Moment. A word I often see thrown around—especially in the wedding field. And quite honestly, I’m sick of it being falsely advertised.

In my view, a moment can be described as a period of time that cannot be replicated or reproduced.

If you Google “define moment,” the top two definitions appear.

The first: a very brief period of time.

This is slightly similar to my definition, but it lacks the idea of replication or reproduction.

The second: formally used to mean importance.

Although each definition is used in different contexts, I believe the word importance should be included in the first—along with a bit of my own wording: a very important, brief period of time that cannot be replicated.

For a moment to have importance, it must be irreplaceable. If a moment can be replicated by an outward entity, it immediately loses its significance.

Far too often, I’ve seen photographers and filmmakers say things like: “Aw man, that was so sweet—can we do that again so I can capture it?” or “One more time so I can get it on the film camera.” Not only does this strip the moment of its meaning, but it also steals time from what actually matters most—the intimate time between the bride and groom.

For us, as “creatives,” to constantly fake moments is to rob ourselves of the very title we claim. It would benefit everyone involved to adopt a falling-forward mentality and never backtrack. If a shot is out of focus, don’t ask to redo it (unless the couple asks). Instead, embrace the mistake, move on to the next moment, and learn from it. If you see a couple sharing a sweet moment with their parents and your battery dies, for crying out loud, do not ask them to hold their moment while your unprepared self runs back to your overpriced camera bag. (Yes, I’ve seen this happen.)

By the way, this is not referring to posing couples. By all means, sometimes you have to guide them—asking them to stand a certain way or to kiss a few times. But take this to heart: spending too much time on one pose is a death sentence. I’m simply referring to the exploitation of backtracking to a moment you weren’t prepared to capture properly.

It’s our job to be alert—to be ready for anything. That’s a lot of pressure, honestly. Sometimes we miss, and that’s okay. Truly, if we captured everything, it would get boring. Embrace the misses and run with the authentic moments you do capture.

I captured this shot of Mike & Sarina while second shooting for Austin Chick. I love this picture, because at least for me it’s a moment that tells a story, no caption needed. How horrible of me would it have been to ask Mike to climb over this wall over and over again to get the right hand positions. Sure, I wish my depth of field wasn’t this shallow, but you still get the picture. Onto the next!