This past weekend I was second shooting a wedding with Andi Grant from Andi and Zoe and while we were shooting together we started talking about the technical side to photography. A pretty obvious conversation for someone to have with another photographer, right?!
This conversation was completely different though. Andi’s middle daughter was married last year and her eldest daughter is about to be married this summer, so we were speaking about our own personal experiences! Long story short (because it was a beautiful and long conversation) we started talking about how it’s not really always about the technical side! It’s really all about the moment we capture. Something that I believe to my core~
She spoke about this one special picture she has from her daughter’s wedding. It was at the end of the night and everyone was squeezed in together! On the technical side of things it’s not amazingly perfect (what shot ever is?!) but on the emotional and personal side, it’s more than she could have ever wanted! It’s her favorite image of the entire day!
I find myself sometimes wanting to be completely perfect technically! I want all my images to be tack sharp with beautiful light! I want the image to be creamy and well exposed and have some contrast! I want it to be visually appealing and I want the framing to be just spot on!
I also know that life does not happen that way! What we might dream up in our minds as the perfect image, the perfect scene, the perfect styled session, or even the perfect event can turn out to be something wonderfully unexpected! Life might happen and change things around a bit, as it often does, and lead you in a completely different direction; a better direction!
It easy to get lost in the technical sometimes but every now and then we need to just take a step back and remember it’s the moments that count. It’s the way those moments create connections with others and capture connections with others that make an image worth something.
Perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder!
Here are some of my most favorite images that aren’t technically perfect. They might be too grainy because my ISO was too high at the time. The shutter speed might not have been fast enough to capture all the action, or they just might not be very sharp. They are still my most favorite images and are printed and framed in my house despite those simple, tiny details above.
I love them because they are truly who we are as a family and that one moment was too beautiful to miss! I remember this whenever I find that I’m a little to hard on myself after a session. I remember why I love my own images of my family and how I don’t see the technical so much in those images. I see all that we have been and all that we will be and all the love we share!
Linc seeing his first snow (that he could actually play in and talk about!)
Bath time moments where it can be so insanely crazy or extremely quiet and focused!
Peek a boo ears in his little Thanksgiving outfit!
So tiny and so snuggly!
My two best boys!
Next time you find yourself shooting, take a second to relax and realize it’s all about the moments and not all about perfection!
