WORK THAT HAS MEANING

Don’t ever question the importance of your work. It has SUCH bearing!”

That sentence is probably the most important message I have ever received from a client and it was sent after working with her friend’s family.

It made such an impact on me because until then I really focused on things that may not have been perfect with a shoot rather than what was actually important. I’m sure I’m not alone there!

Life is not perfect though, we lose loved ones in tragic ways. We tend to skip through an image that we look awkward in rather than looking at it and remembering the moment that was captured.

My job is not to solely manufacture perfection, my job is to capture the moments that one day you will cherish. And cherishable moments ARE perfection whether you realize it at the time or not.

The most important images for me on my wedding day were in fact some that I initially looked at and thought “UGH! I have 6 chins!” or “Gah! My eyes really are too small!”. But then something unexpected happened. I remembered why my mom and I were laughing so hard. I remembered Sean’s lips on my cheek. I remembered the feel of my papa’s hand in mine and I laughed at how ridiculous my cousins and I all must have looked to other guests as we contorted our faces!

Looking through images from weddings and family shoots I have been fortunate enough to capture I am drawn to the image of a grandmother laughing with her grand daughter, because I know that it was the last picture they got together. I hold back tears knowing why I’m capturing a family gathered for breakfast, bravely holding it together despite the inevitable. I smile when thinking of how careful new parents were with baby #1 and how much more relaxed they were with baby #2!

If you’re ever thinking “Should we have this captured” just remember that time is fleeting and in 5, 10, 20 years from now you may wish you had!

Knowing that what I do is important to others means everything to me.