I got to go to Vegas but not like the shiny, show girl, magic shows, thunder down under, lights everywhere type of Vegas everyone thinks about! I got to go to the Vegas where the families are (sung in my best little mermaid voice… where the people are!). I got to go to the Vegas where the natural beauty and landscapes are! I went to Vegas for photography and while I thought I was going to come away with all this knowledge of google analytics and how to better run my business; what I came away with instead was an entirely new perspective… on PERFECTION.
When you go to these photography “shoot outs” and retreats, there is always a space for professional headshots. Ya’ll… let me just paint this picture for you! A bunch of photographers who are used to being BEHIND the camera are now being asked to get IN FRONT of the camera!! You think you might feel all awkward and what do I do with my hands?! It’s like somehow we forget that we do this for a living and we usually direct people into these natural poses and all of a sudden we look like baby giraffes trying to walk for the first time combined with deer in headlights!
Photographers are awkward as HECK in front of the camera… that is why we are BEHIND the camera! It’s actually beautifully funny and fun and when you create a safe space (which is what we had in our group) it turns into a party of awkwardness, which is just the way I love it.
But this is what I learned… and I want to share it with you!
PHOTOGRAPHY ISN’T ABOUT PERFECT PEOPLE! IT’S ABOUT PERFECT MOMENTS IN TIME THAT YOU DON’T EVER WANT TO FORGET!
Please repeat that to yourself so you can let it sink in!
Gosh ya’ll… in this world today where we are blasted with images and tutorials of perfection or how we can make ourselves over to be more flawless… it is no wonder why it is so dang EASY for us to feel self-conscious or hesitant to get in front of the camera!
Or why we feel the need to WAIT for until we feel like we have “earned the right to be in front of the camera” (if I just wait until I can fit into this dress, I just want to lose a few more pounds, if I just…. name your poison!). Trust me, I have done it too.
It is so easy for us to focus on our flaws instead of embracing our unique beauty and the things that make us who we are!
However… what I want you to see is that by shifting our focus to the MOMENT, we start to realize that it’s not about us exactly! It’s about the emotions, the feeling, the people we are with that make the image special. It truly has nothing to do with us physically, other than just being there and being present.
It has nothing to do about how we look! It has everything to do about where we were, who we are with and how we feel!
Photographs hold incredible power!
One of the main reasons I got into photography is because early on I realize just how powerful it is. That’s a story for another time, but I’ve had a lot of clients who have lost family members and they will tell you… they wish they had more!
Photographs have the power to FREEZE TIME! It is magical. I don’t know of anything else in this world that can do that! It can freeze a particular moment, preserving it for a lifetime and for generation after generation leaving a legacy.
So think about that for a moment: When we hold a photograph years after it’s been taken, do we look at the appearance of someone and pick it apart?! HECK NO!
We look at the genuine emotions, the connections, and we feel those feelings! That is what makes a photograph remarkable. We look for the story that unfolds in that given moment. We look for family resemblances. We cherish those tiny details that we see that match our own.
That is the power of a photograph!
When we are vulnerable and we step INTO the picture, we are ensuring that our experience, our emotions and our relationships are beautifully and wonderfully documented. When we wait, we create gaps in our stories! YOU ARE WORTHY OF YOUR STORY! Your children and your grandchildren want to know that story and will want to know you!
EMBRACE IMPERFECT!
None of us are perfect! I hate to break it to you, but none of us will ever BE perfect or flawless! That’s why my entire business is built around the philosophy that real is better than perfect.
I’m 41 years old~.
Turing 40 made me laugh! It made me laugh because I heard all the stories and thought everyone was kidding! But in all seriousness, two days after my birthday it was like the check engine light came on. I woke up and I couldn’t see my phone for the life of me. I felt like sleeping became an MMA cage fight. All of a sudden I had a weird belly bulge that I never had before… over night ya’ll! Things changed!
I was NERVOUS to take those headshots in Vegas. I don’t LOVE how I’m looking these days. I’m not the petite, tiny dancer I was in my 20’s because I think that’s the vision of ourselves we all have in our mind (that 20 year old version). I think I changed like a million times and I went first! I’m super awkward! I hate being in front of the camera because I AM AWKWARD. So, I danced. I made silly faces. I can’t smile without wrinkling my forehead and I don’t take anything seriously.
But here is the honest truth that I learned in Vegas after seeing my images!
My friends CAPTURED ME!!! They captured the things that make me unique! When I look at those images I see all the things, or rather I CHOOSE to see the things that I really like about myself! Sure I saw that my arms look a little rough and I feel like I need to go do some curls for the girls and triceps.. no doubt. I saw my gobbler. But I’m pretty sure only I see those things. But I saw other things too….
I see how silly I am. I see a genuine smile because I was having fun with my friends! I see someone who isn’t afraid to be completely nerdy! I see someone who let’s go and embraces fun and weird and who isn’t afraid to embarrass themselves. I see someone who pushed through to try and be “model” like and that makes me laugh. I see someone who got to take an adventure and see some amazingly beautiful sights with some incredible people!
When I look at those images, I am immediately transported back to that moment, to 7 magic mountain, with these girls I just met that are now more like family, and I just can’t help but smile!
I am reminded of the love, and the happiness that surrounded me!
THAT IS THE POWER OF PERFECT MOMENTS NOT A PERFECT PERSON! I SEE SOMEONE LETTING GO, LETTING IN THE MOMENT AND BEING PHOTOGRAPHED!
So, please mama! Next time you are thinking of family portraits and you stop please remember this!
Family portraits aren’t there to capture perfect families. They are there to capture the moments that truly matter before that time is gone. Those moments of love, connection, joy and play.
Those perfect moments that slip by way too fast!
So get IN that picture, don’t wait. Don’t let there be a gap! Tell your story and be PROUD!
