I always envied artists.

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I deemed it unfair — an artist didn’t have to fill a page with different descriptors or worry about “show vs. tell.” They just froze a moment in time and it provoked emotions that I could never dream of putting on a page. Every part of a portrait is raw: the colors painting the faces in different hues, the emotion splashed on each person and the perfectly-placed poses. All of that felt much harder to capture in writing.

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Then, when I was tasked to begin photography during my freshman year’s introduction to journalism, I realized I was wrong. It might be because I had been doing it all my life, but, suddenly, writing felt far easier.

 

Photojournalism is at the heart of journalism in its entirety — the stereotypical cartoon journalist always has a microphone in hand and a camera around the neck. So, since I was beginning to get invested in every other aspect of journalism, it meant I had to learn the skill I envied. 

It would be an understatement to say that taking photos didn’t come easily to me; at times, it felt like I started behind the rest of the class, and later publication. I kept getting shutter speed confused for aperture, and couldn’t land a crisp shot, even when shooting on autofocus. 

 

But I kept going.

 

When I worked on photo stories with friends, I would have one photo for every three of theirs. By the end of my sophomore year, it was half and half. I figured out the basic camera settings and learned to see everything through the lens of my camera. 

 

Now, I can’t watch anything without wishing there was a camera in my hand or thinking about what angle I’d rather see something from. I began to look forward to photo stories just as much as writing. I might still envy those who were born with a camera, but photojournalism has become just as invaluable as any part of the field.