Mission Statement-a Photographer in a Sea of Photographers
Who said it has to be New Years to set some new goals for yourself?
Lately I’ve had to sit myself down and decide what I really want people to experience when they book me. The most obvious point is that I want them to know that who they’re booking is a real human with the ability to connect and share emotion and experiences with. But I’ve had to do some wondering more specifically about how I want to portray my clients in my photos. Any creatives ever hit this standstill? Maybe even more than once?
I’ve had to dig deeper within myself and my passion and ask myself why I ever wanted to do this in the first place. I feel like I’ve asked myself this question before, and I already knew the answer (maybe even blogged it), but I just find it so important to remember. It’s so hard to stay true to yourself when you’re trying to run a little business of your own. And also working another full time job. And taking care of a pupper. And adulting.
So what got me here in the first place? I love cameras. You could give me an empty plastic bottle to photograph and I would be entertained enough just fooling around with it to make it look cool. I love experimenting in-camera and even playing with Photoshop and Lightroom. I could spend hours on YouTube learning new tips and tricks if I had the time, space, and money to do it 24/7.
But photographing people is my passion. It’s my passion because every single person is a unique work of art. Everyone has different quirks and expressions that helps them stand out, and the last thing I want to do is strip them of that with a posing guide. Sure, my job is to make you look great, but I feel that first and foremost my job, simply put, is to take your photo. YOUR photo.. Something that your husband will look at five years from now and be able to hear your laugh coming off the page, and smell the perfume you used to wear back then, and twirl you around on the dance floor with your two left feet to that one song that takes him back to that day. It’s something that your daughter will find in the attic when she’s moving out that’ll make her smile, because she knows that facial expression anywhere, and she can guess exactly what you were thinking even though she wasn’t born yet.
It’s not something your husband will look back on and think, “Your makeup was on point, babe.”
I want sessions to be fun, whether it’s for an engagement, graduation, wedding or just because. You want to bring music and dance around an empty field? Uhhh PLEASE yes please let’s do it!! I want to know YOU when it’s over and I want you to absolutely adore yourself and the love that you cherish with your spouse for years to come. It’s really not my goal to make you feel stiff and uncomfortable. My goal is to allow you to express yourself, and you’ll see that that’s the most beautiful version of you.
Why is this so important to me? Why am I not just content with pretty pictures?
Well, for one, why would anyone book me if I'm just like everyone else? But ALSO, I'm a hopeless romantic. At least, my mom always told me I was, and my poor boyfriend would probably agree (but he is too). I'm drawn to strange artwork that tells a million unique stories, sad music played really loud (props if it's accompanied by a sad music video), and videos of dogs reconnecting with their owners when they come home from deployment. I'm someone that will go for a drive down back roads for a few hours just because the base is better in the car and I can sing as loud as I want to. My ideal date night would probably involve moving all the furniture out of the way for a makeshift candlelit dance floor, and when I was a senior I spent my Saturday nights playing my guitar in my bedroom all by myself... ya feel me?
I care a lot about what is going though other people's hearts because I feel with my own so deeply. That's what makes me love photography.
Now, don’t get me wrong! Feeling pretty and photogenic is so important! I encourage you to get your makeup done, curl your hair, buy an outfit just for it, and it’s true that I’ll help you pose when you don't know what to do with your hands, but that will all come to you within the first five minutes. It all contributes to a successful engagement, senior, or wedding gallery that I’m proud to deliver, and you’re proud to share.
If I can accomplish that, whether I make 20,000 a year or 100,000- I’ve fulfilled my passion. And that’s pretty special.
^^^ it me. and my reaction to the fact that you've made it to the end of this sappiness!