I’ve heard people refer to mistakes as opportunities. Seems corny at first, but when you really think about it the word opportunity in this case does have a deep meaning. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s our willingness to learn from them and try again that keeps us going. If we didn’t make mistakes then we wouldn’t appreciate the things that we have. A mistake is an opportunity to learn and improve, and I welcome them. During a wedding there is no time for a mistake, so making them ahead of time is where our core value comes in as a wedding photographers. The quality of our service depends on it, and the value received for all of our services can be measured by the amount of opportunities we’ve created and learned from. I carry my camera with me everywhere so that I can make mistakes with it. Mistakes that are really opportunities in disguise.
I recently had the opportunity to photograph Erin again in her wedding dress. You know that rockin’ wedding dress with the purple stripe going down the train? I had been studying up on a new feature of my camera and I needed to test it out on a willing bride in a white dress with bright sunlight overhead. So I contacted Erin and asked if she had boxed up her wedding dress yet. Luckily she hadn’t. Erin and her mother came to the Meadowbrook Mansion a few weeks ago to capture some bridal portraits before the dress was locked away in a box. The test shots were successful and the mistakes/opportunities were made. I’m extremely pleased with the things that I’ve learned and I’ve already used the techniques in several family portrait sessions since then. It’s a subtle difference in a small amount of photographs, and most of you may never notice. But I know and that makes all the difference in the world. My goal is to make my next shot be the best one I’ve ever taken, and these opportunities help me to achieve it.
