Transferable Skills: From the Marine Corps to Photography
They say, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” After six years in the Marine Corps, I’ve found that some of the habits I developed during my service have followed me into unexpected places, including behind the camera.
Photography came into my life separately. The Marine Corps didn’t teach me how to use a camera, understand lighting, compose an image, or work with clients. Those were skills I developed through years of practicing photography.
What I didn’t necessarily expect was how much some of the habits I developed during my military service would eventually carry over into my photography career.
Here are five ways that experience continues to influence how I work today.
1. Preparation
I don’t like showing up to an assignment and figuring everything out when I get there.
Before a shoot, I check my equipment, make sure batteries are charged and memory cards are ready, and think through what gear I’ll need for the assignment. Just as importantly, I communicate with the client beforehand so I understand what they’re looking for.
For a wedding, that might mean reviewing the timeline and knowing when important moments are expected to happen. For an event, it might mean understanding who needs to be photographed, what the event is for, and what kinds of images the client actually needs.
Preparation doesn’t mean everything will go according to plan. Usually, it won’t.
The point is to eliminate as many preventable problems as possible so that when something unexpected does happen, I can focus on solving that problem instead of dealing with something I could have handled beforehand.
2. Adaptability
It’s not a matter of if something will change. It’s a matter of when.
Timelines change. Weather changes. Lighting changes. People arrive late. An outdoor ceremony might suddenly need to move inside. A location that looked great beforehand might not work once you actually get there.
Photography, especially weddings and events, requires you to work with circumstances that are often outside of your control.
One thing my Marine Corps experience reinforced was the importance of not becoming so attached to the original plan that you struggle when circumstances change.
The plan matters, but so does being willing to change it.
As a photographer, that means assessing what I have available, figuring out another way forward, and continuing to work without allowing every change to become a crisis.
3. Attention to Detail
Photography has made me appreciate just how much small details matter.
When I’m looking through the camera, I’m not only looking at the person I’m photographing. I’m paying attention to the background, lighting, positioning, expressions, objects in the frame, and anything else that might affect the final photograph.
Sometimes something that seems insignificant in the moment becomes incredibly obvious once you see the image afterward.
That makes attention to detail important both while taking photographs and while editing them.
It’s a habit that extends beyond simply asking whether I got the shot. I’m also asking whether there was something I could have noticed, adjusted, or approached differently to make the photograph better.
4. Situational Awareness
Situational awareness overlaps somewhat with attention to detail, but I think there’s an important difference between them.
Attention to detail is often about noticing the smaller elements within a photograph. Situational awareness is about understanding the bigger picture around you.
At an event, I’m constantly paying attention to what people are doing, where they’re moving, what is happening elsewhere in the room, and what might be about to happen.
Some of the best photographs aren’t moments you can simply recreate five minutes later.
An interaction might be developing across the room. Someone might be about to react to something happening nearby. During a wedding, a parent might become emotional while everyone else is watching the couple.
If I only pay attention to what is directly in front of my camera, I can miss those moments entirely.
Being aware of the environment helps me anticipate photographs rather than constantly reacting after something has already happened.
5. Accountability
If something has my name attached to it, I believe I should take ownership of it.
That becomes particularly important when someone trusts me to photograph something that cannot simply be recreated.
A wedding ceremony isn’t going to stop because I wasn’t prepared. An important moment at an event isn’t going to happen a second time because I missed it. A client shouldn’t have to wonder whether I’m going to deliver what I told them I would.
Accountability means taking responsibility for the assignment from beginning to end. It means showing up prepared, communicating, doing the work, and standing behind what I eventually deliver.
Photography may be creative work, but it’s also a responsibility someone has trusted me with.
I take that seriously.
Skills Don’t Always Come From the Places We Expect
The Marine Corps didn’t teach me photography. Photography is a craft I learned separately and continue developing through experience, practice, mistakes, and a lot of time behind the camera.
But becoming a photographer has made me recognize that we don’t necessarily start from zero every time we enter a new profession.
We bring our previous experiences with us.
For me, some of the habits I developed during six years in the Marine Corps eventually found another application in photography. Preparation became part of how I approach an assignment. Adaptability became important when plans changed. Attention to detail and situational awareness affected how I looked for photographs. Accountability influenced how I approached the responsibility clients placed in me.
None of those things taught me how to take a photograph.
They helped shape how I approach being the person responsible for taking it.
And I think there’s a broader lesson in that.
Sometimes, the skills we develop in one part of our lives have a way of showing up in places we never expected to use them.
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