Where to begin? I’ve spent most of the semester wondering if I even really like doing documentary work and if it is the type of photography I’d like to get into. I’d had no prior experience in documentary before Salt and I have learned so many things here I don’t think I could count them all. Some things I expected to learn, the basics of what makes a good documentary for instance, and how to use my camera better. But there were things I had no idea I would learn about myself and about this type of photography in general. I realized I tend to bring too many preconceived ideas of how people will react to me taking photos of them, and they almost always turn out wrong. I learned that if you want to get a good photograph you can’t be shy about getting close. And that most of the time, if you are in a place long enough, people tend to forget you’re even there. I have been lucky that all the people I have worked with have been very kind and helpful. While I still don’t know if the documentary field is right for me, the experience overall has certainly been a positive one, and something I will never forget.

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