Birthdays in the park

Before September ends, I have to take note of one way that this summer was different from many others. I wasn't lugging a camera around shooting birthday parties all the time. No, in fact, I put my camera away a great deal this birthday season and it felt good to be a guest sometimes. For one, it makes it way easier to hold a beer.  Oh, and tend to my own kids too (as if that was really necessary).  And sometimes I was asked to take photos for a fee which was especially nice and fun for me. Seeing these familiar faces year in and out, I know them well and love jumping into the middle of their soccer game or sitting on the track with them while they make conversation. Last year around this time I was debating whether or not I should go public with my photography business and I was bolstered by a lot of the support I had from neighbors. But I also wondered how turning my passion into a for-profit job would impact my desire to do it. And the truth is, I'm only seeing now some of those effects. I have tons of personal photos I've barely edited and posted. I practically stopped loading albums to Facebook because it just seemed so time consuming--waiting days and weeks to edit and then post kind of made me feel I'd missed the point. I wanted every photo to be great, and since I had to take time to work with each one, I started to rely more and more on my phone camera as a way to bypass this.  But really, I think photography has gained more meaning for me, and I am still wrangling with how to express that. 

I have never felt more confident in my storytelling which is something I really hope I can continue to work on for families. I want every session to have that beginning, middle and end. Every party should show the atmosphere, the way the kids played and how the family rejoiced in their celebration. Getting to capture all that for Paul's birthday party recently was a great way to wrap up my first year in business. That Sarah trusted me to get it right was a wonderful feeling, and I could tell in her relaxed pose and smile that the family portrait would become one she'd cherish. And I was right. This is why I love what I do. And being able to work with friends and their kids is just such a good time. I really don't know where this will all take me, or when I might decide that photography is still more hobby than work. But for now, bringing the camera out when it matters to others as much as it matters to me is a nice place to be. Finding that my skills have value was long overdue. And now I'm there. Elisa has even mentioned a few times that she wants to be like me when she grows up. She wants to be a photographer. Oh, child. Don't you know, flattery will get you everywhere.