My Philosophy on Photography

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written a new post. We've had lots of adventures that I will eventually get around to posting but right now I want to share my thoughts on photos as a (aspiring) photographer.

A photographer once told me that she doesn't do discs at all because that client might print a photo at home, or at a discount photo lab where the quality wasn't up to her standards and that would reflect poorly on her skills. She's didn't want her name associated with a poor production. In this age of digital photography, social media and email I don't think that is realistic. What's to stop that client from taking a print they bought from her and scanning in a poor quality copy? I'd rather take the time to make sure the client gets full quality prints on their disc so that anything they do upload is of exceptional work.

One of the biggest complaints I've heard from people (and I've had this complaint myself in the past) is that after they have photos taken by other photographers is that they only get to see a few photos. They know the photographer took hundreds of photos and yet when they get their proofs there may only be ten to twenty shots. Have you ever had photos taken and you are looking forward to seeing how a certain pose came out, or a location came out and it's not even in your photos?

I understand why photographers do it. They don't want you to see that over half their photos didn't turn out and they know that you aren't going to order that blurry photo so it gets discarded.  While I understand this, I have also been in the position of the customer and feel that it's important for the customer to see the photos that didn't turn out as well. While I'd love for people to think every photo I shoot looks amazing, those not so great photos can still be great memories to that family. After all, you might not be in love with the same photos that I am.

A friend recently shared a story with me that explained my feelings almost exactly. They were on a family vacation and her daughter was posing by a fountain. The husband was taking photos when the daughter fell into the fountain. The pictures may not turn out to be print quality photos, but those 3 shots of her on the fountain, falling into the fountain, and then standing up dripping wet are priceless to them. What if that happened on a photo shoot and your photographer left them out of your gallery? You would still want them right?  

For example: This was my original vision....

and this one ended up being my favorite....

and then this happened....

For some people this might not have made the cut, but I think it's important to leave it in the collection. It helps tell the story. 

I recently took first birthday pictures for a family and the birthday girl had finally had enough. She just sat down and cried. Before we wrapped the session I shot a picture of her wailing. No one is going to print that photo, but I included it in the family's disc for them. As my friend told me, it's important to capture reality as well. Is your family always a smiling perfect family?