I am totally guilty.
Of taking pictures and only putting the best ones out there.
But, this is natural. I mean, wouldn’t you do the same? This is what photo editors (real and the app-variety) are for, after all. Ugly faces, weird glances, crazy movements. None of those create a pleasant picture that anyone would want to see whether it's your personal Instagram page or the ads of Vogue.
Unless you're being funny. In that case, it's most welcome.
I take a lot of pictures. I mean hundreds if not thousands some weeks. Mostly for the clothing, I sell at my Etsy shop and sometimes for my Instagram page, or both at the same time. With the one good picture, trails a mile long of the hundreds of awful ones. And the blurry ones. And the ones where my eyes are closed.
I want to show you the real me below, with photos I've taken this year. The pictures I chose not to print. What ended up on the cutting floor, like what editors do and what millions of people do when posting a pic on Instagram, or Facebook, or everywhere.
Taking three hundred shots just for one picture seems excessive. Because it is. But when the image is the focus, that happens. When you're creating a brand or an idea, that happens.
But it's absurd.
It's absurd because do you know what happens 99% percent of the time in my case? The first picture is always the best one because it tends to be the most spontaneous and natural shot. It is the picture that made me think, "Hey, I should post this."
Three hundred pictures later and I end up choosing the first one. When will I learn?
A goal of mine this year: To only post pics on Instagram I take with one (no more than two) shot.
This is going to be hard. Brutal maybe. But, I think it's a part of living a real life. I'm not perfect but I am a perfectionist at heart. Yet, do I need to promote perfectionism? There is beauty in imperfection because we’re all imperfect.
Having said that, I'm a stickler for aesthetics. I like delicious pictures. I love to see textures. Whether it's the grain in wood or the wool yarn in a vintage sweater, the texture is everything to me. And capturing this makes me want to take fifty thousand pics.
But what I'm continually learning is beauty is found in the imperfect.
And this perfect imperfection is what I want in 2016.
I'm imperfect and God still loves me. He hasn't thrown me away, he hasn't tossed the proverbial picture of me after three hundred attempts of me failing to measure up. He likes me on my first and only take, blurry, ugly, and out of focus. He loves me with my faults, my stupidity, and my uttermost failures.
And you need to know this: He absolutely loves you the same way. You may not need Him, but he certainly wants you. And he will never vie for your attention or hit you over the head with criticism, or desire perfection from you. He won't bother you, because that's how He is. And truthfully, the last thing he wants from you is perfection. He wants you as you are. Flaws and all.
If your perception of God is anything other than this, then you have an insufficient view of Him.
He wants you exactly as you are.
The first take, the imperfections, the disappointments we think we've become, He wants this in you. And it's what we should want to.
Of taking pictures and only putting the best ones out there.
But, this is natural. I mean, wouldn’t you do the same? This is what photo editors (real and the app-variety) are for, after all. Ugly faces, weird glances, crazy movements. None of those create a pleasant picture that anyone would want to see whether it's your personal Instagram page or the ads of Vogue.
Unless you're being funny. In that case, it's most welcome.
I take a lot of pictures. I mean hundreds if not thousands some weeks. Mostly for the clothing, I sell at my Etsy shop and sometimes for my Instagram page, or both at the same time. With the one good picture, trails a mile long of the hundreds of awful ones. And the blurry ones. And the ones where my eyes are closed.
I want to show you the real me below, with photos I've taken this year. The pictures I chose not to print. What ended up on the cutting floor, like what editors do and what millions of people do when posting a pic on Instagram, or Facebook, or everywhere.
Taking three hundred shots just for one picture seems excessive. Because it is. But when the image is the focus, that happens. When you're creating a brand or an idea, that happens.
But it's absurd.
It's absurd because do you know what happens 99% percent of the time in my case? The first picture is always the best one because it tends to be the most spontaneous and natural shot. It is the picture that made me think, "Hey, I should post this."
Three hundred pictures later and I end up choosing the first one. When will I learn?
A goal of mine this year: To only post pics on Instagram I take with one (no more than two) shot.
This is going to be hard. Brutal maybe. But, I think it's a part of living a real life. I'm not perfect but I am a perfectionist at heart. Yet, do I need to promote perfectionism? There is beauty in imperfection because we’re all imperfect.
Having said that, I'm a stickler for aesthetics. I like delicious pictures. I love to see textures. Whether it's the grain in wood or the wool yarn in a vintage sweater, the texture is everything to me. And capturing this makes me want to take fifty thousand pics.
But what I'm continually learning is beauty is found in the imperfect.
And this perfect imperfection is what I want in 2016.
I'm imperfect and God still loves me. He hasn't thrown me away, he hasn't tossed the proverbial picture of me after three hundred attempts of me failing to measure up. He likes me on my first and only take, blurry, ugly, and out of focus. He loves me with my faults, my stupidity, and my uttermost failures.
And you need to know this: He absolutely loves you the same way. You may not need Him, but he certainly wants you. And he will never vie for your attention or hit you over the head with criticism, or desire perfection from you. He won't bother you, because that's how He is. And truthfully, the last thing he wants from you is perfection. He wants you as you are. Flaws and all.
If your perception of God is anything other than this, then you have an insufficient view of Him.
He wants you exactly as you are.
The first take, the imperfections, the disappointments we think we've become, He wants this in you. And it's what we should want to.
Happy New Year, friends. And please forgive this egregiously
long post.
Cannot even begin to tell you how many pics I have like this. Trying to create perfect hair. This rarely happens, so like 42% of my photos look like this. This isn't a lie. I toss my hair more than the salads I eat.
Self-timers are good for taking pics and not needing a photographer. Self-timers are bad for actually achieving perfect pictures. I have a goodly amount of shots of me getting "into place."
Not attractive in the least. Ever.
What the heck is this? Not sure what happened. I look like I sneezed or something.
Eyes closed, hair in face, blurry = not a printable pic.
I have copious amounts of these photos.
It's a wonder I actually achieve any decent ones.
Yeah, so see the dot on my um ... dress? This picture is me realizing I didn't see said dot, which is really a hole. One I will have to repair. One which needs not to make it into my rotation of pics for selling the dress.
Good heavens ...
About 37% of my pics turn out with my eyes like this. Seriously. You'd think I'd know by now when the shutters go to keep my eyes open. But no. Doesn't happen. So, half-eyes I am, which makes me look
mad, or asleep, or the combination of both.
I'm pretty sure my math is wrong, but another whopping 21% of my pics turn out like this, with my backside in view, blurry as heck, and me trying to get into place before the next six shots take.
With this one though I actually kind of like it. I'm in action.
I'm real. And this, my friends, is what I should be going for on Instagram.
On Etsy? No. I need as clear of pictures as I possibly can get.
This one gets trashed.
And that's okay.
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