When I was first starting working as a Family Photographer, I made many mistakes (hooray for being a beginner!). To be clear, I still make a lot of mistakes, I just move through them a bit more quickly and am hopefully kinder to myself during the process.
One mistake I repeatedly made as a new photographer was to shoot the same kind of images (often the exact same poses) over and over and over again. This was understandable because I was leaning on the safety of poses that I knew would work or at least knew would not be total flops. For the most part, my clients were happy with their images but personally I felt bored and uninspired. I knew there was more potential for life and creativity in family photography, I just didn't know how to access it. I began studying the work of other family photographers who were creating images I could only dream of making; images with heart and personality and emotion and vulnerability. When I saw their work, something lit up inside me. THIS! This was what I wanted.
I have spent the past 2 years working to redefine my goal for my work. Instead of checking off a shot-list, I am now working to foster situations for families to be themselves and express their honest feelings and personalities. Then when those genuine moments happen, I'm ready to capture them.
