I find candid, everyday photos taken by amateurs to be much more meaningful. I'm not knocking pro photographers, but it's pretty easy to take a picture these days and share it.
...and who wants to dress up in matching sweaters, drive to a weenie studio in a mall and pose?
i'm a soon to be parent and i've thought about professional photos because my parents didn't really do many for me except for my yearly school picture. i don't think they could really afford it. but they took TONS of regular every day pics and i have lots of photo albums full of them which i cherish. i think it's overkill to do it that often but i've thought about maybe doing them maybe once a year max if the mood strikes me. but i definitely think candids are much more fun.
ETA dammit sorry! that wasn't supposed to be a reply to you specifically.
Well, yes it's easy to take a picture these days and share it but that doesn't mean the pictures are any good. There are pros for a reason.
And going to a pro photographer doesn't mean (and shouldn't mean!) going to a mall studio and posing. Professional photographers DO shoot on location, even candid shots. It's just that they're better than most folks at knowing how to compose even candid shots.
I can see why somebody would use a pro photographer for pics. Sure, the candids are always nice, but if you're looking for something to put on the wall or send out to folk, why not go with a well-composed portrait?
And, really, what if you know you're just plain old bad at taking the candid snapshots - they're never in focus, not quite composed well, who knows what sort of mess or random crud is all over the background of the photo. Or, what if you just plain ol' don't feel like always having that camera right there to whip out? Just relax and enjoy the experiences while they're happening, and then go to a pro when you want a picture.
I guess I can understand doing it if you're bad at taking pictures, but the relative in question is really quite good at it so that didn't cross my mind.
I'm personally the type that would rather have a candid on the wall than a portrait, but others probably do prefer something nicer.
As a future-parent - I think it's a giant waste of money. I have family members who do that too. Every month/season they take their children in for photos and they spend tons of money to get it done when all they could have done was taken said photos in their backyard or at a nice park or whatever. It's more precious to see the child in a 'caught in the moment' snapshot for the season or maybe if it's a milestone mark for the child to maybe dress them up a bit nice and then take some shots, or by a friend if you're not that good at taking the photos, outside...but to have it done by a professional every single time? Heck no. I'm actually content myself to head on over to the hole-in-the-wall photography place at the mall or even Wal-Mart to get the every-few-years family photos done but that's about it.
I agree, a good photo-taking friend is nice, especially for family shoots. I think that's the route I'd take for family photos, have a talented friend follow us around with a camera for a little while in a park or something.
I also feel like my sisters and I have so much more fun looking back at old candid photographs my mom took when we were little. The professional portraits we couldn't care less about, but we remember the circumstances of the candids and we have some good laughs at those memories.
I'm a penny-pincher to the extreme, so that feels like a lot to me, haha. But I know it's not at all. And those are milestones, so a little bit more understandable than "Baby's Fourth Autumn!"
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I find candid, everyday photos taken by amateurs to be much more meaningful. I'm not knocking pro photographers, but it's pretty easy to take a picture these days and share it.
...and who wants to dress up in matching sweaters, drive to a weenie studio in a mall and pose?
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i think it's overkill to do it that often but i've thought about maybe doing them maybe once a year max if the mood strikes me. but i definitely think candids are much more fun.
ETA dammit sorry! that wasn't supposed to be a reply to you specifically.
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And going to a pro photographer doesn't mean (and shouldn't mean!) going to a mall studio and posing. Professional photographers DO shoot on location, even candid shots. It's just that they're better than most folks at knowing how to compose even candid shots.
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And, really, what if you know you're just plain old bad at taking the candid snapshots - they're never in focus, not quite composed well, who knows what sort of mess or random crud is all over the background of the photo. Or, what if you just plain ol' don't feel like always having that camera right there to whip out? Just relax and enjoy the experiences while they're happening, and then go to a pro when you want a picture.
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I'm personally the type that would rather have a candid on the wall than a portrait, but others probably do prefer something nicer.
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I have family members who do that too. Every month/season they take their children in for photos and they spend tons of money to get it done when all they could have done was taken said photos in their backyard or at a nice park or whatever. It's more precious to see the child in a 'caught in the moment' snapshot for the season or maybe if it's a milestone mark for the child to maybe dress them up a bit nice and then take some shots, or by a friend if you're not that good at taking the photos, outside...but to have it done by a professional every single time? Heck no. I'm actually content myself to head on over to the hole-in-the-wall photography place at the mall or even Wal-Mart to get the every-few-years family photos done but that's about it.
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I also feel like my sisters and I have so much more fun looking back at old candid photographs my mom took when we were little. The professional portraits we couldn't care less about, but we remember the circumstances of the candids and we have some good laughs at those memories.
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