Not Perfect, But Real

Have you ever taken multiple photos of the same thing then looked afterwards and picked the ‘best’ one? Or otherwise sought to refine or perfect an image by cropping, filtering or editing before sharing it with others.

Last year, my daughter needed to take a disposable camera away with her for her school trip.  It reminded me of when I used to use a disposable camera to take photos when I was younger, before camera phones became a thing.  Back when the first photos you took were the ones you were stuck with. 

I recall the look on my daughter’s face when I explained that she would need to wait two weeks for her photos to be developed.  And the excitement that came with finally receiving the pack of photos and wondering how they had turned out.

I was struck by how often the best photos are the imperfect ones.  The ones where someone has one eye shut, is looking the other way while talking to the person next to them or isn’t standing how they ‘should’ be – these photos tell a story.  The photo was a way of capturing a real moment in time.

So, what happens when we edit our images?  Might we be losing something of the realness that we sought to capture in the first place? 

And what if, like with our photos, we begin to edit ourselves?  Showing only the polished parts of ourselves, the highlights and editing out the moments of uncertainty, self-doubt, sadness, struggle or imperfection.

In my experience, the moments we remember are rarely the polished ones.  They’re the unscripted conversations, the imperfect photographs, the genuine expressions, and the times when someone allows themselves to be seen as they are.

Perhaps in our efforts to appear perfect, we risk editing out the very things that make us who we are.

And if we don’t reveal who we truly are, the unedited version of ourselves, how can we ever really be known?