[talk: The Perfect Image]

I enter the I Heart Faces contest almost every Monday ... and every week my images get critiqued - which I love.  Sometimes I get a "high-five" ... sometimes I don't get anything *grin*.  But that's the thing about photography ... it's all opinion, no?

The truth is, is that not every image "speaks" to someone.  Everyone has different tastes - and when venturing out into the photography world as a career, it's tricky to figure out who you are as apposed to what everyone else is doing.  What others want, as apposed to what you're able to offer.

I tell clients that I am a candid-style photographer.  Posed, staged, propped images aren't my thing.  Don't get me wrong - I ADMIRE those kinds of images, they are an art in themselves ... but they're not where my heart is.  I like capturing moments as they are, rather than creating a moment to be "perfect".

Some may like this approach, some may not. *smile*  That's ok.  It's art ... it's subjective.

The I Heart Faces contest continues to be good for me, whether my image is chosen that week or not.  I will continue to learn and grow, and be somewhat competitive - 'cause that's who I am *grin*.

For the times that my image has been chosen, it's been fantastic.  For those times when my image gets passed up ... it kinda stinks *grin*.  But I'm continuing to know who I am as a person, as a photographer.  I'm continuing to love learning and gleaning off of others ... and   I continue to fall more in love with the process of it all - and I'm pretty proud of my work.

My little angel-face, Katia Rose.  No props.  No staging.  Or controlling the moment.

And I'm finding more and more, that for me - it makes a perfect image.