Do you remember my beautiful friend's maternity session from a few months ago? You really should since it was the last time I posted before...gasp...yesterday! Well, a few weeks ago we did stage two of her maternity images. That's right, stage two of MATERNITY images, no sweet little baby yet! She wanted some images with her husband, and after some unsuccessful attempts at meshing our schedules, we were finally able to get together. We met just hours before my sister and I piled into an SUV (thanks for letting us borrow it mom) with our four children to enjoy Utah and family for a week. After the session I uploaded the images to my computer and took a quick glance at them and then tucked them safely away into their folder until a couple of days ago.
I'm going to make a confession. I don't know if it is just me, or if other photographers feel the same way, but I absolutely positively, without fail.....hate the images I take the first time I see them on my computer screen. I am my worst critic. I shoot in RAW format, which means the camera does no processing to the images, so when I see them on my 24 inch screen for the first time, although technically correct, they are often lifeless versions that barely resemble the image my mind saw as I looked through the viewfinder of my camera. But after a little coaxing in the digital darkroom, I slowly let out my breath and decide that I am not the absolute worst artist in the world and that there won't be weeping and wailing and nashing of teeth when my clients first see their images. Yet, when it comes time to post sneak peaks or show clients their images, I once again find myself light headed from a lack of oxygen.
This session was not an exception. When I came home and looked through the folder of images, that heavy melancholy swept over me. But as I completed the edit, I felt good. Now I can barely breath. One day I'll get over this "stage fright" but until then I'm just glad that this is a virtual stage and I don't have to imagine my audience in their underwear.
B and J, I hope your little guy doesn't keep you waiting too long!
