Oh, has a lot happened in the past week since we last spoke! We celebrated Jason’s birthday last week shortly after Valentine’s Day at a roller rink, we traveled 4 hours total over the weekend to represent our photo business at a wedding show, we took photos on the chilly Michigan City (Indiana) coast (hoping to catch a glimpse of Chicago), and we connected with many wonderful people- both clients and fellow professionals.
But we have something to admit: We’re confident in our identity as a photography business, but we’re not sure that we really want to pigeon hole our blog posts to be about photography solely or even about just One Topic. We really want this blog to help people get to know us through our writing on whatever topic we choose each week. We don’t even use all professional photos on our blog… which is run by professional photographers on a photography website. We grab silly cell phone photos, great professional photos we’ve shot, and old snapshots and throw them all together in a cluster. This fits our personalities well. We’re not perfect, nor will our blog ever be.
So, what to talk about today…? We had a few topics in mind, but instead let’s make it simple.
How about love…? For all of you worn out people who hiss at me when I say the word “love” … please just relax and be kind. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Do you have love? Of course you do. In some way or form you have love. You either have love from family, from friends, from co-workers, from yourself, from a significant other, from a pet, or if you’re lucky from all of the above! People love you. Appreciate this. Respect the love people have for each other.
One thing we’ve noticed about people in the service industry (yes, wedding photography is a “service”) is that they Care about and Love people. They want to serve you and make you happy. Those of us who crazily Chose the service industry put your happiness first & foremost. Now think about that for a second. Every single day many people in the service industry work to make your life better. Let that sink in. Many have chosen to take jobs or go into careers that don’t make much money Just so they can help and serve you and others
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Being of this mindset, a big question in life should be: How can I give more without becoming a doormat…? Am I getting things back from my personal relationships, job, etc. to the point where I feel respected, loved, and equal…? Giving is often a combination of life gratitude (I’m thankful and I want to help others) and humility (I could also be in need at some point and I’m above no one). We’re both innately “givers” and we’ve both been burned a lot in our lives by people who are selfish and take, take, take, but never give. Gifts aren’t necessary, but respect and a “two-way street” mentality about every relationship in your life ARE. Some of you give endlessly and no one could ever keep up with you, so maybe you should cut back a little bit and let others help you once in a while. Some of you should really think about what you’re truly doing for others and send some Thank You notes (real, genuine paper notes that aren’t quick mentions on Facebook) to people who’ve helped you out in life.
Critics of weddings will tell you that they’re thrown for selfish reasons. Nay. The wedding industry isn’t perfect, but are you…? At the core we truly believe that brides, grooms, and wedding professionals for the most part have good intentions. For us, wedding and portrait photography of normal humans is all about making loved ones feel special and celebrating connection. If you can’t get behind those ideals, there may be deeper problems that you should address within yourself. We chose wedding photography not because we’re uneducated people and just want the money, but because we truly care about people and stand behind what this type of photography provides. We’re not fashion photographers for many reasons, but namely because we like working with real people, being a part of a day based on love (and monogamy), and feel content knowing that the photos will be enjoyed for many lifetimes. We truly endorse love and professional photography, so what better way to express that than in our profession?!
We hope this blog post finds you well and that you had some love in your day. <3