Part of my life is missing.
October-December 2012 to be exact.
I just finished printing my Blurb Family Photo Album for 2012 (yes, a year late!) and despite the 240+ pages and hundreds of photographs of our year, there is an entire quarter of time missing.
Obviously, I must have been too stressed or overwhelmed during that time to pull out the camera.
I missed:
my son’s 3rd Birthday.
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas.
No big deal right?
FINDING BALANCE IN PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR LIFE
At the time I was relieved to just “be present” and not have to experience everything behind a camera. But I do admit there is a bit of regret at having nothing to remember that time of our life by.
I do believe in balance when it comes to photographing your own family. I don’t document everything that happens. Often, I just want to “be” and enjoy things as they happen. This is why I try so hard to photograph things ON DIFFERENT DAYS…
CONSIDER PHOTOGRAPHING MAJOR EVENTS ON A DIFFERENT DAY
like photographing Halloween costumes before the holiday,
or when I photographed graduation pictures for my husband on a different day,
or even photographing wedding couples on a different day than their wedding.
This past Christmas I shot a handful of Christmas morning shots (like 5) and put the camera away and enjoyed the rest of our holiday. The light is bad at 7:00 a.m. in our house and none of those shots were worth much in terms of quality.
After the chaos of the holidays settled, I had a little lifestyle photo session with Buzzy playing with his new toys during good light, in a clean house–less aesthetic distraction from the clutter of Christmas–and he too was less distracted with the excitement Christmas morning induces, so he was more content to play for longer and let me document the materialistic side of our Christmas.
I’m grateful I’ll have a record of our Christmas this year–even though it was all taken AFTERWARDS.
Never underestimate the perks of photographing things BEFORE or AFTER big events.
1. You can shoot in better light.
2. You can shoot with a more relaxed setting and schedule
3. You can often enjoy the DAY OF EVENTS more because you’re not trying to experience it all through a camera.
Brooke Snow is the Professional Photographer for her own family and an Abundant Life Practitioner. She loves tree swings, the month of May, and early morning walks. She lives with her husband and adventurous son in Northern Utah. Join her FREE Photo Perspective Photography course for great instruction on easy ways to immediately improve your photos.