my baby..loving october
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 8:10PM As a creative woman, I have always struggled with comparing myself or my "art" with that of other creatives. It is one of those things that will either cripple me in fear and feelings of inadequacy or if I choose to rise above the fear, it helps to take me and my "art" to a new level.
Photographing children in all honesty, doesn't come natural to me. It has been a huge learning process from the start of my business and then the birth of my son. For a while I let my fear that my photos of him weren't "good enough" keep me from sharing them or even taking them. How sad is that?
Well, I am happy to say that I am not in that place anymore. My photography is far from perfect and in my eyes as a critical "artist" it always will be less than perfect. The lesson here is that more than anything, I want to capture my Keegan in the moment he is in. As a new mom I quickly learned that they really do grow up way too fast. So, with love and humility I share my imperfect photos with you of my beautiful son.
My friend Ashley is an expert at capturing the lives of her children in photographs. She gives great photo tips on her fabulous blog and one of my favorites is: "Stop saying cheese."
I absolutely love this next shot because Keegan is pointing at the horse in great amazement saying "Dog!" His favorite thing to say right now is dog and everything with 4 legs is a dog. When I look at this photo I can feel the exact emotion that I felt while watching him discover the giant "dog." If I would have stepped in to try and get his attention so that he would cheese at me, the photo wouldn't be worth nearly as much.
I love how tiny and yet grown up he looks in this one. He is so small in comparison with the tractor but he is becoming such an independent boy, always off exploring something.
My two favorite men.
Another one of his favorite sayings..."Ooooooooohhhh."
Pure joy.
See what I mean, he is a big boy now. "Mom? Mom who? I am a walking man."
I know that this was a bit of a wordy post but I hope that it maybe inspired you to just pick up your camera no matter how great or not so great your photography skills are. Photos are all that we have to hold onto. They make our memories richer and our lives seem a bit less fleeting.
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Reader Comments (10)
I SO feel your pain in the realm of feeling inadequate. I read the blogs of my favorite photographers and I feel like I have so far to go to get to that level. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like that. But, I think you are crazy in thinking that YOURS are inadequate. ALL of your photographs are beautiful.
Great pics! He is a doll :-) Where these pics taken at a local farm/ranch?
I know this has nothing to do with the photos, but I just have to say that I love your boots.
Thanks Alice! They were taken at KJM stables in Tulsa.
I'm glad to here that other "creative types" have the same issues as me! I think often times I let something that could really be considered beautiful by others become trash or even just hidden away because I don't think anyone will appreciate it. I do love your photography though and often find it extremely inspiring! And also I love the boots too!!
Thank you so much for the photos of Keegs. Of course, I was crying when I got through looking at all of them and reading your special words. I am so glad that you posted these because our little Keegs is growing up so fast, and when the time has past all we have left are our memories and our pictures (if we are lucky enough to have taken them).........People used to make fun of me because I took so many pics of you & your sister, but I am glad I did now! And I am still taking lots of pics, for my memories! Love, love, love, my grandson.......You can post pics of him everyday as far as I am concerned. Thank you honey.
Love you,
Mom
What a blessing you are to sooo many! Sharing your wonderful talent with all of us. You certainly inspire me! Love your shots of Keegs! Kiss him for me!
Shannon,
I've never left a comment before, but it was shocking to me that you would ever feel inadequate as an artist! I have no applicable creativity anywhere in my body, so maybe I can't relate the same way, but you should probably know that when I have some free time with my computer, your blog is one of the first websites I turn to, hoping, like a crazed groupie, that you will have posted more pictures for me to gawk at. You are so blessed with a natural eye for beauty - be encouraged .. I know your pictures encourage me. Even the most simple. I guess it's only natural as humans to feel insecure and inadequate at times, but I happen to think that you are just uber talented. I'm very thrilled to have stumbled upon your camera for my special day :) Thank you for sharing your gift with the rest of us!
You look like such the super model mom! Hot, Hot, Mama! I think that's why your little guy is running away. He can't stand the heat.
Oh my goodness Kayla, that is so sweet! Amanda, you just made me laugh so hard I spit out my drink.
I think you do an amazing job photographing children. The thing I love most about the pictures you take of Brody is that you do such an amazing job capturing his personality at each stage! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us :)