Miss Truvy, I promise that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair.
- Annelle Dupuy Desoto (Daryl Hannah in Steel Magnolias – 1989)
I have given this a lot of thought. I even posted a comment on my Facebook profile to see if anyone else had an opinion either way. So I’ve done research.
If someone is looking to hire a photographer, would they still hire me after reading my personal blog?
There are a lot of photographers out there who are photographers first, and bloggers second. And so their blog is very much focussed (boom-boom) on photography and not on their personal lives; instead they have these very clean, uncluttered, unfussy but artistic blogs accompanying their beautiful images and you go away with the impression that they are creative and thoughtful people who probably wouldn’t scare your children during a photoshoot and would present you with an album of stunning memories.
My situation is a little different. I’ve been blogging for a few years now so there’s more than enough material out there to shock or even just mildly concern a potential client. I have been taking a chance this whole time that, one day, a long forgotten school friend, or a recruitment industry client of mine, or a great uncle, or one of my kids’ friends’ parents might one day stumble across my blog and read about some of the embarrassing things that have happened to me in my life, the humiliations I have suffered, and the numerous occasions where I have laid bare my parental ineptitude and realise there’s a lot more to me than meets the eye… as in a LOT more… as in TOO MUCH INFORMATION.
And yet, so far, nothing bad has happened. Nobody has refused to hire me as a Scribe on account of that thing I wrote about Hilary Clinton. None of my friends have disowned me after I talked about my fear of passing gas in a Korean Spa. There are even some people who call me, out of the blue, for relationship or parenting advice. I know! Shocking!
So here’s what I’m thinking. I’m just going to leave it all up here, and link to my blog from my business website. I’m not going to shy away from the truly ridiculous aspects of my life just in case someone reads it and finds it a little confronting and decides not to hire me. This blog will continue to be about every aspect of my life, because this is who I am, and that’s why my photos look the way they do. I’m a wife, a mother, a writer, a photographer, and occasionally a basket case. I come as a complete set. The whole package.
While we’re discussing your reaction to my blog, I would like to respectfully ask that if you do find something here that upsets or bothers you, for whatever reason, I would really appreciate hearing from you directly. You can email me at trish (at) eatshootblog (dot) com. I genuinely appreciate genuinely constructive criticism and feedback. Thank you.
Click HERE to go back to my blog homepage.
And we wouldn’t have you any other way.
Quite frankly, if I’m looking for someone to photograph my child, the skills I’m looking for is a mother who can throw a good book mid conversation. Trish|Photographer, You’re Hired!
In my humble opinion, this is an excellent decision. All of my VERY FAVOURITE blogs (yours included) have a little bit of everything thrown in. There’s usually a more “focussed” (boom-boom) aspect to the blog (scrapbooking, photography, knitting) but overall, there is a mishmash of the everyday things also. You are not JUST a photographer, you are a whole person and that’s what makes your blog so beautiful and interesting. We can tell just by looking at the design and the gorgeous photos in the side bar that you are talented and creative. You are also funny, smart, a good friend/mother/wife and…..very tall (LOL!). Don’t change a thing!
I’m with Kathy, that describes all my favourite blogs too. Somewhat focussed, but still covering most of a life, not just one aspects.
On the other hand, if I was actively looking for a photographer, and went to their website to see their stuff, I guess I’d be looking to easily find their fees, examples of their work etc, not have to sift through a blog… which is certainly not to say you should change your blog though!
Beautiful! Love your disclaimer and I think it is so true. Just because you are a professional in one field doesnt make you any less human. I too chose to be very open with expressing my personality on my facebook photography fanpage, and using my business name for my twitter account. I believe the open honesty will win some clients and lose some clients. But in the end, doesnt a client want a photographer they can trust, and one they “click” with? Surely being open will allow them to determine if they “click” and due to the honesty allow them to trust more easily? I think it’s a good thing – good on you!