This is going to be a bit of a personal soppy post…
Personally May is a bittersweet month for me as along with my own birthday, it’s also the month of both birthday’s of my late wonderful grandparents, Nana’s was the same date as mine, and it’s also the month of my Grandad’s passing last year.
I’ve been looking back through some photos today that I took a couple of years ago and laughing at the memories they bring back.
I love this set so much because I can totally see them in these photos. I know, I know, obviously I can *see* them, they’re there, visually, but I mean it’s them right there, their personalities, their fun spirit. The silly humour my Grandad had (or Gangan as I’ve always called him), making a strange face behind Nana in the top right. Nana being ever the professional and smiling perfectly pretty much throughout despite usually protesting at first about me wanting to take her photo, she took a lovely one and was a beautiful lady. The top right and bottom right are my favourites and how I remember her, a completely natural smile with her dimples proudly showing. I can’t help but smile and laugh along with them when I look at these. It’s like they’re back again and I can remember it exactly like being there, a sunny afternoon back up in Liverpool and the sound of their laughter. It was only a little moment in the back yard where I wanted to get some nice portraits of them with a new lens, but decided Gangan was too tall so just said ‘Gangan you need to come down a bit’ but obviously he looked a bit ridiculous just randomly leering over Nana so they cracked up.
It may be tempting to just take that first one, the subjects naturally feeling the need to look into the camera and ‘smiling’ and then be done with it, if there was any silliness then maybe even waiting for people to compose themselves for fear of getting an unflattering image of someone properly laughing from their belly. But whyyy? Keep shooting! Capture those moments. The ones that follow after the first one, those natural ones with pure laughter, are so much lovelier to me.
I caught another little set just before these where I initially had them sat on a bench. Gangan realised he didn’t have his teeth in so told me “way – mo…” (‘wait a minute’ in Scouse for those wondering) and proceeded to get them out of his pocket and unwrap them from a hankie and popped them in. Of course I didn’t wait though, Nana was just laughing at him and taking the mick and I caught it all. They’re obviously a bit silly, but I look at them and laugh and feel so much more emotional towards them than I would just seeing a photo of them stood looking at the camera after being told to smile. Those photos can be lovely too, but I don’t get a feeling of what they were like and their energy from those photos. If a photo captures someone, just as they are or were, whether ‘flattering’ or not, I think they’re precious. The subject may not necessarily like the way they look in them, but one thing I’ve learned is that someone, a loved one or friend, would absolutely love it and treasure it because that’s their Mum, or that’s their Grandad etc. And that’s the main thing. I don’t think I’ll share the false teeth ones here anyway!! But I’m so thankful to have them to look back on. It can be so tough to look back at photos of loved ones we no longer have without crying, especially when it hasn’t been long, but I really feel like photos like these are so special that they’re almost magical. I hope that doesn’t sound daft! But to me they really are, because although they do make me sad too, I laugh so much with them and it really helps to be able to remember such lovely memories, even silly little ones like these that may well have just been forgotten otherwise.
The main reason I wanted to share these, and write about them, was just to reaffirm to anyone reading how significant photographs can be, and how lucky we are to be able to live in an age where we can save such moments so easily.
So this is why I like natural photographs and only do a limited number of traditional posed group shots, and even keep my couple portrait sessions as natural as possible. I love having as much time as possible on the day to take many many candids. Why I love blending in at weddings and photographing people when they aren’t necessarily made aware of my presence, to catch them just as they are and providing their family, friends, and future generations with emotive images, memories to treasure and hopefully look back on in many years to come.
I’d actually love to do more family shoots, natural ones where I just spend a few hours of the day, or even at home, with you and your family. Writing this has really inspired me and reminded me why I do what I do. If you think this may appeal to you do get in touch, I’d love to help you get some images of your own to treasure as much as I do the ones I’ve shared.
Happy birthday for the 19th Gangan, and happy birthday for the 24th birthday twin, missing you both very very much xxxx
