David’s Story

Have you ever been told you’re good at something and you don’t take it seriously?

Well, when rent and other bills kept piling up and at the time full-time job wasn’t paying enough for me to live comfortably (Maslow’s 5 hierarchy of needs). It was time to take my phone photography to the next level.

Coincidentally, at the full-time I was their in-house graphic designer, commercial videographer, and commercial photographer. While diligently working on company projects, I pursued self-developmental learning around respective areas to perform the duties of my jobs to the best of my potential. I took my photography and videography to the next level in learning and practicing, earning new abilities.

I would look at an image I created, ask myself “how can I make this better?”. I continued to strive and build upon each learning step through self-development through reading, creating my own outlines and research guides covering specific topics, and connecting with and hiring photo and wedding photography mentors to learn from.

I didn’t (yet) enter professional photography until a colleague at work asked me to document her wedding. Of course, at this time, I had never photographed a wedding. By this time, I was mentoring under two seasoned professional photographers to learn the ins-and-outs of the studio for photography business, how to photograph and light, and those finer problem-solving and experiential details which make big differences between ‘ok’ and ‘excellent results’ - fine details that will either make or break a wedding day (I now have chronicles where employing emotional intelligence, knowing when to speak and maintain silence during the wedding day have made the difference between success and a small problem snowballing into a real issue).

My colleague was happy with her pictures. After her wedding, an idea blossomed into a passion and a passion into a career. One of the reasons I am good at professional photography is because it synthesizes my creativity and problem-solving strengths together - two things I’ve pondered how I could employ for my benefit. 

Today was made possible, as a result of not being able to live a comfortable life, knowing I had greater purpose to shine brightly, and when I would notice others enjoying their lives by the pool and smiling easy because they were able to pay their bills. During this life strengthening period in my life. I made a promise to myself to uncover a better life for myself because I knew deep-down-inside my aptitude was much higher than performing monotonous repetitive dead-end work. Through my hard work; extensive self development in personal, professional, and social areas of study and self-improvement; and to ensure my family would not struggle the way I struggled. My goal from the start has been to help and serve others, reducing ambiguity during their celebration because I realize how difficult it is to enjoy life and be your best when anxiety, stress and worry sets in - one is not able to live for their future. Rather, they live for that moment and that day. Never stay in situations or surround yourself with others you feel the need to dim your light to appease them. I believe we are all meant to shine, not merely exist.