How I Became a Photographer
With the start of a new year I thought it might be a good opportunity to introduce myself and share how I have got to be a photographer!
Hi Im Becky!
My journey to becoming a photographer started around 8 years ago, arguably before I had even picked up a camera.
8 years ago I was feeling really lost.
8 years ago was also the time where I came across this quote from Steve Jobs;
“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
The previous year I had graduated with a degree in music and had just led the RAG committee (Raising and Giving fundraising society) to reach a record breaking year. This led me to work for an adventure company up in Edinburgh immediately after graduation.
However for a variety of reasons, fast forward 12 months I was back living at home, working in a pub, and unsure of what would come next.
A turning point was my International Citizen Service placements in Tanzania and Nicaragua. I spent 3 and 8 months respectively living and working alongside the local community and other volunteers on youth employment and water & sanitation programmes.
Alongside the project work, I had brought a small compact camera with me and instinctively began documenting my time and the people I lived and worked with.
Quickly I fell in love with the ‘photographer’s dance’.
Simultaneously using the camera as a tool to interpret and interact with the world around me, whilst also working with it in a respectful and careful manner to minimise the effect of its presence.
I never would have imagined that a year later one of those photographs would be hanging inside the Royal Albert Hall or that several years later it would lead to telling Theresa May to smile for the camera!
On returning to the UK I didn’t immediately think of becoming a photographer.
Instead I worked for two fantastic international development charities in a variety of volunteer management and fundraising roles with schools.
Meanwhile my passion outside of work for photography was only increasing, to the point where I knew I would always regret it if I didn’t at least try to become a photographer.
Fast forward a few years and throw in working in a bike shop and covid, I feel very fortunate to have also had an opportunity to study photography at Speos in London. Not only was I able to bring my skills up to a professional level, I also had the opportunity to work on projects close to my heart, and I feel incredibly proud of my project ‘A Second Helping’ which is based around visits to my Grandma.
Who knows where my camera will take me in the next 8 years, who I’ll meet and where I’ll go (if you have read this far, who knows - I might even be meeting you at one point!)
Being freelance definitely has its daunting moments, but I wouldn’t change this path I have found myself on for a moment.
