Are you an aspiring photographer? Photographer Amelia Hamilton has a message for you!
[VIDEO DESC/ TRANSCRIPT: Amelia is seated. She looks through her camera lens facing the camera, then puts her camera down. Amelia: Hello! I am Amelia Hamilton. I am a photographer. I have been for the past five years. Wow, I am really grateful for all the opportunities I had: meeting new people, working with other photographers, sharing resource and ideas, collaborating with different camps, projects or organizations to document different moments in their lives. Lifestyle photography is my favorite. Photography is a umbrella of various types of photography. There are different specializations, but lifestyle is my favorite. Other specializations are photojournalism, food photography, advertisements, modeling, studio photography and many more. Lifestyle is my favorite. I love interacting with people and document precious moments. What would I tell an high school student or those who are interested in becoming a photographer? Believe in yourself. Looking back, I’ve never thought I wanted to establish a business. I didn’t think I could. People believed in me – they pushed me and thought that I can do it. Fast forward five years later, I thank the people who believed in me. So, you — believe in yourselves. Be persistent with your passion and goals. There is no one straight line to get to your goal. You will face obstacles along the way. Even though the road will be curvy, you will get to your goal one day. At start, I was not confident in becoming a photographer. I decided to study different camera settings, test out different light situations: harsh, sunset or on a rainy day, what programs to use when editing: Adobe? Then, I needed to learn how to use Lightroom as they have different presets. I learned by practicing photography in different settings/ scenarios. Practice, practice, practice. Eventually, I became confident and knew what to do. I became comfortable yet I am still learning something new everyday. This experience will always be a learning journey. Embrace it. Grab every opportunity. Believe in yourself. Push yourself. At one point, you will look back and be glad you did it. The bottom line – what I wanted to share – is that you are you. You, as an individual, are the only one in this world. There is no one else like you. Remember, you are full of amazing things and you can accomplish anything and you will. We, I, believe in you.]