Life of a Photographer: Not as Glam as Instagram Says

Life of a photographer

Think being a photographer is all sunsets, fancy cameras, and flawless models? Haha… nope. Here’s the real deal:

5:00 AM – Wake Up Call From HellGolden hour! That magical light everyone talks about. You wake up at 4:30 AM, trip over your own camera bag, spill coffee, and somehow end up at a “scenic” location full of stray dogs and that one guy with a metal detector staring at you like you’re crazy.

6:00 AM – Gear ChaosTripod? Check. Reflector? Check. Lens cap? Missing. Cable? Tangled. Trying to untangle it feels like playing human Tetris. And then the wind decides your reflector is a UFO.

9:00 AM – The Model Struggle“Just one more pose!” says the model. 7 hours later, they still can’t smile naturally. You’ve turned into part photographer, part yoga instructor, part stand-up comedian. Oh, and your camera is obsessed with focusing on a stray hair instead of their face.

12:00 PM – Hunger GamesYou skipped breakfast “for the perfect shot.” Now your stomach is growling louder than your shutter. You eat a sad protein bar, question your life choices, but no—can’t stop! That one perfect shot is right there. Spoiler: it never is.

3:00 PM – Client Emails From HellThe shoot is over, but clients are emailing:“Can you make my eyes pop more?”“Can you remove this tiny wrinkle?”You stare at your screen like, “Do you know I’m not a miracle worker?”

6:00 PM – Editing TortureLightroom and Photoshop: where your soul goes to die. Hours of editing later, you finally get a perfect photo… but Instagram still gives you 12 likes. 12.

10:00 PM – Existential CrisisScrolling Insta, seeing everyone else’s “perfectly candid” shots, you ask yourself, “Why did I choose this life?” Then your cat walks on the keyboard and deletes everything. Cool.

Moral of the StoryPhotography = early mornings, tangled wires, starving yourself, funny clients, and editing nightmares. But when you finally get that ONE shot… it’s pure magic. And that’s why we keep doing it.