I am constantly marveling at the gift that I provide to so many of my clients. Documenting special occasions, memories, and sometimes the lives of people we lose far too soon. I can recall sitting, looking at old photo albums as a child thinking how it seemed like some far off land… some ancient time. You know, a time before luxuries like cars and telephones were invented? Okay, maybe not, but when you’re seven, even a year seems like a lifetime ago!
Last week I enjoyed one of the many perks of my job as a photographer: flexibility. I tailor my work schedule around preschool, nap times, volleyball and soccer practice, and my husband’s travel schedule. It often means many late nights and weekends, but it also means school parties and mid-week playdates! It’s a delicate balancing act, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
As I stood in the crowd of parents watching my youngest son’s fall costume parade at school last Thursday, I couldn’t help but notice the many photographer-parents standing in the crowd wielding their dSLR’s and speedlights. I stood there with my Nikon point-and-shoot in one hand and my iPhone in the other.
As the kids started streaming out of the door, I started shooting away. Point and shoot for still pictures and my iPhone for video! Multi-tasking at it’s finest!! And as usual, as I shot frame after frame of all of his quirky preschool-ness, I was simultaneously thinking about how someday he will be a grown man and these will all be memories. And of course how I was going to use these precious images at his wedding… or maybe in a slideshow right before his very first date.
And then something happened….
I looked to my left and noticed one of the photographer-parents struggling with her camera and talking to another older child about how she had forgotten to change her sync speed back after those sports pictures she shot the other day. Meanwhile… her child walked by. Staring at her, waiting for their turn to smile for the camera. My heart sank. So many pictures were missed as this parent struggled to adjust her settings and “get it right”.
The sad truth? In twenty years… nobody will care what those picture looks like. Your family won’t care if your focus was sharp or if your white balance was exact. They won’t care if the picture was “flashy” or underexposed. I can honestly say, prior to becoming a photographer, I had never once considered the quality of pictures in my mom’s albums. Aside from maybe some aging (pretty sure some were carved out of stone!), or different formats of prints than I was used to seeing.
So photographer-parents: step away from the camera. Not every picture we take has to be turned into a photo shoot! Leave the giant dSLR and speed light at home and just go and enjoy your kids childhood while you can! Take mediocre pictures and wave and smile and show your child you are paying attention to them, not the back of your camera! Because these moments below? I can’t get thrse back again. And I’m glad I have them in all of their underexposed, poorly white-balanced, soft-focused glory!
