This seems like such a silly post, especially from the perspective of a photographer, but let me tell you some other things about me. When I’m not taking photographs, I’m a budgeting guru, a personal finance maven, and an early retirement evangelist. I believe in spending your money where it is meaningful to you, and saving it where you can.
On an unrelated note, my husband and I have a tradition that I absolutely adore. Every Valentine’s Day, we write our top 10 favourite moments of the last year with each other in our cards. It sounds silly, but I love it. It forces me to look at the last year and think hard about everything we’ve done together. (If you try this, 10 things seems like a lot, but it’s great because 5 is easy, 10 forces you to look more deeply.)
This year, one of his things was “getting our family pictures done, no matter how much I complain about it.” And when we talked about it, he said, “In the moment, I know I hate it, but I’m always so glad we do it.”
Every year, we have our photos done by dacia vu photography. And this last year, I remember seeing a lot of posts from other photographers in groups I am in, saying “We did our family photos with a self-timer! Okay with how they turned out!”
Yes, I could save a little bit of money with a self timer and some patience. But here’s my big thing about all family photography: it’s an experience. I’ve said in my welcome guides and other information, when you plan a family photography session, I want the photos to be something you look back on and remember the day as an adventure and a fun time. That is not the experience I’d have if I looked back on photos from a self-timer and a tripod.
One of the other things I have noticed is that when I take photos, I am overly critical of them. I pick out every detail and focus on things I could have done better. That experience alone would bring down my emotional connection to those photos.
When you book with a lifestyle photographer, you also have the opportunity to have photos with real emotion and expressions. You can be yourself without having to click a shutter button or hope the self timer got that moment. Chase your son around, pick him up, and spin him around. Have a day where you can have fun and enjoy your family, and 2 weeks later, get a gallery of your beautiful images.
