Everyone has a story – Shaun Scade, Photographer
Portrait tips, Professional photography March 21st, 2010
This article was written by Shaun Scade, Scade Photography and reprinted here with his permission.
Everyone has a story. This is mine.
This past weekend we were at the Exposure Photography Symposium. We met a lot of great photographers and great people. The speakers were informative and more so inspiring. We loved getting to know everyone and hearing their stories. It inspired me to tell mine so that it can be told, and as a cathartic exercise.
Why do we as photographers take pictures? Every one of us has a different story. A different catalyst that got us to where we are now. Due to recent events in my life, I feel compelled to tell my story. This story has 2 parts. The first part is about what got me here. The second is about why it matters.
As you likely know, Scade Photography is a family run Business. When I was a wee one, my dad started taking pictures of me because he wasn’t happy with the photos of us he purchased. So like many of the new photographers today, he began taking photos of his children, got good, and was asked to take pictures of others. That is the simple synopsis. The full story will be saved for another time. And I suppose one could say my story is similar, but it just started a little earlier. I shot my first roll of film when I was 2-3 years old of my little sister as a baby. My dad still has these images somewhere. They aren’t great or artistic or even in focus really. But it was a start.
As a kid, I loved photography. I remember asking dad to load film into my camera for me. I remember him teaching me how to use the internal metering system in the minolta SLR camera. I took photos of people, of toys, of pretty much anything around me. I once went to the 7-11 down the street, bought those cool styrofoam planes with propellers you put together, and then flew them and took pictures of them in the air. I took 3 rolls that afternoon. I was hooked. I took a camera with me all the time. I wanted to be like my Dad, and I loved everything about it. Taking the pictures, changing film, sending them away and the excitement of opening up a new pack of 4×6 prints and seeing what worked out. I used to watch the film processing machines at the grocery store spit out other people’s photos. I used to watch my Dad’s lighting videos, read his training books. I understood “the zone system” when I was 8 years old. I went to Quebec when I was 11 with school and I took 11 rolls of film in 5 days.
I am impressed that I at least knew how to hold a camera stably at this age.
But then for some reason, it became less important. I still took photos. But it wasn’t something I had to do. I didn’t want to be a photographer like my dad. I didn’t know what I wanted to be. Photography was something my dad did, and I didn’t. At least from when I was 14-23. I played sports and I had my computer. I went to University. I got a degree in Health, fitness, and well-being. I worked at a physiotherapy clinic, I worked at schools, I worked at a music store, I worked with underprivileged children, I worked with adults with developmental disabilities. All of this made me who I am now, but I was unhappy. I was in a relationship and it was falling apart. I sought new ways to express myself. To find myself. I ended up finding something I used to love. Photography. I asked my dad to borrow an old camera of his and I went crazy. It was like I was a kid again. I took a 12 hour course at metro college on how to use the camera, I read books, and I explored whatever resource I could.
This past weekend new friend mentioned to me that many photographer’s get into photography at a time when they are unhappy. They hypothesized that it could be that we are looking for the beauty in things. That the reason it affects us so much is that we are creating happiness and beauty from things that we see everyday. It allows us to focus on the good things around us, and not what is bringing us down.
My Dad was impressed with what he saw. He asked me to come along with him on a wedding. It was fantastic. I took roll after roll, and there were some pretty decent shots. I did whatever I could to learn and get better. I went to my first WPPI convention in Las Vegas, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities. I ignored Vegas and soaked in everything photography related I could. I joined the Professional photographers of Canada. I attended seminars, and I experimented. It got to the point where I couldn’t do anything other than photography and got really stressed with my other job. After a doctor ordered stress leave, I made the decision to pursue my career.
I Jumped. I committed. I worked with another photographer that had a huge influence on me, and with my Dad. Eventually I got too busy and my Dad and I began working together full-time. It became a family business. Dad the main photographer, I was his assistant and the computer guy, and my Mom running the office and business aspects. Throughout the past 5 years, my role increased and we have had several photographers work with us as well. In 2008 I went to 2 workshops (Red Leaf Studios and Jesh de Rox) that changed the way I think about photography, and life. They changed my perspective, which in turn changed my life.
Last September I got engaged to Stephanie, and we are to be married this Summer. The same weekend we got engaged, Steph took the plunge and made the decision to leave school and become a photographer. As with me, her passion for photography overwhelmed the rest of her life. We then had my mom doing accounting, bookkeeping, and office management. Dad, Steph and I as full-time photographers, my sister Kristina, and our good friend Jeff as part-time photographers. A family business.
In November something tragic happened that rocked our little family business. My Mother Bev passed away suddenly at the age of 55.
The Olympics are a great excuse to watch TV. It only happens once every couple years, it’s on all day, and it makes for great watching. So this year I found myself watching the great Olympic coverage over on CTV and very often found myself looking at our family portrait above the television.
This particular print is large, a good 4 feet wide, so it’s noticeable, but suits the wall size perfectly. It’s also about 12 years old. So I am around 20 in the image. As a family we have had several family photos done since this one. But it is the dominant family photo in the house because it has a significance. The image was photographed by Jigger Schmidt. To most people that name doesn’t mean much, but to many photographers he was one of Canada’s best portrait artists. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly after this image was taken. He was an important influence on my father, and a lot of of other great photographers in our community. Our family photo is a reflection of us, but it is also a reflection of Jigger.
Recently this image has meant a lot more to me. In November my beloved mother Bev passed away suddenly. It wasn’t expected. It wasn’t prepared for. We didn’t get a chance to take another family photo. We didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.
This image has been above the television in their house (our workplace) for approximately 12 years now. 6 months ago it was a family portrait. A reminder of what we looked like a decade ago. Now it is a treasured memory of a family. I look up, and I see my Mom looking happy and beautiful. I see all of us together. I will admit it makes me sad. But it also makes me really happy. My Mom, like many women, didn’t like getting her picture taken. Considering she lived in a family full of photographers there really aren’t too many photos of her (especially in the last few years). She would always cover up, or make a goofy face thinking that it would deter us from taking photos.
After she passed, we gathered up the best photos of her throughout her life and put them into a collection to show everyone. Seeing her grow up and become the amazing person that she was had an incredible effect on me. It made me realize the role we as photographers play in a family’s life. We chronicle moments. We capture instances in people’s lives that reflect that time in their life. But more than that, we help families remember.
I vividly remember my vacation with my mom to China. But looking through the images of our time there, I more than just remember it. I feel it. It brings me back to those moments. I feel the excitement of being in a foreign land. An image of my mom eating deep-fried bugs is entertaining to those that weren’t there. It tells a story. It shows how brave she was. But to me, i feel her laughter and the palpable trepidation she had felt just before. Without this image, I would remember it. But I wouldn’t get that emotional charge from merely remembering it. I wouldn’t remember the pride I had for my Mom to be trying something so out of character.
It’s why we cry when we see pictures. Why we cry during movies that remind us. Or when we hear stories. It isn’t the memory. It’s the emotion’s attached to the memory and the imagery somehow pulls these emotions out from deep within us. Unfortunately, photos of my Mom and I alone are somewhat rare. And this image of the 2 of us on the great wall is something that will be treasured forever. Seeing it I remember her awe, and know the wonder we both felt, and the power of being in such an historic location.
Shaun and his mom Bev in China
I now realize how important photography is in people’s lives. How important my job is. I am not just taking pretty pictures. Not just making people look good. It may seem like that due to the immediacy of the photos. But down the road sometime, these photos are going to mean a lot more. We have people tell us all the time that they love their wedding photography. That they go through their album over and over and over, and it makes them feel what they felt on their wedding day. Imagine what they are going to feel ten years from now. Or 25 years from now when there first child gets married. That album is worth more than the paper it is printed on. Those images of your first newborn child, bring you back the excitement you felt, and the fear. You can almost feel the fragility of the 6 pounds in your arms.
Stephanie and I are getting married this year. It is going to be a fantastic and wonderful day. Though the absence of my Mom, and my 2 grandparents that have passed in the recent years will be tough. I miss my Mom every single day. I am constantly reminded of her laughter, her smile, and her compassion. I know that with time, the hurt will subside slowly. But I know that I need that hurt. That I need that happiness that comes with the hurt. My life has been filled with amazing moments. Moments of happiness, pure joy, and discovery. But there have been many tragedies in my life as well. And it’s this tragic moments that have led to some of the biggest discoveries and changes in my life. At my Mom’s funeral my good friend Jesh (of the the aforementioned life changing workshops) told me that there are moments in everyone’s life that will be trying. But it is what you take from these experiences that will make the difference. To experience the full gamut of emotions. To completely embrace the pain. To use it to strengthen myself and to use it to step forward. This event, as heartbreaking as it is, will make me a stronger person. A better photographer. A better friend. A better brother. A better son. A better husband. A better Dad. Better. And as much as I wish that this is the last of these events to happen, I know that life is full of them. I will not let them destroy me. But I will never forget them.
As a family we have become stronger. We are missing one of the most important physical elements of what made us a family. But we will always be a family. A family that will continue to grow and support itself. A family that grows stronger as a single entity. Grows closer and tighter with every collective experience.
As a person we are the sum of our experiences. A combination of everything we have ever seen, or felt, or done. A collection of every person we have ever met.
As a photographer we are our perspective.
Every photographer has a unique way of seeing things that is based on who they are, everything they have experienced, and everyone they have ever met. That is why our photography will always be changing. Because we as people are always evolving and growing.
I encourage you to commit to photography. Whether you are a photographer or not.
Hire a professional photographer for the big events and the important milestones. But also take pictures of the everyday things. Carry a camera. It doesn’t have to be a great camera. My iPhone camera has become more important to me than I could have imagined because it means I always have a camera with me.
A self-portrait of us. This image wouldn’t exist if we didn’t have an iPhone on us.
Record the mundane moments. Capture everything. We have no excuse anymore for not having photos of our lives. Cameras are embedded in everything. So take pictures of your family, your friends, of things you love. And when someone wants to take your picture. Don’t shy away. Be proud of who you are. Embrace who you are. Because you are loved. And those who love you want to have these moments. We all want to hear your story. We want to see and experience your story. We want to be a part of your story.
We all have a story. This is my story.
- Shaun
When I first read this story, I was literally moved to tears. Not only because I knew the people he spoke of that we’ve lost – Jigger Schmidt and Bev Scade – but for people in my own life that I’ve lost, including my own father. It made me sit back and think about what is truly important in life. It made me think of the family portrait I had taken 3 months before my father’s death 13 years ago. Like Shaun, I too put a higher value on that portrait after I’d lost him. It made me realize the value we, as photographers, play in capturing emotions, relationships, and important times in people’s lives – not just taking a picture of how people look. So, use this as your inspiration – as Shaun said whether you’re a photographer or not (and particularly as a photographer, we sometimes forget to photograph our own families) – take the time to book a special photography session for your family today. Contact Shaun, The Scades or any of our PPOC members today – we’re waiting for your call.
To contact Shaun and Scade Photography
Web site: www.scadephotography.com
Blog: www.thescades.com
Email: info@scadephotography.com
Phone: 780-455-1223
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March 22nd, 2010 at 12:41 am
Very interesting story, loved to know the very inner side of Shaun, not only a born photographer but also a very good ‘poet’.
August 29th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Shaun, you truly have the most amazing insight of anyone I know. Your words are a gift in themselves and you have reminded me that we too often get caught up in work to take time for our own families. I make this promise today that I will always have a camera on me and capture all the great moments in my life, not just the times we set aside for portraits. I often use the saying that the “shoe makers kids have not shoes”, as a lame excuse for why I do not have a recent portrait of my own family. Too often we get so busy making sure that all our clients have great portraits that we never seem to have time to do our own. I will have a portrait done of my family soon and make that appt. right away. I too lost someone very special to me about 6yrs ago, my dad at 54yrsof age, whom I miss still everyday. We do not have many images of him, as he was always behind the video camera capturing all of us. Funny how that is, that the importance of capturing moments is usually taken by the same person who never gets captured. I remind my clients all the time of this when choosing images from their baby’s session. They tend to want to close all the images with themselves, as we know we are all our own worst critics But I tell them that many years from now, when they are gone that their children will not care how your hair looked or that your teeth were not perfect, it is those images that they will cherish for life and by having a beautiful portrait of a mother and father adoring their new baby is a gift you can never replace, that will give them a sense they were loved and adored forever. I think sometimes we all need to be less self critical as all too often it prevents us from being “captured”. We should all leave a legacy of love to our families.
August 8th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Beautiful story, thank you so much for sharing.