The photos I don't post
My best work is of people I love. Most of it will never be on this site, and that's fine.
My best work is of people I love. Most of it will never be on this site, and that's fine.
If you scroll through the photographs on this site you'll see cats, bikes, bridges, the sea. What you won't see is what I actually shoot the most, which is people. Mostly family. Kids at family gatherings, couples on their big days, grandparents who don't want their photo taken and then ask for a copy.
Honestly, that's where my best work is. Portraits taught me more than anything else. Getting the eyes sharp when a one-year-old won't stop moving. Finding the one spot in a backyard where the light falls softly. Making someone who hates cameras laugh just long enough.
Because they're not really mine to show. Those moments belong to the people in them. A toddler can't agree to being on a stranger's screen. A family celebration isn't content. When I took those photos, nobody was thinking about a website. They trusted me with a camera at a private moment, and I'd like to keep that trust.
A photo can be your best work and still not be yours to share.
The photo at the top of this page is the closest I'll get. It's a silhouette of a kid watching the sun go down. You can't tell who it is. I like it partly for that reason. It could be anyone's kid on anyone's balcony. It feels more universal because it's anonymous.
Thinking about this actually made me a better photographer, I think. When you're not shooting for likes, you shoot for the people in front of you. You care if they love the photo, not if it does well online. Some of my favourite pictures have only been seen by about five people, and those five people have them printed on a wall.
That's a pretty good audience, if you ask me.
— Desly