When I first began studying photography in college, I was immediately introduced to the idea of using photography as a means to make money. Basically, there was an expectation that in order to pursue photography, it would have to be as a paid service.
I began interning at magazines, freelancing for news publications, assisting other photographers, and even trying to sell stock images. I started learning all about contracts, watermarks, branding, and batch editing. Each of these experiences and concepts left me more jaded and cringing at the idea of using photography as a revenue stream.
Monetizing a skill is not a foreign concept by any means. On paper it makes perfect sense, but it doesn’t necessarily take the creative process into consideration. Yes, you can still be creative if money is involved. However, for me, money transforms photography from an organic process to a manufactured workflow.
Just as I was finishing up college, I began to lose interest in photography. I was no longer using it as an outlet for expression and I realized... I don’t want to be a professional photographer and I think I just wasted four years of college.
Instead of trying to solve this problem head-on, I chose to runaway. I took a gap year to teach English and travel around Southeast Asia. I found myself teaching 3rd and 4th grade students. I was assigned 16 classes, with around 40 students in each class. So... close to 640 students.
The school was chaotic and strange, yet I was fascinated by the environment and I ended up photographing it regularly. I would use my photographs to try to make sense of it all. In doing so, my teaching salary funded my film and developing costs, and I noticed that I started to appreciate photography again. I regained creative control of my photography and it was protected from profit.
With this refreshed outlook on photography, I realized that I could return to the United States and pursue teaching as a way to hold on to photography. Teaching would allow me to keep my personal projects and creativity outside the realm of paying the bills.
I was fortunate to enroll in a graduate program that reinforced my desire to preserve photography as a creative outlet. It also expanded my knowledge of photography as an art form and helped pave the way for me to teach visual arts and multimedia storytelling.
I no longer have to struggle with the tug-of-war between making money versus making art. I am responsible for the development of my projects and how I want them to eventually exist in the world.
Every semester, my college students ask about my career path and how to navigate the real world. I always find it to be an amusing conversation because it’s not something I have fully figured out myself.
Simply put, there is no correct path to follow.
I have plenty of friends that pay their bills through freelancing and wedding photography. And I also have friends that work in construction, supermarkets, and coffee shops. And then there is me; I teach multimedia journalism and I’m not even a journalist.
The way I see it, my career path is all about heading in a direction that allows me to be happy, while also being able to support myself. For now, teaching doesn’t interfere with my writing, traveling, photographing, bookmaking, and working on my motorcycle. My path is not dictated by a specific dream job. It is dictated by living comfortably, while also protecting my process from profit.
All the photographs above serve as a tribute to the people of Thailand, who welcomed me graciously to their country and always reminded me to smile.