One of my favorite parts of being a wedding photographer was the actual design of the storybooks.
We weren’t your average wedding photographer. We didn’t count images. We shot for the story. Sometimes that meant 1500, 2000, 3000 images or more.
Then the magic started. I’d load up my storytelling software and start placing the images to tell the story. I’d design multiple volume sets, around 80 pages in each volume. Four or five volume sets were our norm. (Yes, that equates to 400 pages, or 1500 or more images presented in storybook format to every single client.
It wasn’t a book of pictures. It was the story of their wedding.
Maybe that’s why I like telling stories so much today.
Maybe that’s why I continue to enjoy taking photographs.
Because they help me remember the best of times. They trigger emotions from memories I never want to forget.
When I designed a storybook from a wedding, I was the director. We shot the wedding with specific goals in mind. We knew what to watch for throughout the day. We understood what would trigger the best memories.
It’s not much different when you become fully aware of your life.
When you’re the director, you travel through life with specific goals in mind. You know what to watch for, what to do, and what to avoid.
You understand what makes you happy … and what doesn’t.
You watch for the beauty life has to offer.
You say YES to the best things more.
You become AWARE.
You’re a story in progress. At any time, you can go back and review the chapters that are already in place.
In some cases you may ask:
“Why did I include this chapter here?”
Sometimes it’s positive:
“I can’t believe I did that!”
“I’m so glad I followed my dream – it made all the difference!”
Sometimes it’s negative:
“How could I have been so wrong?”
“How could I have fallen for that?”
It’s only with the other chapters – hindsight – that each chapter makes sense.
It’s what made you who you are today.
And it can persuade you to write the chapters that will come next.