing the beauty. As a photographer, wherever you go, you’re subconsciously looking for a beautiful spot to capture. And later, when you don’t even have your camera with you, you’ll realize, that you’re focusing more and more on the beautiful things. So even in a filthy place, where all the garbage cans are placed, you’ll notice a tiny beautiful flower. And that changes your whole perspective of life and the world outside. And instead of focusing on the negative and ugly things, you start prioritizing the beauty and positivity.

4. It evolves your creativity. Photography allows your imagination to expand and create various scenarios for your photoshoots. For me photography is strongly related to art. And if you don’t have the skills to paint or draw something that you imagine, taking photos compensate the lack of artistic abilities. You became a “digital painter“, who uses a tool to capture the your “vision“.

5. It can become a great hobby. First you’ll start taking pics for yourself, then you’ll find a good platform to share your works with others. You’ll start learning new aspects of this craft, get deep into the editing process, which is very essential, if you want to create your own style. And you can even find many friends or kindred spirits, who’ll share your interests. And it doesn’t really matter, whether you’ll get to meet them in real life, or stay online-friends, you’ll find great companions. Plus, you’ll learn a lot about different cultures and places.

6. You start visiting new places. You know, in any aspect of life, when you start doing something, you always want to do it differently or in a better level. For instance, once you get into cooking, you don’t want to cook the same recipes, you’ll always seek for a new one. Same here. You’d definitely want to visit different places, that have fascinating sceneries, in order to capture them. And as we all know, traveling, even in your own country, expands our worldviews and mindsets. So it’s just another great advantage of it.

To sum up, every hobby has its own pros. Anything that you do, changes you as a person and somehow affects your personality. You start learning new skills, that will be helpful not only in that particular craft, but life in general. So find whatever you like and start doing it. You’re never too old to start learning sth new.