A reflection about my journey as photo amateur (update 22/08/2026)

I was born in 1979 and grew up with a father who was an amateur photographer, so for as long as I can remember there were always cameras, lenses, film rolls, and slides around the house. We have an enormous number of printed photographs, and I will never stop thanking my father for that, because the joy of holding a printed photo in your hands is immeasurable compared to looking at it on a “cold and insensitive” monitor — also because back then, you either printed your photos or you didn’t see them at all :)

As a child, I enjoyed taking pictures with small disposable film cameras, and a few years later with the very first digital compact cameras, but for years the passion never truly took hold.

The desire to take photography seriously arrived in 2009, when I was 30 years old. Today I’m 46, so you can easily calculate how long I’ve been photographing.

In this article, I will try to describe my personal evolution as a photographer over these 16 years: where I started, the phases I went through, where I am now, and where I want to go. I will share the mistakes that made me lose precious years and that I would not repeat today.

Phase 1: shooting randomly, a bit of everything.

That’s exactly how it should be. You simply need to have fun, get familiar with the tool, and make mistakes.

As Henri Cartier-Bresson said: don’t worry, because your first 15,000 photographs will be worthless.

Phase 2: the desire to learn emerges, and I begin to acquire on my own — through the web and various blogs — the first basics of technique, exposure, and composition.

In this phase, I start producing some “decent” photos, but still not guided by any vision and with several gross technical mistakes for example, shooting a landscape at f/2.0 :(

Phase 3: what I call the NERD phase, the worst one and the one that lasted the longest. The focus is mainly on gear and not on personal growth. I frequently change equipment, convinced that I will be able to take better photos, but there is no progress in terms of artistic quality. The result of this phase was falling out of love with photography and taking a couple of years of complete break without touching a camera.

In 2024, I had the encounter that literally changed my life as an amateur photographer and brought me back to this passion — due also to a difficult period in my life when I probably needed something to hold onto, and I found it in photography.

This encounter made me understand how important it is to have proper guidance and a mentor, otherwise the risk of getting lost along the way is extremely high.

I discovered — honestly I don’t even remember how — the YouTube channel Riflessioni Fotografiche by Damiano Durante and Roberto Dacci, and my way of seeing photography completely changed. Thanks to them, I entered the next phase.

Phase 4: giant steps, a reference to John Coltrane for those who, like me, love jazz :)

Thanks to Damiano and Roberto, I refined my technique and shifted my focus toward personal growth and education. I discovered how important it is to study the great masters of photography, and I began investing in books, building a personal library of photobooks.

I still “enjoy” spending money on gear, but with a very different awareness — that is, for the pleasure of using a particular camera, rather than believing it will make me take better photos.

The result of this phase was an incredible improvement in both the technical and artistic quality of my photographs.

Phase 5: where I am now.

I use photographic technique almost unconsciously, which allows me to concentrate solely on the act of photographing rather than wasting time adjusting the camera. I can say without fear of contradiction that I am able to create really good images with a well-defined style and a personal vision.

The next step is perhaps the most difficult, and it can be summed up in a beautiful phrase by Damiano: stop photographing subjects and start photographing meanings.

The focus must shift from simply creating beautiful images to creating projects that have meaning. But I am certain that with my passion and the right guidance, it’s only a matter of time.

In summary, what I have learned and what I can recommend:

– Have a mentor and a guidance

– Focus on personal growth and education

– Buy books

Today I cannot live without photography, and I cannot imagine my life without it.

It is now so deeply rooted within me that if two weeks go by without shooting, I feel a sense of discomfort and unease somewhere inside me that I cannot explain.