Who says you can’t have fun at the photography studio? If you come to us, you leave the worries behind. You bring the smiles, we’ll make the magic!
Categories
Outtakes
Author: cpatterson
While perusing new book titles on Amazon I saw one that caught my attention. What could a book titled “The End of Absence” be about? I wondered. The first thing I thought of was that the opposite of absent is present, right? So, was this another self-improvement book about how to stay present? I didn’t need to read another one of those, but I had to know what was “ending” exactly. I wasn’t intrigued enough to pay to read the book, but I did read a few reviews. Here’s the gist of what I got from a few of them.
The author describes the society that we’re in now as one being void of any new or creative thoughts. Because of the internet, we’ve allowed Google to do our thinking for us. We drag ourselves out of bed each morning to see what’s new on Facebook and end the day by checking our email one last time. And, in between, we’ve posted any number of pictures and videos, some our own, some we share.
Do we remember as youngsters daydreaming while looking out the window? Or, how about imagining that a cloud looks like an elephant? Does today’s generation have time for getting lost in their thoughts?
But, before getting too lost in this sentimental journey, I recall how I reminisced with an old friend I’d just reconnected with on Facebook. And, that recipe I got from a blogger in Canada was really good. I’ve gained so much through digital technology, it’s hard to imagine life without it anymore.
In fact, I can’t pinpoint exactly what we’ve lost, except our childhood. For those of us who are middle-aged, we tend to feel nostalgic about the simple joys of rolling in the grass or splashing in rain puddles. We wonder why our kids want to spend more time on the computer than they do outside. The next generation will feel the same way when they remember the first digital diary they created from a family vacation or come across the first selfie they ever took.
I’m going to pass on this book; it won’t tell me much I don’t already know about the growing number of hours we spend on the internet. I’ll try to spend that time instead by staying close to the people I love. And, if that’s through Facebook or Skype, so be it.
We have to say goodbye to a longtime friend and co-worker Daryl Sparks today.
We hired Daryl within a year of moving into the renovated frat house, and he’s become just as valuable to us as our moving into a new location was ten years ago. You might say that he’s become synonymous with G Patterson Studio & Gallery, and that’s what makes this day a hard one. If not for the fact that he’s leaving us in order to become a speech pathologist (something for which he’s suited if you have to talk a lot), I just might call this a dark day!
He’s helped us with so many promotions and so many jobs, with the Photobooth and the Haunted House, whether it was photographing at a school or sporting event, he was always there with a smile. That’s not easy to find in an employee. He could be fun or serious, quirky or intent all in the same day exactly when you needed him to be.
So, without becoming verbose, I’ll suffice it to say, “Goodbye, and God bless.”
Categories
School Picture Day
Traditionally, school pictures were synonymous for “the worst picture I ever took…ever!” I don’t know if we cringed more at the creepy guy in the leisure suit behind the camera or when we received our school pictures a few weeks later. But, times have changed and so has picture day. So said a recent high school senior, “That’s the best school picture I ever took. Oh wait, except for my 9th grade picture…but, you took that one, too.” We like school pictures, if only to
dispel any misgivings someone might have about having theirs taken. So, in the spirit of having a better attitude about picture day and school in general, let’s see how many school pictures we can post between now and the day school starts!
That is not really the question. In today’s society, we all do a little tweaking with our pictures. With the ability to change and enhance at our fingertips, it’s hard not to. We’ve been engineered to like beauty; our eyes are drawn to it. Companies plan their ad campaigns based on it. Beautiful ads sell!
True beauty is different, though. True beauty is what happens when someone smiles without inhibition. Photoshop can’t create true beauty.
Fortunately, we see a lot of beautiful people at our studio. My husband is a good photographer, but he’s also good at bringing out a person’s natural beauty. Do we photoshop our images? Yes, absolutely, but it’s a collaborative process between us and the client. Oftentimes, if a client doesn’t like that mole or the gap in their teeth, we encourage them to leave it untouched. Those “flaws” are what make you, well you! Looking back on my own children’s pictures from years ago, I love that my son made his “Power Ranger” pose for every picture. And, I’d never want to change my daughter’s oversized front teeth. (She did finally grow into them.)
So let’s all agree to celebrate the true beauty within. Even the most reserved of our clients walk away from a portrait session looking and feeling beautiful. To those who haven’t had that experience yet, we’d love an opportunity to showcase your “true beauty.”
Categories
A Good Day
It’s that time of year that we begin seeing high school seniors for their yearbook pictures. For Nacogdoches, it’s the velvet drape for girls and for boys, a tuxedo shirt and jacket. For some of them it’s the first time they’ve had professional pictures taken.
For all of them, their senior year marks the end of youth and the beginning of adulthood. For many of them, it’s just another day; they’ll let it “sink in” by degrees. For others, as they put on that cap and gown, you can tell they “get it.” They’re more quiet than usual and a little nervous. I want to tell them to take a deep breath and, then, hold on. And enjoy every minute of it! Because on the day they graduate and wear this cap and gown again for real, they’ll look back at this day and think what a short time ago it was.
Photographing seniors gives me a nostalgic feeling and helps me to remember the brevity of life. I wish I could get that feeling everyday, so that I might not waste as much time as I do on frivolous things. But, I must go for now and make out my grocery list. I sure don’t want to forget the milk!
I have a plan for everything these days! What I’m gonna fix for dinners for the week, how we’ll spend our weekends for the month, even what I’m going to wear for the next few days. (I don’t want to waste that perfect outfit on work when I could wear it for that lunch date!) I definitely have a plan for our spending for the month. I even have a plan for my plan, call it an agenda or parameters for which I live my life.
I don’t want to be too extravagant with anything I do, but I never want to be too careful, either. Life is short, right?
Something else I like to plan for is how I volunteer my time and money. There are so many causes from which to choose, some you may have a passion for, others you share a political view with and others are affiliated with your faith. I, often, do a little research to know exactly where my money goes. I knew a man that traveled a lot, and he’d pick up hitchhikers along the way. He’d often give them the money in his pocket before they parted ways. Generous? I call it reckless! After all, what was stopping that hitchhiker from buying something other than food?
When I had a chance the other day to sign up to help with feeding lunch to school-age children in the park, I didn’t have time to make all the usual considerations. All I knew was that they needed someone, and I had the time. So I put my name down, and am I glad I did. The smile on my face was as big as those on the kids’ faces. And, that feeling stayed with me the rest of the day. It was such a fun experience, I’ll do it again, even if it means changing my schedule.
Do I plan on throwing caution to the wind every time one of these opportunities presents itself? No, in fact I probably won’t be picking up any hitchhikers. I intend to hold onto my “agenda” a little less tightly, though. After all, I could change someone’s life for the better, including my own!
-Cindy
No, this isn’t a movie review; it’s about my son. He’s at camp this week, and, boy, was I looking forward to some time away from him. I had become fed up with putting up with his “teenagerness.” I know that’s not a word, but every parent with a teenager knows that’s synonymous with lazy, selfish, withdrawn and moody.
But, this week while he was gone, I was going to use the time to devise a plan to “fix” him. As my thoughts turned to the things I could do to change him, I began wondering what he might be doing right now, maybe eating breakfast? Maybe tidying up his tent? At least he wouldn’t be playing a video game. So, how could I keep him from playing them so much when he got back? That seemed to be a constant struggle between the two of us.
I began thinking about how he had helped with VBS at our church the week before. And, before that, hadn’t he participated in a missions project? All of this, without complaining? I began missing him and wondering why I couldn’t feel so favorably toward him when we were together. Maybe our strained relationship had more to do with me than with him. I could be critical to the point where I begin feeding my own negativity. In my mind, I had him going from video game-playing teenager to college dropout living on skid row overnight.
I’m excited, now, about him coming home, because I feel that it’s not too late to work on our relationship. I’m going to practice positive thinking every day, so I can recognize when a negative thought enters my mind. Yes, he is growing up fast, but that should not make me fearful. These upcoming years could be some of the best ones of his life! And, I might just have a little something to do with that.
Bunny sessions from the year we began at our new studio. We look forward to these sessions , and we still do!
We would love to hear your thoughts and especially if you remember YOUR bunnies’ names!
Greg & Cindy
Thanks to all who participated in “Puppy Love” and helped us support our local Humane Society. We would hope that every furry friend has it as good as Joe Buddy this Valentine’s Day. He has helped contribute to the happiness around the Patterson household since 2006 when we “rescued” him.
We wish all of our studio friends lots of love,
Greg, Cindy and Joe Buddy.