Managing Expectations: When Pinterest and Photo Sessions Don’t Mix
The internet is an amazing thing. It connects people, provides inspiration and gives us opportunities to share what we create. Because of the internet, the world of photography has changed drastically over the last decade. Mostly in good ways – we are certainly able to experience more striking images than ever before.
But the internet has also negatively affected the professional photography world in some ways – mostly by creating unrealistic expectations of what to expect from a professional shoot.
Look, I love Pinterest as much as the next girl, but sometimes it can do more harm than good when it comes to brides or moms who have spent days scouring Pinterest pages and imagining up exactly what their own wedding or baby images will look like. Think I’m being dramatic? Here are the ways your Pin-spiration may actually be wrecking the perfect shot you otherwise could have had.
Weddings: Staging Emotion
Some of our favorite images are the ones that portray the truest of emotions. A bride and groom laughing together on their big day. The father-of-the-bride’s tear-filled eyes. That magical moment of love a photographer can catch sparking between the newlyweds. These are all instances of real emotion that the best photographers are able to snap at just the right moment.
And these are often the images that Pinterest brides want to replicate.
Look, I get it – they are beautiful images. But you need to recognize the sincerity behind them and realize that you can’t necessarily force that. When you are so focused on replicating the emotion you see in another picture, you might forget to experience those actual emotions for yourself. The result is flat images that don’t portray the true excitement of the day.
Styled Shoots
A lot of times the images brides and grooms will find themselves most drawn to are ones that were actually conceptualized by a photographer and designer working together. These aren’t consumer level shoots – think of them more like the commercial shoots a high-end brand would do for a magazine.
As a photographer, I can absolutely do stylized or commercial level shoots. In fact, I love to do them and they are part of what keep my doors open here! But when we are talking about managing expectations, you need to understand that a consumer level shoot & a commercial shoot are like apples and oranges when comparing execution and pricing. We can absolutely discuss your vision for a stylized shoot – just so long as you understand that the extra effort that goes into those doesn’t come for free.
Twenty Images in One
Every photographer I have ever met has dealt with a bride who has presented them with twenty different images of twenty different brides taken by twenty different photographers and said, “I want that!”
I get the excitement, I really do, but there needs to be some understanding of the different elements, styles and even in-the-moment experiences that went into each and every one of those images. Using them as inspiration can be great, I love to get an idea of a bride’s “style” this way, but expecting all those pieces to come together for your shoot might be over-reaching.
The Reality
Look, you will never be able to exactly replicate anything you find online – not when we are talking about real people and real emotions and real time and budget constraints that can’t necessarily be manipulated. But perhaps even more importantly, would you really want copy someone else’s wedding or portrait session?
Do you want to mimic that amazing image you found online, or do you want to allow your photographer the breathing room to produce an original image for you. An image that other people will want to use as their own inspiration?
Inspiring images come from originality, but they are also the result of being in the moment – enjoying your day or session for exactly what it is and trusting your photographer to capture it.
The best shots come from letting go. So talk about your vision and share your hopes for those photo’s, but then let that go and put faith in the photographer you hired.
You might be surprised to find that the images you love the most from your big day, are the ones that were captured in the moments when you weren’t over thinking it.