Pinterest and Amazon. They have revolutionized our world. Not only can we find the greatest ideas ever, we can get everything we need to make them happen in two days or less. 

But does that really mean we should?

One simple search of “Pinterest Fails” is certain to provide hours of entertainment. We have all laughed with sympathy at those who thought “Hey, I can do that, too!” only to see that they most certainly could not. Perhaps you have even had a hedgehog cake of your own in one way or another. We think we can, so we think we should.

This is no different with photography ideas we see on Pinterest. When we should trust our photographer’s creativity, we turn to the pins and Google images.We think we can, so we should..and that’s not always good.

Why might that not be good? There is is one main reason: We can’t fully recreate that scenario (setting, lighting, etc.). That was another photographer’s idea, so there is no guarantee that it will look exactly like it does online. Nothing is more disappointing than having that idea that is cute in theory, so we take time away from your session to make it happen, and it doesn’t look anything like we hoped. 

While ideas cannot be copyrighted, that does not mean that they are free for the taking. When anyone hires a photographer, it should be for their uniqueness and creativity, not just because they have a camera. You are paying boo koo bucks for them, so why do the work yourself? Why not let them do their thang for you? 

This doesn’t mean we can’t have any fun or do any experiments. For example, I had a couple with the cutest little nickname and had a really unique prop they wanted to work into their session. That was fun, as it allowed me to take their idea and combine it with my own method of artistic expression. It was fun for both them and me and left them with an image all their own. That photo is a secret until save the dates are mailed.

Moral of this blog post? Be inspired, but trust your photographer’s creativity., too. Let them be creative and unique. We want to go viral for wins, not our fails. 

Kayla Lee is a Minnesota-based wedding and elopement photographer. She provides services to elegant, authentic, sentimental couples who not only choose their own adventures, but also live them to the fullest!