Photography Was Never the Plan.

But it taught me more than I expected.

Photo by Author

I came from the music industry, where I spent most of my time teaching and performing in cover bands. That was how I made a living.

During those years, especially when I was performing, we often had official venue photographers taking photos of us for their social media or marketing purposes. From time to time, my band leader would also use these photos to promote our music and the venues we were performing at.

The truth is, I never found these photos particularly special. To me, they were just photos—photos I could have taken on my phone.

It wasn't until one of our regular photographers, who had become a close friend of the band, started following my Instagram page. She saw the photos I posted, which were mostly shot on my iPhone and heavily edited with Instagram filters, and commented that I had an eye for photography and should pursue it.

But it never crossed my mind.
I brushed it off immediately.
Ewwww, photography? It sucks!

A few years before COVID, I hung up my guitar, mainly because I was burnt out from performing. I mean, playing the same songs over and over again, every night, can get pretty draining. After a while, it started to feel repetitive and purposeless.

With nothing really planned for what I wanted to do next, I decided to take her advice and pursue photography, just for fun.

I bought a Canon G7X Mark II compact camera and started taking photos of musical instruments for an e-commerce store. I was actually in charge of uploading and updating their inventory, so yes, it was pretty boring—but it was also fun at the same time because I was given the freedom to explore my creativity.

Then I started visiting old friends from my music days and taking photos of their bands, both on and off stage.

It became addictive.

Somehow, I found it really interesting to look at performances from the other side—from a performer's point of view to an audience's point of view. I think my experience performing on stage actually helped me with photography at this stage. I knew what it felt like to be up there, so I could anticipate certain moments and understand what might be interesting to someone watching.

Soon after, I found myself getting paid jobs to photograph family events, brands, and even corporate events.

Then I started exploring video.

And I became even more interested in it.

In fact, I loved it more than photography.

Fast forward almost 10 years, and this little hobby of mine has turned into a career. I've had the opportunity to work with big brands and clients, producing brand story videos, corporate highlight videos, photography, and other forms of content to help businesses grow in the digital space.

Somewhere along the way, this became part of my purpose.

There is a certain pride and satisfaction that comes from seeing your clients grow and knowing that you played a small part in that journey.

I don't just produce content anymore.

I produce content that is meant to help a business communicate better, reach more people, bring in sales, or grow.

In a way, I felt important.

So, what have I learnt from this life-changing experience?

Without purpose, whatever we do can become plain.

Back then, a photo was just a photo to me. If there was no story behind it or no purpose for it, I didn't really see the value.

Today, I look at things very differently.

What matters to me now isn't just what a photo or video looks like, but what it can do.

What does it communicate?
What does it make someone feel?
What purpose does it serve?
What story does it tell?

For me to truly connect with a photo or video, there has to be something behind it.

This is probably why I don't particularly enjoy looking back at the photos other photographers took of me when I was still performing.

Back then, my mind was completely shut off to what those photos could have done for me.

I didn't see that they could have helped me grow my social media presence, promote the band, promote the venue, or even build a stronger personal brand.

I just looked at them and thought:

“Photos. Boring. I can take those with my phone.”

But today, my thinking has completely changed.

And I think this applies to more than just photography.

It is the same with committing yourself to something without a clear direction or purpose. When we don't understand why we're doing something or where it's supposed to take us, it's easy to lose interest, give up, or completely miss the bigger picture.

Photography taught me that.

An important life lesson, ironically picked up from something I once had absolutely no interest in.
In other words, it became the best mistake I've ever made.


Thanks for reading!
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.