1. You always have a new profile picture! The endless search for the perfect picture is over. The worrying that you’re being a burden on whoever takes the picture, or worse having to go through the struggle of taking the picture yourself, it’s all over because you’ve got a friend who’s not only awesome at taking pictures but actually enjoys it! AKA, the best kind to have.
2. Constant pictures! You’re always in their photo projects, they carry that camera with them everywhere which means that they are the proud owner of some very embarrassing pictures of you. Agree to be a focus in their photo project and before you know it a picture of you brushing your teeth is hanging in their classroom for a critique.
3. You get brought along for super fun photo adventures! Whether it’s Belle Isle to photograph the gorgeous fall leaves or Broad St. at 1 a.m. so they can hang up a neon sign they made on the wall of some very likely unsafe alley for the perfect picture. You meet all kinds of interesting people because they just happened to be sitting in just the right position in just the right light. In short, your life’s never going to be boring when your best friend’s a photo major.
4. You get dragged to the printing shop. I never would have had to set foot in a printing room had it not been for my best friend needing company. You know sometimes, you’ve got stuff to do, like watch Netflix, but instead you are being pulled to yet another photo shoot. It gets very tiresome. Thank goodness you two are besties or else there’s no way you’d be able to handle the boredom.
5. You have a new appreciation for photography! If I ever hear anyone say that photography is an easy major then God help them because let me tell you right now it is so time consuming and so difficult. Not only is it difficult to produce really excellent art but you have to take into account the professor’s own opinion because it is literally impossible to look at art objectively. I’m consistently amazed at my friend’s talent and it has helped me to appreciate photography a little better.
6. You pull all nighters with them out of pity. Speaking of the difficulty, very often do I find myself staying up because my friend is pulling an all nighter at the studio to prepare for her upcoming critique because I really don’t want her to walk home alone. She’s got an obscene amount of work and that usually ends in you staying up because going to sleep would feel like abandoning ship.
7. You get to hold on to the moment forever. Being best friends with someone who takes pictures means that you get to hold onto all your favorite memories together forever. Whether it’s pictures from a concert, a road trip, a date function, even just from hanging out on the couch. You get to hold onto those moments for the rest of your life.
8. They take forever to capture the moment. Picture it. Your friend is visiting you in your hometown and you’re crossing a bridge over water, the sun’s bouncing light off of it so beautifully that your friend just has to put the day on hold for one picture. One picture does not mean one picture. One picture means one perfect picture and then some from different angles and some with different filters and could we actually go down to the river to see what the view’s like from there? Yeah, it takes a while, but you’re willing to wait, even when you feel like you’re going to pass out from hunger.
9. They give you a new outlook and appreciation for life. They open your eyes to things that you used to think were disgusting and horrible and they show you the beauty in it. They can make every day special and every moment the kind that you’ll cherish. It’s the kind of friendship that no one should have to live without.
10. This pro doesn’t have a con because who wouldn’t want a friend who’s always opening their eyes to a better world?
PC Carolyn Todd