Guest Post by | Huong Forrest of Design by Huong Forrest Photography
As a photographer, I
stress to my clients the value of capturing the moments in life that all too
quickly pass. As a mother of two young boys, I constantly strive to do the
same, whether it’s with my DSLR, point and shoot, or iPhoneography. I don’t
know how other parents feel, although I have a pretty good idea, but I cannot
stand how much my boys grow and change with each day. While I love observing
their new discoveries and growth, a part of me just dies knowing my babies are
no longer babies and with each day, a new level of growing up is present.
I think we all have great
intentions of documenting every moment when we become a parent for the first
time. Then life happens and we find we pick up the camera less and less
somehow. Then maybe the second child comes along and we promise to make it up
by taking more photos and videos. We all know how that ends right? Life happens
and we shouldn’t leave our memories to chance.
I leave it to another
professional to take my family’s portraits and we do so about every 18 months.
I think I do a pretty great job at photographing my own family, but then I’m
not in any of those portraits and I don’t want to be remembered by my family as
the woman behind the camera for these special keepsakes. I personally love the
18-months time span as it allows us to take advantage of more than one season
and it’s just enough for me to order large canvases of my family to grace our
walls and let those who come to our home see the changes in our family with
each set of portraits.
I love looking around my
home and seeing our memories on the walls and in frames and being surrounded by
happy moments, life and love. When someone walks into my home, they immediately
know my family is my pride and joy and how much I value not only photography,
but my family portraits. As my babies grow, I’ll be able to look at a
particular photo from a certain moment and remember them exactly as they were
on that day, in that moment. I know with every single day, they are different;
an experience changes how they view the world, they discover something new, or
they learn they can get away with doing something I don’t approve of. Time may
and will change my babies, my family and myself, but having our family
portraits professionally documented every year or so will allow me to forever
keep those memories not only in my heart and soul, but also on my walls as a
visual reminder of who they are in those moments of life.
Meet Huong and her family
Photo Credits to Eden Rose Photography
Sometimes I feel like we just need a little encouragement. Our society today strives on making sure oneself is taken care of, but what about everybody else? What happened to "The Good Samaritan"? I feel that it is so important to yes, take care of oneself, but to also extend a loving hand to others, at times.
So here is a little encouragement for all of my fellow photographers, clients, friends, and family. Here is my helping hand for you today...
"There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend."
-Katharine Butler Hathaway
Xoxo,
Who are you going out of your way striving to please? So many of us have fallen into the trap of comparing ourselves to other people and in my case, other photographers. We are surrounded by other people to compare ourselves to daily via Facebook, magazines, and TV. We have the opportunity to view the artistic and photographic work of thousands of photographers from all over the world simply by "liking" their fan pages on Facebook! So, here are some tips that I remind myself of daily to help me overlook striving to please others.
Reflect on yourself and don't ever settle. Stop for a minute and evaluate yourself and where you are at. Don't look at where someone else is at and kill yourself trying to get there. It'll never work. Each person is at a different place for a reason. With this being said, don't settle where you're at. Strive to move forward, but only do it for yourself.
Constructive Criticism. Ask for constructive criticism, but make sure you're ready to hear it. What is the point of asking if you're going to take offense to the criticism received? Don't make excuses for your mistakes, but rather take the advice given and run with it! It's the only way you're going to move forward!
Do what is best for you and what makes you happy. Stop floating around and trying to implement other's business and photographic techniques into your business. Sure, we can all learn from each other and some things that work for me may work for you too, but don't strive to be someone else's business.
Be your own.
It's your dream. Follow it. Remember that this is your dream. Don't try to follow someone else's dream or you will never succeed and you will become worn out.
I hope this helps to encourage you in your journey and not falling into the trap of striving to please others!
Reflect on yourself and don't ever settle. Stop for a minute and evaluate yourself and where you are at. Don't look at where someone else is at and kill yourself trying to get there. It'll never work. Each person is at a different place for a reason. With this being said, don't settle where you're at. Strive to move forward, but only do it for yourself.
Constructive Criticism. Ask for constructive criticism, but make sure you're ready to hear it. What is the point of asking if you're going to take offense to the criticism received? Don't make excuses for your mistakes, but rather take the advice given and run with it! It's the only way you're going to move forward!
Do what is best for you and what makes you happy. Stop floating around and trying to implement other's business and photographic techniques into your business. Sure, we can all learn from each other and some things that work for me may work for you too, but don't strive to be someone else's business.
Be your own.
It's your dream. Follow it. Remember that this is your dream. Don't try to follow someone else's dream or you will never succeed and you will become worn out.
I hope this helps to encourage you in your journey and not falling into the trap of striving to please others!
Xoxo,
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