Living My Life Like It’s Golden
I love that song… “I’m taking my freedom, putting it in my car, wherever I choose to go, it will take me far. I’m livin’ my life like it’s golden…” I love the freedom I find looking through my lens. I don’t call myself an artist. I say I’m more of an explorer. How to capture a moment in time? The idea fascinates me!
Candids will always have their own special kind of magic. Raw moments in time carry a very specific emotion: an unexpected joke, the kind of sadness that cannot be contained, a place you may or may not ever see again. I have had a really good time in the past being that photographer - the one behind the scenes taking shots at a party or wedding or even the “normal” parent chasing around kids just being kids. Portraiture though, there’s something about it that makes me smile even more.
You may think that the act of being more deliberate for a photo somehow makes the moment less genuine. As if the photograph cannot possibly carry as much emotion or information as a candid one. I get why one would think that: choosing just the right outfit and struggling through what feels like the most awkward poses not to mention the amount of editing that can sometimes be part of the process might add to that particular misconception. You would be surprised at how wrong that is.
A portrait comes from an idea. A desire to remember. Not really the act of taking the photo but rather, the why we are taking the photo. That reason can be and is usually a very powerful one. The birth of child or the death of a loved one. One single portrait can often tell the story of a lifetime. I remember pulling over the side of the road on a family trip to take photos of my oldest which we ended up using on some of his High School graduation announcements. I remember because during that trip we found out he was accepted to his first choice of school. I remember worrying about money. Okay, he got in but, can we afford it? And then he got the news: full ride scholarship! My heart and mind were all over the place! I was so proud and at the same time so scared. He was leaving us. From a small rural city in Arizona to the Big Apple. Every time I look at that picture I feel it all over again. A portrait evokes more than that single moments in time. So much more.
Invest in a portrait - of yourself, of your family, your pets. You won’t regret it. Don’t wait. A few years ago I told myself I was no longer waiting until I “lost a few pounds.” I was becoming a ghost in the box of memories I was saving for my children. I was hardly ever in any of the pictures! Since then, I make an effort to be present in every way. I am more than the way I look. I am that person in the photo who loves and plays and cries and sure, that person who is working at making healthier choices in life. I want my loved ones to be able to pinpoint me at this moment in time. After all, I was there. I am here.
Photographs: at Golden Hour.