Why Authenticity is key when creating timeless photographs…
Do you want real photographs of your newest little love? I mean real, authentic, heart bursting photographs that when you look at them they stir the exact same emotions as that moment in your life? The feelings, the sounds and even the smells come flooding right back? If the answer is yes, read on.
Real authentic photographs capturing real moments are priceless, these are the photographs that will always be your favourite. I want you to enjoy looking at your photographs now and 20 years from now! For that, authenticity is the key.
Being honest, being ourselves, showing our real selves to the world doesn’t come natural to many of us. Trying to capture authenticity in photography can be difficult for this very reason. It much easier to capture natural photographs, loosely posed and keeping it simple, but authenticity, real moments are more of a challenge. Its something that as my photography career progresses, I find myself seeking out more and more authenticity (are you sick of this word yet?!) than I did before. If you’ve connected with me for a while you might have noticed more of these type images appearing quite a lot recently.
In truth, this was originally supposed to be a blog post about Fresh 48 sessions - a session which I shoot for you before baby is 2 days old at home or in hospital, but as I started writing, the authenticity point kept spilling over, so I just went with it. best laid plans and everything! However on the flip side I guess its ironic that I am writing about realness and these are the words appearing on paper. Today I read an article about being the real honest you, at home and in every aspect of your life and I think we can all do with a reminder from time to time. It mentioned how we are two people, one real and one for the world. Showing the world the real one doesn’t come naturally for many. Then allowing someone to freeze the real you in a vulnerable moment and sharing it with others is enough to encourage people to shy away from the camera.
Although I am a creative, Im not a writer and blog posts don’t come easy for me, but I do always feel they flow much better when writing my truth.
Authentic - of undisputed origin and not a copy; genuine.
Birth Photography, Fresh 48 and home sessions are the most popular shoots for real authentic photography, moments and locations that are personal to YOU and YOUR story. In all honesty they don’t need to be the only ones. Any shoot can be geared towards less posing, less props, getting out of the studio and shooting real genuine moments, connections and emotions.
My favourite photographs of my own children are the real moments, the sports day winning medal which happened today see my instagram story today! The lying on a sun lounger on holiday with dads sunglasses on and a mini mocktail in hand - you can’t hire a professional for every moment but you can for their arrival into the world. Put your camera phone away and enjoy this time, let me capture these real, authentic moments. The emotions will come flooding back Every. Single. Time.
Ofcourse posed photographs still have their place - even my studio sessions are very loosely posed, and in most cases not at all - have you ever tried to pose a 2 year old with their 7 day old sibling? I really just try and encourage the magic to happen..and wait for the moment to appear!
After these moments have passed, when baby no longer fits into newborn size, you now know the difference between his sleepy cry and the hungry one, he just doesn’t fit into the little nook on your shoulder/neck like he used to do. These are the light bulb moments that make you realise you were so glad you have those photographs …..before you know it those little feet are in school shoes and the next adventure begins!
If you would like more information on any of the above mentioned sessions please drop me an email here.
Thanks for reading!
Seona
