I got a note the other day from a friend who recognized my work on a website that wasn’t my own. Indeed, it was work I was hired to shoot so she was right, but it surprised me that she could tell it was my photography before she knew for sure. Do I really have a signature style? People have said yes but I still don’t see it. I don’t have a processing trick that sets me apart like some photographers I’ve seen. I don’t have a particular portraiture style I favor. I don’t recognize a common thread that visually ties my images together at all. So what is it?
And thinking about that, I wondered that even beyond a simple style or technique, am I in fact revealing who I am through the images I take? When people visit my blog or Flickr stream do they know what kind of person I am? Have I introduced myself properly? Am I better understood by my photographic work even beyond my words and deeds?
It’s no surprise we all focus on what matters most to us; in our hearts and in our minds as well as through our lenses. We are the documentarians of our lives and loves, family and friends. We are the keepers of memories, the note-takers, the photo-journalists, the scrapbookers, the historians. It’s just what we do. So, the question is, what do your photographs say about you? Do they reflect your passions, your loves, what is important to you?
More than anything, I hope my children will appreciate all the pictures I have taken over the years. Not just as documentation of their childhood (which is important enough) but even more, a way to remember me. I hope that my photography is another means in which they will know me and understand the kind of person I am not only as their mother but as a creative woman in this world. As I trace the images I have captured over the years, I can follow along through a visual narrative, not only my life story but all the things I want my kids to know about me. I only hope that in the end, the legacy of my photography is something that transcends me and that will be a lasting account of the truth I seek out everyday in this beautiful life of mine, and of theirs.
In honor of each of our own creative legacies, I am offering a complimentary registration to my photo-centric e-class Picture Summer. It’s one great way to keep your camera in your hands this summer while looking at your life in a whole new light! Just leave a comment here between now and Saturday midnight for a chance to win your spot at Picture Summer. Good luck and I do hope to see some of you over there. Class begins July 1st!
Edited to add:
Thanks everyone for your comments! Congrats to Stacey Montgomery, the winner of the Picture Summer spot! As for the rest of you, I do hope to see you over there too!
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