on the other side…

So, today I had the crazy experience of being on the other side of the camera. My friend Jacquelyn was kind enough to take me on and try and make me comfortable in front of her camera. These photos are at the bottom of the post - but take a minute to read this post - it’s very important to me and I am hoping for you too.

Well, she did make me feel comfortable but I think I will stay behind the camera most of the time. However, I will say it’s a good reminder once in a while for me to be on front side of the camera. It’s difficult. Uncomfortable. Weird being there in a pretty outfit standing in ways that make me look skinnier better. It’s not every day that we stand for more than a few seconds for a photo. But this I will tell you……

It’s important.

I mean the photos are important. I came across this photo of my Mom at my Grandparents house… I thought it was amazing to see her when she was younger. Before my Dad. Before Me. Before my Sister. I imagine what she was like. What she talked about. What she loved to do and what inspired her. It is fun to look at this photo and imagine how she became who she is today. I love this photo and will treasure it forever.

That brings me to this. Why are photos so important? Photos are our connection to the past. Photos in our home and on our walls are our daily reminder of those that love us and those we love. Photos are our future generations to remember us by. They are for our children. Even though I don’t have any kids yet - I will someday and I think of them when I am taking photos. Yeah maybe that sounds a little wacky but I do. I think of the photos that Ryan and I take together. Photos we take of each other, trips we go on, friends we have, our homes, our families and just our everyday life. Think of what this will mean 20, 30, even 100 years from now! Can you imagine how just a simple photo of you getting a hug from someone you love could make you feel? What if they are gone then and that is all you have? I am not trying to be a downer. Only explaining how very, very important they are.

So, now you are thinking “But Emily….I DO take lots of photos. Lots. I have my point and shoot and my cell phone and my…and my……”

Yes. I know. I do to.  So did my parents. And my Grandparents. Look:

On the back of the Football photo my Grandma wrote “my hero 1940″  There are no words to describe how that makes me feel.

I love these photos because they are a true representation of them. Grandma on the left being goofy! G&G (as we liked to call them) on the right enjoying a day on the beach. The photo on the right is one of my favorites. I love the colors (or lack of them) I love the bushes in the background but most of all I love the casual feel of the photo. Not stiff or posed. Not boring. Not lifeless. You can see them. You can see their happiness. You can almost hear the laughs. This is why we take photos. Because we want to remember a moment. A place. A time. A person. A feeling. But, I would like you to consider this….with an open mind….

The photo below was a taken and printed by a professional. They had the best equipment, the best printing, the best paper - the best overall quality. Can you see the difference? First, look at the ink. It is smooth, not grainy and light like the photos above. There are no cracks, no fading, no warping. This photo was tossed in the same shoebox as the rest of the above photos with no extra care.

So, if you see the difference please understand that this still stands for today. Professional photography has grown leaps and bounds with it’s technology and printing abilities. With the technology today, photos that are professionally printed (even canvas) is estimated to last 100 years or more!!!! 100 years!! That is 2110!! We all know time flies but that is a LONG time from now. So, if you see the difference in the snapshots above that were taken by a “point and shoot” of sorts and the professional photo below then you might understand the difference. The difference does not mean stop taking photos with a point and shoot. Not at all. I still do. My only request is that you consider where you are having them printed. Most “box/chain” stores don’t have the best printers. Try Mpix.com. They have great prices and AMAZING quality. Long lasting quality. Our future generations deserve the best photo quality that we are able to give them. What will they think when they see a billion grainy cell phone photos saved on a disc that in 2010 will be the equivalent to a eight track!?!?   I, personally, would have a hard time understanding why that was all that was left behind when they know of the great technology in the 2000’s. Please remember this when you find yourself taking all of your photos on an iPhone or a Blackberry. I am guilty too and I am a photographer!! Yikes!! This post is just as much for me as it is for you.

Speaking of a billion grainy photos saved on a disc. Many professional photographers get the request for the disc or the “digital negatives” as they are now called. We (myself included) feel the need to have all of the photos. All of them saved forever on a disc. Except you know what I just learned the other day? They don’t last forever. CD’s and DVD’s that we are all burning our photos on are only rated to last 5-10 years!  WHAT? Yeah. I thought the same thing. So, “people” (who are those people by the way) have been telling us…back up your photos. Save them on a disc - forever. Except last I knew 5-10 years was not forever.  So, with all of this information I have come to believe that printing your photos, taking care of them and having professional photos done at least once a year is the best we can do. The best to let future generations enjoy photos like I enjoy and treasure those of my Mom and Grandparents.

Once a year photo sessions with a professional? Really? Is that necessary? You may be asking yourself these questions. My answer is a resounding YES! Maybe because that is my job. But also because I believe it is important.   Note to my Mom and Dad (I know you are reading): The next part is not to make you feel bad. Growing up it was only my sister and I that had our photos taken professionally. There are a few from when I was little and my Mom was pregnant with my sister. These photos are posed in a studio and basically documenting - this is what we looked like in 1985. I love them. I love looking at photos from when I was young. But with what I know now and what I do for a job I find family photos so incredibly important. It shows the relationships, the happiness, the love. I do have these photos in snapshot quality but not enough of the professional. I LOVE this photo of my friend Jac (who took my photos today) and her little guy Logan. Love it. I love that he will have this forever. He won’t even remember taking the photo but it will remind him of how much his Mom loves him and the relationship he has with her.

My family finally had a professional shoot a few years ago and while we all judged ourselves and thought we could have looked better. When I look at those photos I see what we are as a family. Plus, I get to see ALL of us. How many of your family photos have just the kids? Have just Mom or just Dad? Or better yet, are they like my photos with Ryan where they are super up close and one arm sticking out with the camera! Remember that years from now it’s the relationships and love that are shown in photos that counts. Make them worth it. Make them important. You won’t regret it. I promise. How could you regret a photo like the one of Logan and his Mama Jac?! You wouldn’t.

So, I leave you with this though… it may seem too expensive or not important right now. But, it will be. I promise.

Allow yourselves and your relationships to live everyday on your walls. Remind yourself daily of those you love and those that have left to early. Someday photos and memories will be all that is left. In the words of my either grade government teacher, “Make it count!!”

One more thing….watch this…. it’s only a minute…..get the kleenex….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQAljN_bxG4&NR=1

Thank you a MILLION times over Jacquelyn for taking these photos. They will be treasured forever.

Also, thank you to Cyblee at Spalon Montage for curling my hair - you are a amazing! I owe you!!

This post deserves a ….

Love, Emily