I Didn’t Think You Were Listening

Tilly

Photographer

Thoughts from your, Seattle Family Photographer

Part of my job as a Seattle Family Photographer is to listen. I need to listen to the needs of the client to determine if I can meet their photographic needs. Once we meet, I listen to their likes and dislikes and try to pick up on the nuances of their personality and relationship dynamics so those can be portrayed in their images. I listen in order to provide services and to make my clients happy. I believe they’re worthy of my time, and I hope that they value mine as well. I hope they listen to my advice in the preparation of our time together so that their shoot goes as smoothly as possible.

To be honest, our world hinges on listening. Any relationship- business, parent, friend, significant other- is forged or broken based on our ability to hear and be heard. There are consequences to not listening, not hearing what others have to say to us. There are additional consequences when we fail to recognize that others are listening.

My friend loves to channel a Mad TV skit. It’s a playful way she expresses her frustrations, and it’s pretty funny. She laughs, and whoever she’s talking to laughs with her. Laughter is the best medicine, right? One day, her four- year-old repeated one of the phrases. It was one of those things that are hysterical when an adult repeats it but could get a kid kicked out of preschool. She didn’t think he was listening to her phone conversations. But he was, and now, there’s a phrase taken out of context that would send other mothers screaming to the hills if her child repeated it to another kid.

I didn’t think you were listening.

We work so hard to listen, to be good listeners that we forget those around us may be listening when we least suspect it. Whether it’s a stranger overhearing how we speak to the store clerk, or our child memorizing our phone conversations, someone is always going to be influenced by our words. So let’s work to choose them wisely. Damned if you do, damned if don’t.

Parenting is hard.

Please enjoy this sweet in-home family photography session. This family was so much fun and a blessing to have had the opportunity to photograph