Putting on the other shoe!

   Wow. Don't you love it when things go viral. I'm not talking passing the flu around. I am talking something that flies around so fast on the internet that one post on facebook has over 600 comments in less than two hours. That is just on facebook. This isn't mentioning all of the other social media outlets there are. Any photographer who is reading this probably knows what I am talking about. Today, a photograph that was taken back in July of a newborn baby in a yarn hammock was passed around good ole facebook at breakneck speed. That photographer was probably out living her life, doing her day to day things when she came home to hundreds and hundreds of comments on her image. 98% of them negative and scathing. This post isn't really about that. That whole thing was beat into the ground. Skimming through that whole mess though, got me thinking about what if it were me on the receiving end of all those threats and "you should quit" comments? All of the shattering words.
   It certainly makes you say Thank You Jesus, for it not being ME. It makes you learn a thing or two. Hopefully. It definitely gets you thinking. However, it is me. It is you. How many times do you tell yourself you should quit. How many times do you allow shattering thoughts sneak in and steal your growth? Too often. Bottom line is, as I was going through my class today, I was thinking "I am just not going to ever GET it. I am not understanding these things, what am I doing?" Then I read through some of the comments on the newborn post. I felt bad for the photog. She had no way to defend herself. I absolutely agree that she should have done things differently. In all things, safety is paramount. Whether it be in your job, or your emotional well being, or your drive to live your life and chase your dream. You must safeguard your life. Safeguard your relationships. Safeguard your passion for everything. Don't let all the negative in. It only gets in if you allow it. A smart man learns from his mistakes. But a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Today, I am wise. Tomorrow I will put my nose back to the grindstone. And tonight I will shut out all the negative that I have allowed my very own self to think.
  
   As a side note - I specialize in Senior and Couples portraiture. Those who photograph newborns must take extra precautions and educate themselves on the safety aspect of handling these little humans. What an overwhelming number of photographers do not know is how these popular newborn images are actually made. They are composites where there is always a hand on the baby, or at the farthest, a few inches. Please, when booking with a photographer to document this delicate and precious time in the life of your baby, ask them how they do these shots. If they don't use composites, find someone else. There isn't a shortage of photographers who specialize in newborns. Careful with those little babies!