My husband will tell you that before any photography event, I become a little obsessed.

Did I charge all the batteries? Are the backup batteries charged too? Do I have enough memory cards? Did I pack the right lenses? What about the flash? Did I clean the lenses? Do I know exactly where I’m going? What’s the weather forecast? What if something changes?

And then, after checking everything once, I check it all again. And maybe a third time. Sometimes a fourth. If you’re a photographer reading this, you’re probably smiling because you understand. If you’re a client, you may be wondering why we do this to ourselves.

The answer is simple: because you matter.

When I prepare for an event, I’m not just packing camera equipment. I’m preparing to preserve moments that can’t be recreated. Whether it’s a fundraising walk, a community event, a family gathering, or a special celebration, there are moments that happen only once. A smile. A hug. A look between two people. A child proudly crossing a finish line. A volunteer who worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Once those moments are gone, they’re gone, and that’s why photographers spend so much time preparing.

Before an event, I’ll often research the location, look at maps and parking areas, check the weather forecast more times than I’d like to admit, and learn about the organization or event I’m photographing. I want to understand the story behind what is happening, not just where it is taking place. I’ll think through potential challenges, create backup plans, and mentally walk through the day before I ever arrive. Sometimes I even find myself imagining where the best moments might happen and how I can be in the right place at the right time to capture them.

I also spend time thinking about the photographs themselves. Of course, I want the big moments everyone expects, but I also want the little moments that often become the most meaningful. The quiet conversations, the laughter between friends, the proud smiles, the supportive hand on someone’s shoulder, and the details that help tell the story years later. Those are the images that help people remember not just what happened, but how it felt.

And here’s something that may surprise you: this level of preparation has nothing to do with whether someone is paying me.
Some events are paid assignments. Others are opportunities where I donate my services because the cause is meaningful to me. The preparation is exactly the same because the people involved matter exactly the same. The family who wants memories. The organization that needs photographs to share its mission. The volunteers who dedicated their time. The participants who showed up. The sponsors who made it possible. Every one of them deserves my best effort.

Photography isn’t really about cameras, lenses, memory cards, or batteries. Those things are important tools, but at its heart, photography is about people. It’s about recognizing that someone is trusting you to document something important to them and treating that responsibility with the care it deserves.

So yes, I’ll continue checking my batteries one more time. I’ll continue counting memory cards, looking at weather forecasts, reviewing venue maps, and wondering if I’ve forgotten something. Not because I’m worried about the equipment, but because I care about the people on the other side of the camera.

And to me, that’s always worth one more check

–Janice