Keep Calm and Shoot On | Questions and Answers with Kimberly

Awhile back I asked Facebook land to tell me what they would like me to blog about. One of the questions I got was, “Does a photographer ever relax in life without constantly shooting life memories?” (Thanks Aleasha Shelton!!). I thought this was a great question and wanted to share a little about my life being a photographer and what that means as far as constantly shooting.

Every photographer is different and handles life differently, so I can’t answer this question for everyone; however, I can talk about me!

Have you ever heard the phrase “The Cobbler’s children have no shoes.”? There is a reason that phrase came to be because the cobbler was so busy working for everyone else that he didn’t have time to make shoes for his children. Sadly, in many ways this is actually my life. I wish I could say that I am the perfect photographer and every event that we have in my family, I pull out my great camera and capture life perfectly so that we have these amazing memories to look back on; magazine quality pictures that will forever tell a story of my family and our life together. However, if you ask anyone in my family they will tell you that Kim NEVER has her camera and if she does they NEVER see the pictures.

Sadly it’s true; I LOVE photography and actually constantly take pictures with my iPhone and capture life that way, but pulling out the BIG camera means that I have to work; I have to carry all the heavy gear with my multiple lenses, I have to download the pictures, edit the pictures, and then get images to friends and family. Since I do that already ALL the time for my clients, it never seems to actually happen personally. My clients become priority and my amazing pictures of my family sit on my computer and seldom get touched. It’s sad isn’t it:(

Thankfully Steve Jobs invented a thing called an iPhone. It’s a revolutionary tool that changed my life so that, while I don’t have Professional pictures of our life events, I do have a TON of pictures of my life all captured on the camera phone of my iPhone! I’m a true iPhone believer. With my iPhone I don’t feel as though it’s work because it’s instant gratification and I can easily share pictures and back them up. I can edit while sitting on my couch and do some fun things. For those of you who would love to know a great iPhone editor, look up PicTapGo and have SOOO much fun. This is the best picture editing app out there. It’s made taking pictures fun for me again and not necessarily a chore, which is what capturing life with a camera should actually be all about.

So, to answer Alicia’s question, I say “YES”. I do relax without constantly shooting memories. For my clients, I work hard and get them amazing images to cherish for life; I use my big gear, I edit, I share. With my family, to make it “relaxing” I have fun with my little tiny camera in my pocket (my iPhone) and I have a good time capturing memories that way. It’s good to take a break and realize when you need to put work aside and just enjoy life. Balance is huge in life in general, and especially when you own your own business and have a family. I don’t feel guilty about not pulling out my big camera all the time because I need that separation, but i’m thankful that I have a tool that still allows me to capture great memories and have a little fun while doing it. I love the saying, “Keep Calm and Shoot On”; it applies to my business and my life in regards to photography!

P.S. I am a true believer in still getting amazing professional pictures of my family and when I need that to happen I hire a professional photographer to do that, just like you all. There are times a professional needs to capture life and get those important moments and an iPhone won’t do. I’m thankful for the photographers in my life who have captured my family and given me those amazing pictures that I will cherish forever. I get to stand back and let someone else do the work for me, and it feels nice.