EMBRACE THE UNEXPECTED

We’ve all had those moments.  Its family picture time.  Mom wants kids to wear a certain outfit and the kids don’t want to.  We all have those images in our head of the prefect family photo.  If you’ve got kids, or even pets, let’s start off my throwing all of your expectations out the window.  Beauty lies in the imperfections.  I’m a firm believer in capturing what is true.  That was taught to me (very painfully, I might add) by my eldest daughter.  

When I first started taking pictures of kids, she was my model. The LEAST cooperative model there was.  Most of the time she refused to smile.  So, I just kept shooting.  I didn’t give up, and she certainly didn’t either.  It was and still is at times a battle of wills.  Over time, I learned to embrace her crankiness.  As I grew, I learned that instead of trying to get the perfect image, I’d create a situation where she could be her.  We made it fun.  There were messes and silly memories made.  In the end, one of my favorite shots of her (and it turned into a favorite shot of her sister too) was not perfect.  My youngest hadn’t brushed her and hair and was still in PJ’s.  My oldest was wearing a sweatshirt 15 other kids at the time had (Target, of course).  She had her friend join in on the fun too.  Yet, the thing I remember the most was her smile.  

This is what I love most about photography.  The ability to keep a moment for eternity.  It amazed me to this day how an image can create such emotion.