Pijush Saha 
Every Thanksgiving, the same thing happens. Someone says “Let’s take a family photo!” We all crowd together awkwardly. Someone’s eyes are closed. Someone else is mid-chew. The lighting is terrible because it’s 4pm in November and already getting dark. We take 47 attempts. Use none of them. Post nothing. Another year of holiday memories inadequately … Read more
Six months ago, a recruiter told me something that stung: “Your LinkedIn photo looks like a vacation selfie. It’s hard to take you seriously as a senior candidate.” She was right. My profile picture was a cropped wedding photo from 2019. Bad lighting. Casual clothes. Zero professional presence. Professional headshot photographers in my area quoted … Read more
Four months ago, my Instagram was depressing. I’d post a photo. Get 23 likes. Maybe one comment from my mom saying “Beautiful sweetheart!” I had 800 followers. Most were old high school friends who never engaged. My posts disappeared into the algorithm void within minutes. I watched influencers with millions of followers and wondered what … Read more
Three months before my wedding, I got the photography quote: $8,500 for eight hours of coverage. That included ceremony, reception, and 200 edited photos. I nearly cried. We’d already blown our budget on the venue. My dress cost more than expected. Catering was $12,000. We simply didn’t have $8,500 left for photography. But I refused … Read more
Last New Year’s Eve, I spent three hours getting ready. Hair perfectly styled. Makeup flawless. Sequin dress that cost $200. Heels that hurt immediately. I looked amazing. For approximately 20 minutes. Then I checked the photos my friends took at the party. Terrible lighting. Red eyes. Awkward angles. My $200 dress looked cheap. My professional … Read more
Every Valentine’s Day, the same disaster: I plan a romantic date. We dress up. I try to take couple photos. My boyfriend looks awkward, uncomfortable, or is blinking in every single shot. Last year, I took 73 photos trying to get one decent couple shot. Posted the least-terrible option. Got 89 likes. My boyfriend looked … Read more
My 29th birthday photos were embarrassing. Harsh overhead lighting. Red eyes. Mid-chew in half the shots. Blurry cake cutting moment. Sweaty post-dancing selfies. I looked exhausted instead of celebratory. I deleted them all within a week. An entire year of my life with zero birthday documentation because every photo was terrible. This year for my … Read more
My wedding photographer quoted me an extra $2,000 for “bridal party portraits package.” That was on top of the $6,500 base package. She explained: “Getting 8 bridesmaids and 8 groomsmen to all look good in one shot takes time and skill. Plus you’ll want individual portraits of each bridesmaid, couple shots, creative group arrangements…” I … Read more
Last summer, I spent $4,000 on a two-week trip to Italy. Venice. Florence. Rome. Amalfi Coast. The most beautiful places I’d ever seen. I took 800 photos. When I got home and looked through them, I wanted to cry. Every single shot looked like a mediocre tourist snapshot. Terrible lighting. Random tourists in background. I … Read more
Every winter, I see the same photos flooding Instagram: influencers in cozy cafes, wrapped in scarves, holding perfect lattes, looking effortlessly beautiful with soft window light creating that dreamy glow. I’ve tried recreating this aesthetic for three winters. Every attempt was terrible. The coffee looked brown and muddy. I looked exhausted, not cozy. The cafe … Read more