I'm not a photographer, I just take photos

Well not a photographer...yet

May 11, 2025

If you’re reading this, I’m Andrew! I’m an aspiring photographer and have been obsessed with learning, understanding, and discovering the intricacies and complexities of photography’s process.
After spending the greater part of a year noting down observations and gathering my thoughts, I finally found this topic which felt like a good first post to publish. What I’m about to share acts as both (a) the cornerstone of my curiosity and (b) the consolidation of my learnings to date. Before we dive in, I do want to say thank you for being here and I hope you find it worthwhile!

In May of 2022, knowing that I had about 3 months left to my stay in New York City, I bought my first “real” camera - a Canon M50 Mark II, an entry level mirrorless digital camera. I had purchased this for one main reason: Force myself to get out of my apartment (and frankly play less video games) to discover what else NYC had to offer. Little did I know that this was going to be the start of a 3 year (and hopefully more) journey of being obsessed with photography.

In that time frame I’ve taken about 26,000 photos with dedicated camera gear, and a lot more casually on my phone. I’ve shot events, joined photo walks, and attended photography talks. I’ve owned a number of different cameras (10 that I know of, but I could be forgetting some) and lenses. Shot on different formats: mobile photography (for over a decade), digital photography (past 3 years), and film (my most recent obsession). And yet, at the end of all this, I still don’t think I’m a photographer.

At this point, if you’re still with me, you are probably in one of two camps:

“You’re a photographer, cut the B.S.”
“Ok, I’ll humor you, what are you trying to say?”

I want to start by saying that I’m not trying to gatekeep the practice or label what photography is. At its core, anyone who takes any and all kinds of pictures is a photographer. This is something I still personally believe. But what I mean when I say “I’m not a photographer” is that I haven’t personally cleared the bar that I am setting for myself. This is not about creating a "standard”, instead it’s about my personal journey and the progression path I’ve set for myself that I want to hold myself accountable towards.

For those who know me personally, they know that I’ve picked up and dropped many hobbies and interests over the years. And while photography has been one of my longest, I’ve come to realize how early I still am in this journey. I’m constantly finding way more things I still have yet to learn, and way more sources of inspiration that I can continue to draw from.

So why do I have a personal bar I need to overcome? It’s because I’ve started to care really deeply about this hobby and I want to find a path to my own personal fulfillment throughout this process. So what does it take for me, Andrew, to call myself a photographer? I’ve boiled it down to 3 key things:

Consistency.
Confidence.
~~C…Soul.~~ Soul…just Soul…I couldn’t find a third C 😅

Why these three?

Consistency

Among all experienced photographers I’ve encountered, and look up to, consistency is universal. This isn’t just in terms of the quality of their final work. They all have workflows and practices that they’ve developed over time. They are constantly doing something photography related at regular intervals (ex. editing daily, shooting daily/weekly, etc.). And they’re showing up, day in and day out, to take photos. As much as I love taking photos and I love using my gear, I’m just honestly not consistent. I’m not consistent with shooting, editing, and/or curating. There’s a lot of room for me to grow here and this is one of the bars I need to clear!

Confidence

The same photographers I aspire to be like all have a level of confidence in their craft. This confidence can manifest in a number of different ways. Some are those who have full confidence to take on the streets and go for any shot, regardless of what it takes or who they’re getting in the way of. Others show confidence in their craft by putting themselves out there and working with individuals or brands to create art and/or content that’s valued highly. And others don’t do any of the above but they are confident to call themselves photographers because they believe in their work and what they’re doing. I want to build my skills in each of the scenarios I mentioned above. I don’t know yet where I want to take my photography, but I do know that there’s value in building up my confidence and valuing my work!

Soul

Lastly, and most definitely not the least, is soul. When I look at my body of work to date, I don’t see and I don’t feel a strong motivating force behind it all. It just feels like a lot of different photos. Some aesthetically pleasing, some have meaning because of the event itself, and others are just snapshots of my day to day life. All of these photos are valuable and meaningful intrinsically, as long as I still find value in keeping them, but there’s just no cohesion or clear meaning. I’m constantly reflecting and trying to define why I take photos. The answer may change through the years. The answer to my “why” may not ever make itself evidently clear, nor may it ever be easily described. But what I do know is that I’m currently in search for that soul and eventually the outward expression of that soul, which is its voice.

So why do I feel like I have to clear these bars to label myself a “photographer”? Can’t I just be a photographer and also know that I have room to grow and areas to build towards? Honestly, yeah why not? It’s really up to personal preference and, honestly, all of this is made up anyway haha! I’ve just come to develop a deep and profound respect for all the greats in photography that have shaped this art form. And in my own way, I’d like to honor that by working on those 3 key points above before I feel I’ve earned the right to call myself a photographer.

So what’s next and what does this mean? This is now my personal roadmap for my photography journey. I’m going to be spending the next part focused on chipping away at the 3 aspects of consistency, confidence, and soul. Feel free to follow along if you’d like to see more of my journey unfold and come to life!

If any of this resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you and hear your thoughts! In particular, I’d love to hear what bars you’ve set for yourself (if any).

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?