We joined this year’s April Fools craze with the piece “Enough of this mirrorless nonsense.” Thank you for laughing with us and not taking this babble of ours too seriously.
Today I would like to touch on a personal note. We photographers have a tendency to work hard on our professional assignments or projects. However, when it comes to family or personal photos we often shrug them off: “These are just family pics.” This laissez-faire attitude usually leads to mediocre images. In perspective, sooner or later we all realize that these are the images we value the most. These are images that will create a smile on our face, trigger a tear in our eye and provide us with the best memories. Make sure you work on them at least as hard as you do when shooting for a client or for pleasure. After all, they are going to be the most important images you will ever take.
Here are a few images of our son Oli at the University of British Columbia where he is doing his first work experience. They are all shot with the Fuji X-Pro2 and the XF 35mm F1.4 lens. Classic Chrome film simulation. Some of them are taken with ISO 6400!
2016 © Kasia & Olaf Sztaba Photography. All rights reserved.
A very important post! You forgot one thing though. Print what you take. Hard drives crash, thumb drives get lost, optical discs are disappearing, etc, etc.
Prints can last hundreds of years and can be passed down generations. Who knows, your storage device may not even be accessible in 50 years.
Rick,
100% agree. You made an excellent point.
Thank you for visiting.
Olaf
Nice images. I also like the first one especially.
I’ve found that my ‘non-pro’ X70 doesn’t make unnecessary expectations from others (and myself) when it comes to casual family/friends shots. But I love taking some almost candid shots with it, often in b/w (B g).
But some of my favourite shots is with the X-T1 and 35mm among others.
thanks for the reminder, olaf, rightly said. i look back at all the stuff i took of my family/daughters over the years, and i tell myself, am I glad to took them at the time, regardless if they are well taken or not. it’s the ‘never again’ moment that matters.
ken
Love that first image. And, you’re right.
Monte,
It is always great to hear from you.
Olaf
One of my biggest struggles: I spent a long time being “the family photographer”, to the point where I felt like I was missing out on birthdays and events because I saw them all through a viewfinder. I made a conscious decision to shoot much, much less at family functions so I could simply live in the moment. It’s great, but there are moments I wish I had captured. Another aspect of the constant struggle of the artist I suppose.
Ian,
It is always great to hear from you.
Good point! I guess it is all about the balance. I usually don’t shoot birthdays or similar events. However, there are some moments of my choosing that I feel I need to grab my camera and document them.
All the best,
Olaf