Continuing education is a part of most occupations. Technology and technique are constantly evolving and in order to stay in the game (whatever industry you’re in) you need to be able to offer your clients or customers the best. The amount of information out there for anyone wanting to know anything is mind blowing. Navigating through it all is time consuming and a lot of it impractical. When I was seeking the next thing for myself in my job, I stumbled across a pod cast from a photographer from Australia. I’ve listened to it multiple times. It’s been the most refreshing thing I have heard in a long time and renewed in me the original passion I had so long ago for doing what I do.
I’ve talked to a lot of other photographers over the years. None of them has had the outlook toward clients that this guy has. I’ve struggled, especially in the past year, in this industry because I simply don’t agree with their perspective. That isn’t to say they are wrong. But their businesses focus inward, while priding themselves on their ability to “see” their clients and tell their story. To be honest, I have done A LOT of that, too. As a photographer I have a unique opportunity. I have been given permission from my clients to take a step inside their very private worlds and been given a task of translating that so anyone looking at the image can see them. Most of the time, that is simply done by them liking the quality of work the’ve seen from other clients and set up through a handful of e-mails; e-mails that simply discuss numbers, locations, and attire.
Like I said, I am SUPER guilty of this. How can I possibly translate this beautifully unique family or couple by treating everyone the same? How can I do that with out becoming an archeologist to their lives to really see who they are and how they love? Sure, I can deliver beautifully exposed images with smiles and hugs… but does it evoke emotion when they see it? Does it remind them of this incredible soul they share their life with? Do they see that sweet expression on their child’s face that they see when they quietly watch them play alone in their room… Did I create a safe space for your finance to hold you in that special way that makes you feel like you’re in the safest place in the world? Shamefully, my answer to this is no. When I reflect, the sessions that have the most impact on me are the ones where I personally know my clients. Why is that? Because I know the answers to these questions. These families or couples have already let me into their worlds and I know what to say and do to relax them and make them feel like themselves.
One thing we all have in common is the desire to be seen and heard. We talk to one another but are never heard. We are used to it. Sometimes we will throw statements into everyday conversation to test the person we’re talking to to see if they’re really listening and aren’t surprised when the answer is no. It’s no surprise that when you contact a business that you’re treated as a dollar sign. It shocks us when we aren’t. My heart breaks a little when I thinkt back to inquiries I’ve had and realize that is exactly how I’ve handled them.
Last month I had an engagement session. I handled it the exact same way I have every other one for the past couple of years. I had met with them to discuss their wedding, they booked me, and we set up the engagement session. She told me the location and simply said she wanted the session there because it was where she grew up and it had huge sentimental meaning to her. Her family no longer lived there but she had gotten permission to go on the property for these photos. Okay… cool! Nothing unusual. When we got there, we went to the front door to let the current owner know we had arrived and ended up talking to her for about 20 minutes. In those 20 minutes something amazing happened. She shared with this person specific memories she had, pointed out her room and talked about the things her family did while living there. She began to cry as the memories came flooding back to her and I realized that I had become an observer to the past twenty some years of her life. I watched her sweet finance reach out his hand to comfort her and quietly allow her to navigate through her very intense emotions. Later that evening we were on a beach where she spent every single summer of her life. She looked out over the water and her fiancé came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and I took a picture. When I looked at that single image I literally started crying. I looked up at her and said, this picture… it’s your whole world right now. It’s your past and your future all in one picture. She teared up and said, “I was just thinking that. “
THAT. That singular moment is something I want to strive to have in EACH session I do. I wouldn’t have had it if it hadn’t have been for those 20 minutes I spent observing and listening that happened completely on accident.
If you are brave enough to feel worthy of having pictures taken then you deserve to have my time and heart to learn who you are, why you love, and what you need to feel worthy.
So this is my promise to you. If you contact me for a session, of any kind, then I AM going to make the time to get you excited about it. That I will push you to take the time to rediscover the things the busy-ness of life has caused you to overlook. In doing so, your pictures will take on new life.
