(A girl in my neighborhood was starting a photography business and took these pictures for us last November---she was so nice, and I'd recommend her, but she recently got pregnant and sick and now I don't think she is continuing with her business anymore. We so appreciated her help, though! Anyway, we just barely got the pictures back, so I thought I'd post them before they're too obsolete.) It seems like so many people are becoming good photographers these days---maybe because more people have nice cameras, or digital cameras are more accessible, or something? I haven't studied it, so I don't know much about the art, but I do know I've seen about a million blogs/websites where people show their work. And the pictures are beautiful. And I'm so amazed that someone could create them.
Except . . . I just can't decide what to think about family pictures. Because I hate to be cynical, but I'm getting just a little tired of all the pictures that promise to "truly capture your family's personality!!"---but then, they all have the same (trendy) poses: back view of the whole family holding hands walking along a wooded trail at sunset. Couple holding hands at arms' length and one of them has a red balloon. The kids, super-saturated, sitting in a row and licking lollipops. The child's face in focus with the parents lounging, out-of-focus, in a field of grasses behind. I guess it just makes me think, really? Everyone's family personality is "childlike and bright and fun, coordinated but not TOO coordinated, with a touch of whimsy!"? Really . . . all of you? I admit, the pictures are often cute, and eye-catching, and maybe they're better than the matching-denim-shirts shots of last decade, but then again, maybe they're just . . . trendier at the moment.
[I remember two girls I knew in London talking about how Martha Stewart's wedding ideas were so much better than anyone else's, because they were TIMELESS. They didn't want to be looking back at their wedding pictures in 20 years (like they looked at their parents' pictures now) thinking, "That's so dated"---and Martha was the key, they said. Except . . . have you looked at Martha Stewart wedding pictures from the late 90s? DATED! Predictably enough, new things are considered "classic" now. Which is fine. But let's not delude ourselves into thinking we aren't influenced by current trends. (Me too, although I'm usually 5-10 years later than everyone else. I feel like I just barely came to terms with the idea of capri pants. Gauchos? Skinny jeans?? Don't push me.)]
This is a shot that really captures our relationship! I'm glad she just happened to catch the casual, unscripted moment of spontaneous pier-leaning. :)
So anyway, back to "capturing your personality." I like the idea, in theory; I'm just not sure you can CALL it that when it's really "capturing what everyone else thinks is cute and popular and what you wish your family's personality was like." If we were really capturing personalities, wouldn't our family photos be more like this? I mean, speaking for my own family anyway, our "unscripted moments" are usually just weird, or nerdy, or to say the least NOT photogenic (and that's the ones that aren't downright unpleasant, e.g. Seb bashing Malachi in the head). Kind of like this:
"Uh . . . I feel silly doing this. [nervous laugh]"
"Help! Let go!" "Brr, it's freezing out here."And so I've always thought maybe it's better to just do the "formal" pose, since the so-called "unscripted moments" aren't true-to-life anyway, but I don't know---I do think a lot of people's trendy pictures turn out awfully cute, and that's the point anyway, so who cares if it's not actually spontaneous or if your family isn't actually all that laid-back and whimsical? And, I'm just realizing as I think this through, maybe the whole point of the pictures is to idealize you, and make you look cuter and MORE fun and MORE stylish than you really are. Actually yes, that IS partly what I want out of a photograph, come to think of it.
But I still feel like a picture that's really "you" is a good idea. And maybe there is someone out there who really can capture "our family," in all our weird, energetic boy-ness, and our nerdiness, and our awkwardness. The question is, could they make me like those pictures? (Consider that a challenge, photographer friends.)
Ahhh . . . you're absolutely right. Even in "natural" settings, family pictures are never accurate in their depiction. Actually, I guess candid shots can be -- but, again, would you hang those on your wall? By the way, your pics look fab -- what a photogenic bunch! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful post.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you came to the conclusion you did, that everybody just wants their pictures to show an idealized version of themselves and their families.
And for your link I knew it was going to be a photo from the awkward family photos blog, but I was unprepared for what I saw there. Good show! Very impressive. And I so wish we had that very game they're playing.
Good point about wanting an idealized version of ourselves. I think where it bothers me still is that trends are always considered fresh and original, even when everybody is doing it. But I realize it's too much to expect people to be true to their own ideal rather than following trends.
ReplyDeleteNosil.
That is what that game should be called.
The pictures are beautiful! And your skirt is fantastic. I especially like the boots with the skirt--it's a bit urban-chic. Having recently had a family photo taken dictated by my mom, I feel like the photo hanging on my wall is pretty classic. But you know what all classic photos have in common? They're a little on the boring side. And obviously posed. My opinion? If you've got it together enough to get a picture of your whole family in clothes that don't look awful together and there's no food on anyone's face you should put in on your wall, because who knows when that will happen again.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are beautiful!
oh marilyn, I just love how you think. I wonder who comes up with the picture trend? It seems to really fly around rather quickly...the old barn in the background, the brick wall, the rusty door, old furniture, paisley background, baby in big tutu, baby in big flower, baby in big tea cup, yada, yada, yada. You should start a new picture trend.
ReplyDeletep.s. I hope you have a girl. They are priceless!
Hey, I am proud of you for even _having_ family pictures (and very cute ones, I might add). Our last professional pictures were when Lydia was 18 months old. It is just way too much work to get my kids all dressed and clean and with cute hair and my husband actually home and not off to a meeting all at the same time, so famiy pictures are on the bottom of my priority todem pole. So my hat is off to you, Sir Percy.
ReplyDeleteOkay, first of all, a photograph isn't "natural." The kind of people I like are people who exist in motion. It's the motion that makes them. Whip out a camera and take a slice out of time - one frame out of a thousand frames that might make up a couple of moments of a person's continuity. You also introduce the element of the observer, which makes it pretty much impossible for the "real" you to make an appearance. Like in the studio - you get a person who plays the piano for her family and alone ALL THE TIME, sit her down in front of the 7 ft. Yamaha grand, set up your mics, speak to her through the PA system and say, "Okay, rolling -" and what are you going to get? Really?
ReplyDeleteI say, preserve the faces so that later generations can look at the bone structure and assign ownership where it belongs. But then, find a photog who's a friend, who'll follow you to some thing you were going to do anyway, in clothes you were going to wear anyway, and with a long lens, capture some things that will be indicative of the real interaction, short of people beating each other with rocks. Better to pass hope and even unrealistic tales of goodness on to later generations in hope they'll fall for it and be better than we are.
By the way, that game in the picture and Beth's interest in it? I have never been so certain in my life, now, that she's the girl for J. Only people with the same weird genetics - people who think nose flutes are funny and not gross - can feel that fulfilled -
ReplyDeleteOh, shoot. One more comment. It really doesn't matter what "fresh" take the photog takes on the set-up, "classic" never applies to hair. I mean really. The hair will always make the shot look just as old as it really is.
ReplyDeleteI take your challenge upon myself. Once I actually get another decent camera get-up that is. Then I'll be annoying the stink out of you guys every time we're together trying to live up to your challenge.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, great post Marilyn. And if you're interested, check out my "truly capturing things as they really are" (ha ha NOT!) photography blog
http://chadaniphotography.blogspot.com