I am unemployed. There was nothing for me to do. Maybe I can become a photographer and make some money out of it?
Where did I get this idea?
When I mentioned to my colleague that I want to become a photographer in the future, he said,
“An inconvenient truth. It may be better if you were taller. It can be difficult for you to take photos with your height.”
I didn’t believe in his words. I told myself that I must give it a try.
Experiment
After returning to Hong Kong, I found myself jobless. During this time, I began to wonder:
Can I become a photographer since I had some related experiences in Lao?
With that question lingering, I applied to volunteer as a photographer for an NGO’s inauguration ceremony in Hong Kong—and surprisingly, they accepted me.
It turned out to be more complicated than I thought.
Including me, there were three photographers in total. From their gear and confident postures, it was obvious the other two were far more experienced.
Unprofessional-professional photographer
Compared with them, I looked like a silly duck without a clear sense of direction.
When I pulled my dad’s old tripod out of the bag and discovered a piece was missing, I had to use something to fill in the gap. (Stupid me😑). At last, I could only use a charger to maintain its balance.
At the same time, due to lack of experience, I encountered another problem: not able to include all the people in the frame. To save money, I’d rented a prime lens (fixed focal length), which made framing group shots tricky.
But that wasn’t the worst problem.
On that day, the participants were very tall (By Asian Standards). Their average height was around 6ft., and some were over 6.3 ft. Even though I had already set up the tripod, I had to look upward all the time due to my height. It was exhausting. I had neck pain after the event.
At that moment, I understood my colleague’s meaning. Maybe I shouldn’t consider becoming a photographer with my height. But at least I gave it a shot and knew that it didn’t fit me.
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