Embracing imperfection
Letting go of perfect and clinging on to what matters
I want to tell you the story of a photo.
They say that a picture tells a thousand words, but to me this picture simply says “you need to let go of perfection”.
The photo is of my son and I.
Even though it was taken almost 12 months ago, I only just took the time to edit it.
To set the scene; this photo was taken last year in Esk. We had been staying there at a friends house and I really wanted to capture some photos with the kids before coming home.
My husband and I made our way to the spot and then spent about 20 minutes arguing with each other and pleading with the kids to cooperate before loading our cranky butts back into the car.
We debated over camera settings and poses. He always knows just how to capture me at my most unflattering and that day I just wasn’t having it.
Plus my kids were tired and cranky. They spent most of the time frowning and refusing to participate.
It was the exact opposite experience to what I create for my clients.
My shoots are relaxed and calm.
But life isn’t always like that.
Sometimes it’s a bit of a hot mess and you’ve just got to embrace the chaos.
After we got home from that trip I uploaded the images to my computer and my mood went from bad to worse.
As I flicked through the photos I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
I hated that my husband hadn’t caught my vision, I hated that a few of the photos would have been good if my kids weren’t scowling.
But mostly I hated the way I looked in pretty much every photo.
The angles were not my best look, you could see my double chin, my dry skin, the few extra kgs I’d picked up over the winter….
So I hid the files away on my hard drive and forgot all about them.
Until today.
As I was doing some clean up of my hard drive I found the folder and decided to give them a second look.
No I didn’t magically love every photo.
But even the bad ones I looked on with joy in seeing how little my kids were.
I delighted over how my daughter had grasped my finger as we walked through the long grass and how my son’s eyes had lit up at finding the “biggest stick ever” (it was a full on tree branch but that didn’t stop him from carrying it around).
And then I came across this photo.
It’s far from perfect and I could easily sit here and pick at all the things I hate about myself in this shot.
But in the moment it was snapped we were both so happy.
And I wish that it didn’t take me a whole year to see what really mattered.
I wish that my memory of that afternoon was dancing around a field in the golden light with my loves.
THIS is why I love photography.
It’s not about pretending the bad moments don’t exist.
Or acting like life is all fine and dandy 100% of the time.
It’s about focusing on the things that matter.
The moments we will want to hold onto till we’re old and grey.
Kids grow up so freaking fast – we don’t have time to wait for perfection to enjoy our life.
Mama, I urge you to stop waiting for the perfect moment to jump in front of the camera.
Your kids deserve YOU, not the version of yourself you wish you were.
Not the skinnier, calmer, more organised, more put together version you are working towards.
The you they have right now is absolutely perfect in their eyes.
So beautifully written Maddy x