Photography Became My Little Hobby
I never planned on becoming a photographer. I was studying to be a software developer at a tech university about eight years ago. As a typical student, back then I was pretty stressed out most of the time. I was also feeling a bit lost and unsure of my chosen career path. Photography became my little hobby to escape all that. I started taking mobile photos of anything and everything that caught my eye: my home, my parent’s garden, my coffee cups, and so on. It was somehow therapeutic and helped me heal from stress. So, from there on out I started posting my shots on social media and discovered a whole community to share my passion with. I didn’t even realize it, but this newfound hobby started taking over my life.
Soon enough, I was getting offers to shoot commercials. In two years, I had a big portfolio after working with multiple brands. My social media following naturally grew more and more. From here I upgraded to a big, heavy professional camera and ended up deciding to leave the university. It’s kind of funny, but even though photography was my one and only job, I still didn’t consider myself a photographer back then. As the years went on, I ended up starting photography classes with a friend. In year three we managed to get over 200 students, all of whom had trusted me to teach them. At the same time, I wanted to explore new areas, so I began taking portraits of regular people instead of just professional models. Despite these experiences, I felt like I was still just an amateur. I used to think that you could only be called a photographer if you had the right degree, awards, or something. But truth be told, I was completely self-taught and never pursued world recognition.
I guess that confusion led me to burn out which resulted in seeking a new way to further my creative journey. I got a full-time job as a social media lead with a fashion brand and spent my days mostly in the office. I’ve stopped creating for myself, starting to feel mostly uninspired and lost again. One spring afternoon, on my way back home, I walked into a camera store and impulsively bought a Fujifilm camera. That was my first Fuji! I spent the next day outside, just shooting. It felt new: fresh and fulfilling, with no burdens, no judgement, no self-expectations. I simply enjoyed the process; I was in the flow. The Fuji captured the world exactly as I was seeing it, and even more than that – exactly how I feel about it. It was an instant connection.
Now, when I’m shooting, I don’t question who I am anymore. Reflecting on my university years, I can still vividly see myself waking up in those early mornings to take some pictures before classes, and then it hits me: you don’t really “become” a photographer – you simply just are one from the beginning. That’s what I’ve learned with Fujifilm.
With all this background in mind, I was truly excited to test the new Fujifilm X-T50. I treated this experience like a self-exploring journey: what new will it teach me about my way of seeing the world? Firstly, the new Film Simulation dial was extremely convenient: when I was out and about, I didn’t spend much time choosing the right FS — it took only seconds, and sometimes, in street photography, seconds are everything. Just one quick switch — and you can find the colours that fit your momentary feel the most.
I enjoyed creating a customized look: everyone has their own style and vision of colours, and there’s nothing better than being able to set that up right in the camera. I personally love Velvia and Astia, but sometimes I like to add a little grain or play around with the white balance and tone curve. After shooting with your customized presets, you don’t feel the need to go deeply into the editing — you just easily download the images to your phone and share them with your community.
The main appeal of the X-T50 is that you can focus on creating rather than thinking about the technical side of shooting. As a commercial photographer, I always had to keep in mind that I would have to fix this and that in post-production; this mindset stuck with me for a long time and created lots of burdens. With the X-T50, I felt the freedom of being a creator, all distractions were minimized.
The 40MP sensor plays a huge part in this, for example: when shooting, you never have to worry about losing the quality. If you suddenly decide to zoom in — totally fine! Want to crop your image later? Also, totally fine! Wherever your creativity leads you, this will surely help with the process.
Finally, aesthetics matters a lot to me. Like a whole lot. The X-T50 has that signature Fuji design that not only looks beautiful but also feels great in the hands.
The X-T50 reminded me, that we all shoot for different reasons: for some, it’s to create a masterpiece; for others, it’s because they simply enjoy the process of creating. After all, everyone views the world in their unique way. The one thing all of us will surely have in common is the love for that satisfying sound of the shutter button.
