It’s been a long time, other than The Birth of Oliver, that I felt good enough about my work to blog it. Each and every client has been a dream who loves their photos and that is the reason I do what I do, but I’ve sat night after night staring at Lightroom striving for perfection recently. I keep searching for acceptance in other places and it’s made me feel less than qualified to do this job. I submit my work in groups for validation, but it’s never good enough. I talked with some friends this week about this feeling the got a breath of fresh air when Marie Masse, founder of Fearless and Framed, closed a facebook group that had lost it’s heart for documentary when it’s members started seeking perfection. Don’t get me wrong, I want my photos to be good, but I don’t take photos just to make good ones.
I want to document. I want my clients to have images that will last them for years and years. I want the stories that are tied to them to be passed down through the generations whether they’re shot in perfect light or not. I want them to evoke emotion. I want them to be a keepsake. I left this session yesterday feeling fulfilled because Annie and I had the same goal. Neither of us wanted to change the routine or tell a story that isn’t true. She and Everett simply went about life like they would if I wasn’t there.
Annie is a nightshift worker who spends a lot of time away from her son, so these afternoons at home together are their time to bond. Judging from her questionnaire, this visual story is exactly how their afternoons together look on an average day.
My mommy heart loves this so much. Though I enjoy every stage and moment of my now 13-year-old’s life, I really do miss these toddler moments of hugs and holding and daily afternoon walks though the neighborhood.