Perfect Imperfections...

I'm sure people will soon get sick of my references to Jasmine Star, but with her workshop so fresh in my mind, it's hard not to refer back to things she has said when talking about my photography life. Her take on all things photography has really changed my perspective on several levels, so I thought I would share just one of the valuable things I learned.


When people look at photos of themselves, they are always looking for perfection. How does their hair look? Do their outfits look good? Do they look fat? What IS that expression on my face? They are expecting the photos to be perfect. As a photographer, I too am always looking for perfection. Perhaps I am looking for perfection in different areas (i.e. lighting, location, etc.), but I am looking for perfection. AND, knowing that my subjects would be looking for perfection on top of what I was looking for really made things intimidating....especially if we were shooting in less than ideal conditions...maybe it was a little dark, or a little one was cranky and not wanting to cooperate, maybe the sun was just SO bright! J* talked about striving for perfection last week in her workshop and her take on it really hit home with me and has allowed me to totally relax.....ok so maybe not TOTALLY, but I am at least looking at my work with new eyes. Things do not need to be perfect. In fact, sometimes the imperfections make an image that much more beautiful. So what if the photo is a little dark....sometimes dark photos make beautiful and dramatic black & white images. So what if the bride's dress wasn't perfectly fanned out for the photo...was her dress perfectly fanned out for the whole wedding day? No. These little imperfections...or with my new take, perfections....are what make these pictures REAL. These are pictures that when people look back on, the emotions of that particular day and that particular moment will come back to them. When a woman sees a photo of herself on her wedding day with her head thrown back, nose wrinkled and in the middle of a full-on belly laugh, she is not going to say "OMG what AM I DOING?!?!" She is going to smile and turn to her hubby and say "OMG remember when uncle George and aunt Mildred got up and did the Dirty Dancing dance complete with the lift to make us kiss during dinner?? Flipping hilarious! I still can't believe they did that!" Then they will both laugh, and move on to the next photo. Mission accomplished. 

My job is to capture moments....moments that if you could, you would freeze to have them last a little longer. Moments with laughter, moments with tears, moments of love, moments of beauty...maybe not Sears Portrait Studio perfect, but perfect nonetheless. In that moment, that moment was perfect, imperfectly fanned dress and all.


Here's to perfect imperfections!

Jenn

*Disclaimer* - Now, obviously this only really applies to minor imperfections. Clearly if your lunch is stuck in your teeth, or if you somehow managed to split the slit in your skirt all the way to your waist, I'm not going to quietly take your photo and pass it off as an amazing photo! New perspective or not, my ultimate goal is to make you look and more importantly, FEEL beautiful...or in the case of the dudes out there, we can use the word handsome instead! No worries, I am only truly happy with the photos if you are happy with them!!