THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH “BEING DIFFERENT”

Listen, this blog came to me as a thought late in the night, after working 12 hours and I had to write it as soon as it came to my head, because so many of the other great blog ideas I have had this year got put off never got written. I hope that in discussing this, it helps someone else who may struggle with “being different.”

I have compared myself to others.

I’m not as skinny, I didn’t have a perfect life. I’m not as good of a nurse. I’m not married. I didn’t have kids as young, or as close together. I didn’t drive until I was 25 years old. I didn’t buy a house until I was 28 years old. I’m not as good as that person OR they aren’t as good as me, I have also been on that side of the comparison.

HERE IS THE THING. Not one of us, not a S.I.N.G.L.E one of us, are the same.

SO WE SIMPLY MUST BREAK THE HABIT OF COMPARING OURSELVES TO ANYONE ELSE.

That is the catch of life, we are all different, unique individuals. Own your differences. That is what makes you, YOU. ♥

Instead of feeling upset about what you aren’t or how someone else appears, EMBRACE what you are.

I am overweight, but I have lost 10 lbs this year. My parents divorced when I was Allie’s age now, I survived through extremely difficult years watching someone I love battle addiction, I’m a nurse that does the best that she can, I get to experience true love, my children were born exactly when they were meant to in our lives and their age difference is perfect. I got around to where I needed to be thanks to friends and family, I had a wonderful experience living in the city in my early 20s. Yes, someone else could have had all of these things happen to them, but not EXACTLY as I did.

The reason why I am writing this on my photography blog is because I have compared myself to other photographers, SO. MANY. TIMES. Starting out back in 2011 even to RIGHT BEFORE I WROTE THIS POST. I do sometimes get down on myself as an artist, I go through periods of time where I don’t pick my camera up for weeks at a time, and boy are those times rough. I see photographers posting their perfect images thinking to myself, “your pictures don’t look like THAT!” I see posts after posts of sessions that photographers do and think to myself, “you don’t get that many sessions.”

No, I don’t get that many sessions, but I have loved getting to photograph more people this year. I have the ability to gift my clients sessions, prints, products, frames, etc. because I had the time to put forth an amazing effort to show them how much getting to photograph them meant to me (even if it makes me suck as a business owner. Bottom line, what bottom line?) No, my pictures don’t look like THAT! because that’s impossible. Even when shooting the same subject with another photographer, the final images will look different. We all have a different set of eyes, different equipment, different editing styles, etc.

Do I want to have a bajillion sessions? No, because that’s impossible and I would get burnt out. I have a family, friends, I am a part-time nurse and a business owner. Do I want to photograph posed, perfectly crisp, with tons of props? NO, because that is not the artist that I am, but I know artists who are and they are amazing at what they do, too. Every artist finds their niche. It just so happens that mine is lifestyle/documentary photography. When I think of these photographers, their niches are all different. You want lovely photos of your newborn all wrapped up and posed, check out Storytellers Photography. You want senior portraits in creative locations, check out Donna Weckerly Photography. You want gorgeous wedding photos, check out 84 Photography. You want stylized, fantasy style photos, check out Nikkala Anne Photography. Your friend wants to do your session for free because they are just starting, that’s okay, too! These are the photographers I thought of off the top of my head and isn’t even the tip of the iceberg in terms of photographers in our area – and no, there are not ever too many photographers. I haven’t done that math, but I don’t even think that if everyone in Armstrong County wanted photos done and all of us did 10 sessions a day, everyday, that we would be able to photograph everyone. None of us are the same, nor could we ever be. If you want to get photos done by me this week and photos by someone else next week, great 🙂 No one ever looked back in life and thought, “I am so mad I got too many pictures taken.”

So, here I am embracing me, Jesica, the owner/photographer of Forever Whimsy Photography. I have found in my nearly 7 years of experience that I love to shoot wide open with my coveted Sigma 24mm ART lens to get that beautiful blur all around. I rarely shoot above 2.8 – no joke. I want to get close up to show those intricate details, I notice the little things that make my subject who they are. I actually pay a lot of attention to the interactions of my subjects during the session. The way their hands wrap around their babies waist, and how small that baby is right now. The way their hair curls or the color of their eyes. The way brothers or sisters interact. The way two people in love look at each other. I want to photograph REAL LIFE because that is what makes me happy. I love bright and colorful images, but I also love black and white. I love the look of grain on a photo and intentionally edit my photos to appear as they would on film. If you enjoy my work, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.