Today I want to talk about trust and the importance of documenting your story. First of all, how are you documenting your unique story? And yes, your story is important.  Choosing a photographer you trust is a big deal.  In order to get those candid natural shots everyone loves, you need to trust the one giving you direction. Often times the difference in a good photo versus a breathtaking one has little to do with you as the subject and everything with how your photographer deals with light and posing/direction.  So chose a photographer whose work and experience you fully trust to capture your story in a beautiful way.  That leads me to my next point.

Here are some things we might tell ourselves:   Why not just have a friend who’s “kinda good with her nice camera” take some photos of my family in a field? Or “I’ll probably choose the photographer who costs half as much and gives all the digitals away.”  Or “I’ll wait until I lose these 5 extra pounds, my children are well behaved and I find the perfect flattering outfit ensemble.”   I guarantee you that in 10 or 20 years when you reflect back on those images you’ll really wish you’d invested a few hundred more dollars to preserve that beautiful time in your life that you cannot go back and re-capture.  Hiring someone who’s professional and has a decent amount of experience and really knows how to use their equipment is worth it. It’s much better of an experience when you don’t have to do much, but basically show up on time for your session and have fun.  And that’s what it is for my clients…. an experience and a relationship built with me.  Photographs really are memories preserved.  When you look at a photo it immediately strikes up a memory from when it was captured. Just like every time I smell garlic cooking it takes me back to my step mom’s kitchen preparing her Brazilian rice that I cannot seem to recreate myself. A photo is the same.  Don’t you want to have great memories behind documenting your unique story? Also, when you hire someone who only provides digital files, what are you going to show your kids in 20 years? I’m a firm believer in both digital AND the tangible, which is why nearly all my collections include the option for both.  Make sure your photographer offers tangible products.  Don’t you want to display what you’ve invested your time and money into that highlights your beautiful story?!  There’s plenty of us that have tight budgets, but I promise you, it’s worth saving for.   Also, don’t wait until everything is “perfect”, document your life now before it passes you by.

It’s a very personal choice, as well. When you hire a photographer, you’re essentially opening a private door into your life inviting them in to document your unique story. Most people think “Oh, we just need family photos for a Christmas card every year and it doesn’t have to be the best quality – we just need one good one of everyone smiling and matching.”  While this is important to most people, it’s heart warming to see the tears streaming down my client’s faces during their viewing session in that moment they realize investing in documenting the small details that make up their story was totally worth every penny. These little details may not seem important when booking their photo session, but will hold value in a few years when the kids have drastically changed. It’s important to capture those little hands, or your 7 year old’s snaggle tooth,  or the slightly bad haircut your son has because he took scissors to his own hair (that you’ll laugh about later).

To read the rest of the blog entry, see the original post on Portland Mom’s Blog. 

Interested in booking a session? Peruse our site www.LaurenAllenPhotography.com or email Lauren –>  Hello@LaurenAllenPhotography.com