When you look around your home and mentally account for the important things, what is it that comes to mind for you? Which items are the most irreplaceable? Which items hold the most sentiment? If, God forbid, you lost everything... what would you miss the most?
Furnishings are replaced every few years or so; rotated out as fads change and you're compelled to re-decorate. Situations change, people move, they upgrade and downsize. We move forward in time constantly growing and storing the past in our memory. And when it comes to the important milestones in our lives- that's it. Just a memory, unless you document it and keep it pinned down between the arms of a wooden frame.
Any parent knows how insanely fast their children seem to morph and become whole new little creatures.Those cheeks and bright eyes, that gummy toothless smile...you have a small window to catch it before it's gone and if you're lucky enough to document a beautiful representation of that precious period in your life- then what?
You keep it.
I promise you'll trace the edges of an adorable baby picture the day your not-so-little-one crosses a stage in their cap and gown. You'll pull out albums and thumb through chapters of your life with laughter, fondness and maybe a good story or two to go with it. Someday you'll swear your granddaughter looks just like her mommy at that age... and you'll have a picture to prove it!
Now, here's where I make the distinction between what you might be able to capture with your cell phone or even nice digital camera
and what I do...
It's not about the equipment, I assure you.
These photos were taken with the exact same camera.
And it's not for lack of creativity or props...
These images both feature a baby on a blanket in a tutu and flower headband.
The difference is in the lighting, angles, pose, attention to detail and understanding of the equipment in order to properly balance exposure and focus.
Beyond that is the difference in perception. What I see might be very different from what you see when you look through a viewfinder. I don't hold my camera up to my eye and just center the smiling faces in view. Instead, I see a glimpse of the soul.... a tiny expression of personality... a composition that defines innocence, wonderment or a bond and I use my camera as a tool to unveil that.
While your cell phone pictures might find their way to Facebook and maybe even serve as documentation of an event, a professional photograph will provide something so much more. It will not only be well executed and visually appealing, worthy of your wall space, but if your photographer is really good, that photo will let you relive the moment captured.
I don't know about you, but the photos of my beautiful babies are my most treasured possessions. No matter how many times I've laid eyes on the prints lining my dresser or hanging in any room in my home, I'm drawn back to them over and over again. They move me and remind me of just how important it is to be present and appreciate the now.... because before you know it, you'll blink and this will only be a memory...
So what is that sentiment worth to you? What would you consider fair for a service that offers to create a work of art featuring you and your loved ones? Consider what you paid for your current living room decor and the fact that any one photo from your professional session could outlast all of your furnishings- even surviving several decades of re-decorating!
What do you think? Is it worth it?
