10/09/2026
I'm learning that not everything has to be perfect to be beautiful. ❤️
I've been following another photographer for a while now, and something she says has really stuck with me.
She talks about how some people love her work and some don't. But at the end of the day, it's HER art. She's creating something SHE loves, and not everyone has to see it the same way she does.
And honestly, that has really started to change my mindset about my own photography.
I think sometimes, as photographers, we get so caught up in trying to post our BEST work that we forget to post our FAVORITE work.
Because believe me when I say, I am my own worst critic. I'm incredibly hard on myself. I will sit and pick apart the tiniest details in a photograph that most people probably wouldn't even notice.
Just yesterday, I messaged a client after seeing a photo she had posted. Something about it looked off to me, and I couldn't figure out if Facebook had changed the quality or if something had happened when it was sent. Because on my computer, it looked fine.
And her response?
She told me the photos were perfect and she loved them so much. ❤️
And there I was, focusing on something I thought was wrong, while she was looking at a memory she absolutely loved.
That really made me stop and think.
How many photos have I passed over because they weren't what I considered perfect? How many of my own favorites have I never shared because I was afraid someone else wouldn't see what I saw?
Take these photos, for example.
These are some of my favorites from this session.
Not because they're perfectly posed or because he's filling the entire frame. Actually, it's quite the opposite.
It's that BIG beautiful sky. The clouds. The wide-open field. That little moon just hanging up there while he's out doing something he loves.
Someone else might look at these photos and think I should've zoomed in closer or cropped out some of that empty space.
But to me, that space is part of the story.
I love how small he looks against that big sky. I love the simplicity of it all. And I especially love that the moon happened to be there at just the right moment.
It's those little things that catch MY eye. Things that maybe nobody else would even notice.
And I'm starting to realize that maybe that's what makes photography so special. We can all stand in the exact same place, looking at the exact same thing, and see something completely different.
That's ART. ❤️
I'm not saying I'm going to stop trying to improve or that the technical side of photography doesn't matter. Because I want to keep learning and growing every single day.
But I am going to try to stop being so hard on myself.
I'm going to start sharing more of the photos that I LOVE, even if they aren't what I consider 100% perfect.
Because at the end of the day, I didn't pick up a camera just to take perfect pictures.
I picked up a camera because I fell in love with capturing the world the way I see it.
And somewhere along the way, I think I forgot to give myself permission to simply enjoy that.
So here's to being a little less critical, a little more creative, and remembering that sometimes our favorite things aren't perfect at all.
Now I want to ask you something. When you look at these photos, what's the FIRST thing your eyes are drawn to? I'm genuinely curious to see if everyone notices something different!
C.Bennett Photography LLC
Stephanie Rhoton
