My ‘Why’

The question of, ‘What’s your why?’ is a very common question in business. If you follow Gary Vaynerchuk or other motivational speakers on social media, you hear this question quite frequently. Heck, I’ve heard it at staff meetings (I am an elementary school teacher).

It is a question that is meant to evoke a deep level of thinking to identify what motivates you to get up every single day and do what you do. It is meant to help people frame their purpose for why they chose the career path they did.

I thought it would be a perfect question to answer for my first photography blogpost: What is my ‘why’ for photography?

For me, it starts early in the month of March back in 2011. This was the most devastating and life changing month of my life. On the 3rd day of the month, my mom suddenly passed away due to a heart attack. It was a shock to us all. But that is a story for a different day. Reflecting back on it now, it was later in that month that made me realize my ‘why’.

In preparation for my mom’s funeral, we were searching for portraits of her to use for her obituary, as well as some photos of our family. But as we were shuffling through old glossy prints and digital photos saved on a jump drive, I realized something: We did not have many true photographs of her. For her obituary, we ended up using a photo where we cropped out everything but her smiling face. And I think worst of all, I found that I didn’t have many recent photos of my mom and I. That was eye opening.

Looking back on that experience, I had no idea at that time I would become a photographer. I didn’t know what life had in store for me. But that experience of shuffling through old photographs has stuck with me to this day.

So what is my ‘why’? What motivates me to be the photographer that serves my clients to the best of my ability?

My ‘why’ is to ensure that the people I photograph have something they can cherish for the rest of their lives.

I am a photographer that focuses on capturing real, authentic moments and documenting them as they are happening. Photographers are historians in a sense. We are freezing time in its place, one photograph at a time. I want to make sure that my clients have timeless photos they will cherish for the rest of their lives. I go into every shoot reminding myself that I am creating legacy work for my client and their family.

My ‘why’ is what motivates me every day to become the best possible photographer I can be in order to serve my clients. It is the kerosine that fuels my fire. Now the question becomes, what’s your why?