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Thrifty Thursday: 5 ways to overcome the Pinterest trap | Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Weddings

August 7, 2015

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I don’t think it is a big secret that professional photographers have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.  It is soooo hard not to get lost in the pin abyss of beauty that is curated and ready for us at anytime.  However, (and that’s a BIG however) sometimes the obsession with everything pretty and perfect and pin-worthy goes just a little too far.

I’m not knocking Pinterest. I love me some pinning.  Look, proof:

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Even though I love to pin inspiration, hairstyles, clothing…I try to take it easy and keep it in perspective.  What you see on Pinterest is perfect for someone, but maybe not perfect for you.  If I spend too much time down the pin rabbit hole I end up feeling deflated and less than…the complete opposite of inspired and hopeful, which I believe is the point!

Pinterest also poses an interesting “problem” for me as a wedding photographer.  I love (truly) receiving pin boards from my clients, following their boards, etc. to get a glimpse into the type of affair they are planning.  What I don’t love is receiving a board specific to photography and requests to duplicate exact MOMENTS.  Hey, I’ll be the first to try something new!  But I can’t make moments happen on a wedding day.  Many of the images we fall in love with have momentary emotion that cannot just simply be recreated.  I talk to each of my clients about this specifically.  I promise to always capture all of the moments of a wedding day, but I cannot promise to capture all of the moments of someone else’s wedding day as seen on Pinterest.  It just can’t be done, nor is it authentic.

So, here are some tips for how to use Pinterest to your advantage when you are planning a wedding, and how NOT to become a pin-zilla in the process:

1.  Pin in small doses.  Don’t spend too long looking at “inspiration” from only one resource.  Go outside and smell the roses a bit, eh?  Go to YOUR venue and really take it in.  What ideas can you come up with just sitting outside (or inside) at your venue to make it WOW.

2.  Keep it real.  Before you commit to one of your pins and bring it to life, consider how it will fit in with YOUR style and YOUR day.  Some pinterest ideas are perfect but not exactly in any environment.  You can’t take every beautiful wedding detail that you see and just throw them together, you’ll end up with a hot mess and without a clear style or message in your wedding design.

3.  Go deep.  Pinterest is best used when you let the inspiration gained in those pages run wild in your thoughts…and then turn that into a magical recipe for creative wedding planning.  Don’t just settle for what someone else has done!  Dig deep and pull out something you could only even imagine!  Trust me, nothing bad comes from being unique!

4.  Inspiration not imitation.  This really is where my biggest issue lies with Pinterest.  Images and ideas online are a great starting point for wedding planning.  But don’t let that box you in!  What is it about that image that moves you?  Do you love the light, the emotion, the moment?  When you take each image in for what it is at the core you will be much more prepared to have a conversation with your photographer or planner about what your ideal wedding will FEEL and LOOK like.  And I, as a wedding photographer, will know what to look for during the day…and how you want to remember your wedding, which I am sure is not just a list of poses of you and your beloved paraded around like puppets.

5.  Perspective.  This is a big one.  Don’t lose sight of the goal.  Marriage starts with the wedding, but a marriage is not defined by the wedding, the cake, the dress, the flowers, or the decor.  A marriage is defined by what happens behind closed doors, without the lights, the camera and all of the perfection.  Every wedding has moments of bliss and moments of anxiety, just as a marriage.  What a marriage DOES NOT have is a pinterest board.  You can’t pin the way you treat eachother every.single.day so why start off that way?  Just be you and let love carry you through your wedding day with or without the pins to support it <3

  1. Felicia says:

    So good Amy! #5…wise words, always!

  2. sheng says:

    I love love love this post! You differently hit the nail on #5.

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I'm Amy and I'm so happy you're here. This is a journal about my life as a photographer, mom, wife and friend. Stay a while and say hello!

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