A Photography Lesson

We celebrated Halloween yesterday, so today was a rare weekend afternoon with absolutely no agenda. The weather was gorgeous, so we spent the majority of the afternoon outside.

P was completely committed to the idea of hosting an impromptu Halloween party in our front yard today, so around 3pm everyone got on bikes and scooters to canvas the neighborhood issuing verbal invitations. Almost as an afterthought, I packed my camera in hopes of snapping a few shots in front of a nearby tree in its glorious bright orange Fall foliage. My children and I marvel at this tree, located several houses down at the corner of an empty lot, each Fall. The family refers to it as 'Mom's favorite tree.'

After unsuccessfully knocking on a few neighbors' doors, we spent some time playing in the leaves. A neighbor we have never met was blowing leaves off his driveway across the street. He wandered over and offered to take a picture of the whole family. We were a ragtag, t-shirt clad group--not at all prepared for a family portrait sitting. We had just been out killing time on a walk. I didn't have high hopes for the outcome, but I didn't dare turn down his kind offer.

We handed him the camera, and he snapped 5 photos. "Maybe there's something you can use here" he said, as he wished us well and walked away. When I got home and downloaded the photos I couldn't help but laugh...This impromptu snapshot with play clothes, unruly hair and no make-up is my new favorite family photo. Our smiles are relaxed and real. This is a gorgeous Sunday afternoon of unhurried family time.
There is a lesson there--right along the lines of my current theme about naturally occurring moments vs. contrived ones. I feel certain a sitting fee, careful outfit selection and a professional photographer would have had a hard time capturing such authentic smiles.

Truth be told, it helps that my camera has a great lens. There is a lesson there too. So much of my daily happiness depends on the lens I am using to look at my situation. A good (positive, faith-filled) lens can make all the difference between hope and despair.

And even though the photos were good right out of the camera, spending a little extra time processing them through an editing software on the back end converted them to something special. (I cropped out K's bright purple shorts and dirty bare feet. ;-)

Another lesson: Taking time to process (through thought, prayer, wise counsel, rest, new perspective) can truly make a difference in the way we walk through this life. It is my desire to live life as authentically as possible, choose to use a good lens and take the time to patiently process at the end of each day.
I pray the result is a picture of real joy that outshines messy hair!