I like posed photography.
There it is. That wasn't so hard. I might even be able to say it without my heart rate climbing this time...
I like posed photography.
That isn't such a big deal, you say? Well, in a world where professional portrait photography is rapidly changing to a journalistic style, it is a huge deal! Take a few minutes to surf the web. Look through the Facebook albums of your friends. Check out some wedding blogs. Then come back and tell me it isn't a big deal ... posed photography for anything other than portfolio head shots and elementary school pictures is on its way out.
But I like it. As a matter of fact, I favor it! I have a wall in my home that is covered with my favorite pictures of my kids as they were growing up. There are some pictures of our little family and our extended family up there, too. The other day, I was laying on my couch looking at all of the sweet faces of the people that mean the most to me and that was when it hit me!
I like posed photography!
I don't just like it, I love it! I like to be able to see the faces of the people who are being photographed. I like being able to see their smiles or their frowns, their wrinkles or their baby soft skin. I like knowing the color of their eyes, whether striking blue or chocolate brown. I like the "windows" in large group photos that allow me to see every single face. I like the coordinated outfits and the ridiculous matching dresses that I used to make my daughters wear. I even like the occasional cheesy smile that says, "I do not want to be here but I'm gonna smile so that my mom will let me go change out of these silly clothes..."
Don't get me wrong. I love the unposed, candid style of portraits, too. Those portraits have incredible personality! You simply can't replace the emotion that is captured when a person doesn't know he is in the spotlight. I have boxes and boxes of prints and thousands of digital files of pictures taken when my children are participating in their favorite activities and are unaware that the lens is pointed in their direction. I love looking through those albums and remembering the things we have done together. But those aren't the ones that are hanging on my wall. Maybe they should be, but they're not. I always hang the ones of them staring straight into the camera, front and center, with no depth of field at all. They would be laughed out of any photography competition for their terrible composition and lack of creativity! These are the latest photos of my children that grace my wall:
This has been on my mind a lot lately. Afterall, I am a photographer. And if I tend towards the poorly composed, uncreative portraits of my family, how good can I really be? I have questioned my abilities for a long time, always wondering if I am good enough to be paid for my work. I love what I do, but do I do what I love? I have analyzed and agonized over this dilemma for quite sometime! I have spent hours pouring over my work, from the photos I took as a beginner nearly 10 years ago to the ones taken within the past few days. I have been my own worst critic, but I think I am finally learning a lesson that I should have learned many years ago.
I am who I am and my photography is what it is. As a college student, I spent a lot of time trying to create images that looked the way my professors wanted them to look. I copied the photography and editing styles of some of the master photographers out there, trying to improve and become what my instructors wanted me to be. After I left school, I began studying the styles of other photographers and did what they were doing. I would plan for hours what I was going to do on a shoot, trying to make sure that I was prepared for all kinds of poses with props and lights and ladders. I have taken literally hundreds of pictures during every session I have ever done. But as I look back over my work, the best shoots are the ones that I was completely unprepared to execute. When my life was out of control, I had no time to plan, and I was force to do what came naturally, my work was fabulous! When I went into a session armed with nothing but my camera and my creativity, the images became beautiful memories.
Interestingly enough, I still prefer the posed images. I guess my "style" is somewhat traditional. I like to know who the picture is of and what they looked like on the day it was taken. And I am finally comfortable with that. That is not to say that I won't ever take a candid again, but there is a sense of freedom in discovering what I like and why I like it!
In honor of my new discovery, I am revamping my photography business. It will have a new name, a new look and a style all my own. I'm pretty excited about it! It will take a few weeks to get my website/blog up and running, but I'm working on it and can't wait to share it with all of you. Those of you who are familiar with my work and my prices will see some subtle changes, but I'm still me. The difference is that I have finally figured out who that is! So with JOY I announce that...
I LIKE POSED PHOTOGRAPHY!
And with pleasure I introduce you all to ...
Sandra Jean Photography! (coming soon)
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