Something that struck my mind today was to search for aspects that are helpful towards us mentally and physically while shooting pictures. Photography can be therapeutic if you pay attention to what and why photography feels good. Doing so, will only make you conscious about the health aspects of photography that you subconsciously pull towards. 

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The Physical Health Aspect:

Photographers are constantly moving around. To get great shots sometimes you find yourself getting different angles and that causes you to move quickly as you’re shooting. Photoshoots can be a workout, for example, after a photoshoot you’ll find me chugging down water and sitting on a chair recollecting my energy. After a day I sometimes feel soreness so that’s the sign that I got a little workout in while working. Street and Landscape photographers are mainly on foot. By walking at least 30 minutes increases your creativity because it’s helping the blood flow in your brain. To boost creativity walking for half an hour can really benefit you. 

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Mindfulness:

I actually wanted to share an excerpt from an article called Why Photography is Beneficial for Your Mental Wellness by Megan Kennedy she talks about the way your brain is working throughout photography.  She says, “This is a time to take stock of your mental landscape. It encourages a state of attentiveness to your surroundings and your own thinking. Whenever you bring awareness to your own senses, you are being deliberately mindful. It’s almost like hitting a reset button for a moment, taking a breath, and paying attention to your sensory experience. Mindfulness has been found to reduce stress and rumination, working memory, focus, and self-insight.”  This aspect takes your mind off the autopilot where your mind takes you and back into the present.

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Photography has destressed me in the midst of problems that I’ve faced. When you set problems aside and let them go for an hour or so , you tend to come back with a clearer view. She continues by saying “ Photography isn’t just like mindfulness, it is mindfulness. Photography requires a deep focus on all of the body’s sensory input to seek out photographic subjects. It prioritizes the actions involved in photography first – avoiding some sort of sensory overload.”  

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I would suggest doing a little more research on the health benefits because there’s countless insights that comes with it than you know.

People don’t really talk about the health benefits in photography because the first thing people mainly talk about are “how to become a great photographer” and that line in itself is creating a gap from you and the “professional photographer.” It creates a superior group within the artform instead of it being inviting to people.  Photography has a lot of more aspects to offer like motivation, perspective, discipline, and you can check them out on the links below

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Why Photography is Beneficial For Your Mental Wellness by Megan Kennedy

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Therapeutic Benefits of Photography by Kelly

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