One of my favorite things to photograph, in general, is people. I love candid shots, group photos, posed photos, and photos of people caught in a moment. I love figuring out the best spot and lighting to bring out the best in a person. I then love to share it with that person in the hope that they will love it too. Unfortunately, my camera is not always welcomed by the person on the other side of the lens.
 |
| Cousins Greta and Robbie. Neither was happy about getting photos taken, but a great family photo to remember. |
A lot of times, people get angry when a candid shot is taken by a friend. I do not understand this attitude. People spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars every year on professional photographer services. It seems that the chosen photos, seem to be the most acceptable photos by the general public. While I have no problem paying professionals for their work, and I love what professionals can do, I don't believe that they can capture a person's personality, or a typical look or action that a friend can.
I have gone through photos of my family over the last 15 years, documenting in scrapbooks and on the walls of my home. The ones I love the most are when I can see the emotion in the photo. I have a lot of pictures of my maternal grandparents, but my favorite was taken in the early 1970's. I am assuming my mother or another family member took that photo. They were sitting next to their car, and my grandfather seem to be holding my grandmother up. It was a tender moment, and it seemed to show the love they had for each other. I find that these photos, more than ones that were professionally taken, have more meaning to me and capture the emotion.
 |
| My friend Kyle, on his wedding day. |
I went to a memorial service recently and there was a beautiful power point collage of photographs showed how this man lived. They focused on him with his children and grandchildren and doing the activities he loved to do. It was extremely comforting to everyone there, to see these photos of their father, grandfather and friend alive and enjoying his life. These photos made people laugh and cry. After seeing that collage, I have been thanking those who have taken great photos of me over the years enjoying my life. I hope that when I leave this world, those photos will be a comfort to my family and help them remember not how my life ended, but how I lived. Maybe that is why I love Facebook photos so much. They are mostly of people...living their lives.
I have decided I am going to continue photographing people, especially my immediate family. I never want my photos to show anger or upset, but the opposite. I want people to love what I shoot, as much as I do and hopefully, I will get a few photos, that will make someone's day happier. I only hope that others will understand why I have a camera in my hand all the time realize that just because they are having a bad hair day doesn't mean that the moment I capture is a bad one at all.
