“Who are your photos for?”
Several years ago I had the chance to interview several of my clients about why photography sessions have become such an important part of their families’ traditions. One of my questions focused on my clients’ advice to families who are reluctant to book a photography session.
There always seems to be at least 20 reasons not to book a session. I was curious to know how my clients overcame their own reservations to book regular sessions for their own families.
One piece of advice in particular has stuck with me since that day: “we do it for our kids”
There is a surprising amount of shame and negative feelings around photography. It’s not always possible for people to overcome how they feel and go through with a photography session for themselves.
Who are your photos for?
During the course of the interviews I learned about some of the reasons people book sessions, even though they have a lot of anxiety about the process:
- They want their children to see themselves on the walls of their home. To feel confident and secure about the love of their family.
- They don’t have any photographic memories of their childhood. And they want to be able to pass on prints and images to their kids when they are older.
- They struggle with body image and body dysmorphia. They have always avoided being in front of the camera but they don’t want their children to struggle with the same shame.
Hearing people’s answers to the questions I asked, reaffirmed to us why we spend so much time on the preparation process for sessions. “Beautiful photos” seems like such a straightforward task. But the reality is, we all have complicated reasons (family history, body image, negative experiences) about why we find photography sessions so stressful.
We are so grateful when new (and old) clients disclose their concerns to us because we take the responsibility of supporting them before their session as seriously as we take the photo session itself.
