PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHES US LIFE LESSONS - by Brant Waldeck

As someone who is passionate about capturing meaningful, beautiful imagery, I've learned that photography is a great teacher of life lessons. Here's what it teaches us:

Patience - Many kinds of photography require patience. If you want to photograph wildlife or a beautiful sunset, you need to patiently await the right moment. It might take weeks of trying to get a great shot. Which brings me to my next lesson...

Perseverance - All great photographers will do what it takes to get a great shot...get up at 3am, trek up a mountain, wait for hours in a wildlife blind, stand in the freezing cold waiting on a star time lapse to finish. It's not easy getting great shots. You have to work at it.

Never Stop Learning - Camera technology continues to open up new possibilities, and social media provides photographers with a constant stream of amazing photos that drive us to learn new techniques. You can always learn something new about lighting, exposure, lenses, composition, and so much more.

Look for Beauty in Everything - This may be the most important lesson that photography teaches us. As photographers, our gift to the world is capturing a moment in all its glory. Whether it's a big event, a portrait, a landscape, dogs playing in the snow or a dilapidated old building, our goal is to capture images that make people stop and appreciate the beauty of the moment...or the beauty in our subject. This particular lesson has really changed the way I look at the world. I look for the beauty in any situation...knowing that with patience and perseverance, I will find it.

Brant is a professional photographer and cinematographer based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

​