Recently I had been asked by a few people to photograph the following:

• A Local Metal Band
• A Co-workers Wedding
• A Charity Event

For the most part, I declined these. (The charity event might still be a 'go' depending on their input).

Why you ask? Well... I don't want to photograph weddings. Ever. Especially unpaid work. Weddings are a HUGE challenge, and the expectations are generally very high. That's a level of pressure I don't want at this stage. I don't have the experience with that style of photography. (Not that I don't want the experience, but...)

Photographing a metal band... that also is something I lack experience in. I'm terrible directing people in a shoot. Unless I'm pretty comfortable with them. To add to that, you need ideas, an agreed upon location, proper lighting, etc. Again, I wouldn't mind getting that experience, but at the same time, I want to do it on my own volition. Also, it would still be unpaid.

The charity event... ok, event photographers have a sweet gig. But I'm not the overly-social type (which is crippling as a photographer), plus I don't have the knowledge of how to shoot crowds. I tend to 'miss' a lot of shots, or compose them all wrong. To top it off, it's in a bar. Bars are notorious for poor lighting, and usually have a lot of obstacles (mirrored walls/ceilings, dark walls/ceilings) which make shooting tricky. Point one direction - decent light, another direction, not so much. Can't bounce a flash off a mirror or dark walls.

Rejecting opportunities like the ones above is a great way to not succeed at the craft. You can't get the experience, and the portfolio, and the notoriety when you don't do the shoots. Free gigs can lead to paid gigs. I have my reasons for declining the opportunities. It's not the smartest thing to do, especially if I plan to ever make a buck at photography. But for now my decisions are my own.

I guess there's a lesson to learn from this somewhere.