Photography for the rest of us

Polly Wants a narcissist?  Wrote an interesting 2 part blog post on Narcissist and photography.

http://pollywantanarcissist.blogspot.com/2011/05/narcissists-obsession-with-photos.html

http://pollywantanarcissist.blogspot.com/2011/05/narcissists-and-their-obsession-with.html

PWC posted these at a time when I was hunkered down in survival mode and in no state to read something that landed on my favorite subject - photography.

Background:
In the last 5 years I have taken over 45,000 photographs which are carefully backed up in two places.  The first blog I ever started is my photography blog.  Photos Change my World http://ruthmower.blogspot.com/

In high school I used a little 110 camera and tried to get into photography when raising my kids.  It cost too much money and I didn't know that if you didn't develop the film soon after shooting it would fade away.  I lost over 5 years of photographs.  I used about one or two rolls per year.  Moved around a bit then applied for a job at the local university School of Art to care for their computers.  They hired me because I could work on both Mac and PC computers.  I also told them I had ZERO art experience.  They didn't think that was a problem until I was trying to help the first group of students.  They realized a clueless tech was not helpful.  So they sent me to Photography 101 as part of my job.  Yup, they paid me to sit in on my first photo class.  The first day of class the teacher explained to the 200+ students that Photography was science mixed with magic.  I fell in love from the first photogram.  My first photo critique I hid my pictures in the farthest corner of the viewing board.  Most of the students had art background plus many in my photo lab group took in in high school.  It was quickly obvious who the newbie was.

I didn't let other people opinions phase me too much because I found my first hobby and I was loving it.

My teenage children let me know in a hurry that just snapping away was NOT OK.
So I developed a few rules for myself.
I may take as many pictures as I want of plants, animals, and inanimate objects.
People I must ask permission first.  If I plan to post, publish, or add to museum shows any pictures with people I must get a signed model release, especially from family.
If I want to take pictures of a family event such as an Easter Egg hunt I check to see if there is anything they don't want me to take pictures of and plan for the event.
I accept that sometimes I need to put the camera down and participate.
One of the things I learned about myself is that when I get anxious I can pick up the camera and drop into another world that is relaxed and satisfying but it also tends to distance me from whoever I am with.  Sometimes I need to put the camera down and let the best shots be stored in my heart.
Be careful posting pictures of family on the internet.  Many, many people are good but unfortunately there are the few that spoil it for the rest of us.  If you do post pictures make sure your GPS positioning is turned off on your camera or you may inadvertently publish to the world exactly where you are located. 

My family is patiently training me to be a courteous and thoughtful photographer.  Being a photographer doesn't need to put you in the obnoxious world of paparazzi or narcissistic.  It does require thinking and planning ahead to make an enjoyable experience.  Some of the best photos of my nieces I ever did were when I let them say no first.  Later they changed their mind and we had a blast shooting some pictures that really captured their zest for life.  I appreciate my sister's timely reminder earlier that I was being inconsiderate not to ask.  Now I have many lovely pictures.  One of the funniest shoots I had was with my 2 year old grandson as he was playing.  I finally looked up from the camera to realize he was playing with my credit cards that had fallen out of my pocket.  I laughed and remember after that to make sure my wallet was securely in my pocket.