Yesterday I stumbled across the quote:
“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
~Unknown
This quote inspired me to write a blog post as it made me think about my photography, especially my wedding photography.
As a photojournalistic photographer I pride myself on capturing the moment and emotions during those moments rather than the perfect pose. I think it’s important as a photographer to enjoy the moment with the family he/she is shooting.
For example, when the subject is comfortable, the comfort will shine through the photos and they will have natural smiles and reactions. It’ll also make the session a lot more fun for everyone involved.
With that said, it’s important for us photographers to be comfortable as well. This comfort from our end will make a difference on the photos and what is captured. Of course, we can be thrown into uncomfortable situations, such as new locations, additional people added to the shoot, or even whacky weather (especially here in Colorado).
I have found it best to go into every family session or wedding with only a couple poses, and locations on where I would like to shoot. If something that you planned didn’t work out, no worries, skip it and keep going with the shoot. If you have to force a location, pose, or any other variable in photography – chances are you’ll scrap the photos in the post-editing stage anyway.
So all in all, I think it’s important to remember perfection isn’t planning the perfect pose, the perfect lighting, etc. Perfection is when we capture those moments that will mean the most to our clients so they can cherish them for a lifetime.