A Weapon for Joy || light & letter pt. 9
how to take powerful pictures from a former pro photographer
This is my second to last post in my series on creativity. These have been going out every Monday for the past eight weeks. You can find the first eight posts in this series linked here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Today’s post will be a little different in that it focuses on teaching you how to wield photography as a weapon to fight for joy (yes, phone photography counts too!). I’ve built an audience online by sharing my writing, but what many people don’t know is that I’m a (former) professional photographer too. I spent many years as a photographer documenting events in other people’s lives and using it to seek beauty in mine.
Besides writing, photography has been one of the most impactful ways I’ve been able to become present to the story God is telling with my life. Learning how to pair the images I create with the words I write has been a lifeline for me for nearly a decade.
I’d love to pass what I’ve learned on to you today. Enjoy.
Photography, unlike writing, operates outside the constraints of language. It allows the viewer—even if that viewer is only yourself—to have emotional experiences in realms we don’t have words for. You peer through a lens or a phone screen, make adjustments and push a tiny button in anticipation. Then, you watch as it appears--conjured like some magic finale--a memory made but long gone; a message from your heart, now in visual form.
Even if you wouldn’t label yourself as a “photographer”, taking pictures is a powerful tool to have in your creative arsenal. This is how you tell stories that lead you towards healing and foster hope in others. This is how you fight for joy.
This week’s goals:
to equip you to identify what you want your photography to say (to you or others).
to give you the tools to manifest what you want to say in visual form.