When I buy a product, I tend to have super high expectations. If it's something brand spanking new (I tend to buy used), and there is a high-ish price tag (I'm fairly cheap), I want the product to deliver - FOREVER and never ever break!
Generally it's a high bar that tends to put me into the zone of extensive researching and indecision before forking over the cash for something that may be a NEED or a WANT.
So with this in mind, I want to be as clear as I can be with you in regards to what you'll get when you invest in my services. If you've ever had the experience of hiring a photographer, you might remember the moment you get your photos delivered. You've gone through the process of hiring someone, getting everything and everyone ready for the big day, travelling to the location, managing children's meltdowns and promising special snacks, all the while dreaming of and scrolling through photos of your idea of the perfect photos for you and your family. "It'll be worth it. I've seen this photographers feed. Their photos are amazing!"
And then you get to see your photos.
and sometimes it's underwhelming.
the bar was set really high, and maybe your wondering if it was worth it.
I think going through the let down after any experience is real. It's certainly real for the 4 year old coming home from Grandma's house. What a disappointment - UGH! I'm back here where everything is the same as it was when I left. Ugh! Let down!
I experienced it when receiving my wedding photos, and family photos, again and again.
I'm going to take a moment to explain to you how I think about photos now that I've spent a LOT of time thinking about them.
When I go out to make photos of my children playing, I make many many photos in hopes of getting just one that I feel is 'good'. I might end up with one that I really like, and may show it to the world. But then I also end up with a few more that I keep for sentimental reasons. One photo might have lousy composition, but it captures my son's smile so well. Another may be a bit blurry, but caught the action of the kid's play. These are photos that will get into our family photo album. because I try to make our family albums about my family and their story and not about the stellpictures I made.
So when I come to your house, I do the same for you.
But the truth is, that I don't really know which photo is going to be the sentimental one for you. We make many many photos together, I narrow the collections down the ones I love the best, and include the ones that aren't perfect, have some flaws, in the chance that you will see something valuable in them. I can take a series of photos of your newborns face. A newborns face changes all the time. and I don't have a clue which pic your going to love, and which just looks like a funny face. Because I worry I've cut out the wrong one, because the lighting may not be 100%, I give you as many as I can - without overloading you with way too many pictures. (Which is another blog post altogether).
And on top of all that, you are going to see photos of yourself - which is a really complex thing. No matter how awesome the picture is, I'm always doing something weird with my face, my posture is horrendous. It's hard to accept. Try to remember that these photos are for you and your kids to look back on. You'll see how gorgeous you were, 5 years from now, I promise. The three photos I've included above (one taken by my daughter, two set up as self portraits), are photos that I've kept (because I don't have enough photos of me with the kids), but I could barely look at them. Now, looking back, I am less emotional, and be more objective and see what's happening in these photos. The photos are not about my physical 'flaws' (that's Just how I look!) it's about the moment.
So when you get your collection of photos, I know it can feel not quite right. But choose your favourites, and don't look back at the ones that were a miss. I cut many photos and I never look back. Just like in life: Focus on the good!
(But please do keep the ones with you in them, you don't have to like them, but your future self will!)
Thanks for reading,
Much Love,
Esther
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