Normally I would delete a photo such as this – a blurry accident during a shoot. I knew it was blurry when I took it, but instead of deleting it in that moment, I thought how appropriate it was. Is not the wedding day usually a blur? A flurry of activity, getting here and getting there on time, making sure all the details are just right, worry about flowers that wilt in the heat, hair that falls, and matching ties or hairbows.
That’s why we hire photographers. And whip out the camera phone every other second. We take pictures to remember. As photographers, we don’t want you to hire us just so we can pay the bills (although, that is really nice of you, thank you!), we want you to hire us because we know how important it is to have photographs. Beautifully crafted, well-made, work-of-art photographs. We hire wedding photographers because the wedding day is blur. We hire birth photographers because the birth day is a complete and total blur. I have a client that has hired me each year for her son’s birthday parties. Because birthday parties are a blur! And these are important times in her life that she wants to remember.
The open lines of my new favorite book read “The saddest part about life is you don’t remember half of it. You don’t even remember half of half of it.” Donald Miller goes on to tell about his friend who writes down everything he can remember and has written five hundred pages of memories. “He says he captures memories because if he forgets them, it’s as though they didn’t happen; it’s a though he hadn’t lived the parts he doesn’t remember.”
I have snapshots of my children where I can remember exactly what they were saying in that moment. I have photographs that remind me how the air feels in a certain place. I have pictures of some of the best random times of my life and also special specific occasions. Photographs help us remember. And relive.
TAKE MORE PICTURES! We live in such a blessed time when photography is so accessable! We don’t have to sit motionless for minutes at a time like our great-grandparents did nor do we even have to wait a few days for the film to be developed at the lab like we did twenty years ago. Take more pictures. Make them meaningful. And hire a photographer so you can be in the photographs, too 😉
And Happy Anniversary to my husband. This makes 11 years of wedded bliss. See? Life is a blur.
Well said, Jessica. Life truly is a blur! I have been immersed in a personal project dealing with 100 year old family photos and I truly feel I am holding priceless treasures in my hands. They are the tangible link to my ancestors, and I am SO glad they valued photography because photography is really like a time machine that can stop the clocks for a moment and transport you to another place an time in an instant.
I love your bokeh photo!
I am thinking of a photo I took of my granddaughter Ally at the lake when she was three. I call it “Golden Girl” and when I look at it images of that whole year of my life and my relationship with her parade through my mind, complete with a myriad of emotions. What if I hadn’t snapped that shot??? We appreciate all the photos you have taken of US, Jessica. We consider them family treasures.:)