I saw a reel on Facebook the other day. It said:
“She doesn’t know it yet, but that camera is about to make her unemployable for life.”
And honestly… that’s the truth.
The second you pick up a camera, your whole life changes.
When I walk into events now, I don’t see the world the way everyone else does. I’m looking through a lens—even when the camera isn’t in my hands. My brain automatically scans the room for light, angles, expressions, shadows, moments.
It’s like developing a second set of eyes that most people don’t even realize exists.
People treat you differently too.
Sometimes when I walk into places with a camera, people assume I’m press—whether I am or not. I’ve even gotten into places I probably wasn’t supposed to be, simply because everyone assumed I belonged there.
That’s the strange power of a camera.
But the bigger change happens inside you.
Running even a small photography business forces you to learn things most people never think about—contracts, marketing, branding, pricing, licensing, networking, accounting, copyright law, social media strategy, client management, and a hundred other details that keep a little LLC alive.
It rewires the way you think about work.
Over the years I’ve moved through industries—T-Mobile, automotive sales, life insurance sales. All of them were massive income markets where someone could realistically make $80,000 or $90,000 a year.
And yet every time I walk into one of those environments, I’ve got one foot out the door.
Because the truth is, part of me is always somewhere else.
Part of me is chasing the next photo.
The next project.
The next piece of art.
Photography doesn’t necessarily make you unemployed. You can absolutely maintain a job.
But it does make you unemployable in a different way.
Because once you start creating, once you start seeing the world through that lens, you can never fully commit yourself to anything that isn’t your dream.
You become that slightly crazy person standing in the corner thinking:
“Yeah, I could build a career here…
but I’d rather be out there making art.”
I don’t know exactly what to think about that.
Sometimes I love it.
Sometimes I hate it.
Sometimes it drives me completely insane.
And somehow… it’s also the best thing that’s ever happened to me.