The phrase “I am waiting for the right moment” can be heard coming out of anyone’s mouth, a photographer awaiting the ideal shot, a 16-year-old boy gathering up the courage to ask out the cute girl in his math class, or a doctor stalling to tell his patient the bad news. But what exactly constitutes as the “right moment?” and how do we know when we get there?
We often only use this phrase to describe the pinnacle of events in our lives. Whether depressing, happy, or exciting this phrase is unanimously utilized to describe our desire for the perfect slice of time when we can do or say what it is that is worth the delay. The etymology of “moment” is “a brief portion of time, an instant.” But with 24 hours in a day and an unknown but limited amount of days on this earth how can you decipher when that perfect brief portion of time is the “right” one? Is it when you finally gather enough courage to say or do what you are waiting to do? Is it when you no longer have any option anymore? Or is there never truly a right moment?
As a photographer, I am constantly striving to obtain the perfect image. In order to do that I need to wait for the perfect moment, a moment when my camera settings are perfectly formatted to fit my lighting, a moment when my model or subject is positioned correctly, a moment when mother nature is corresponding, and a multitude of other requirements, and once all of that aligns then I can take the first shot; I only have a brief moment of time when all of this aligns however, and after that period is over the whole process needs to start over again as things have changed. When I go back through my images later on in the day I have found that I am normally amazed by how many of the “perfectly shot” images I do not like. I am frequently drawn towards the frames that were taken by accident or in the moments before or directly after the so-called “perfect moment” I was waiting on to capture the image.
Through my love of photography I have found that for me personally, there is not such a thing as the “right moment;” or if there is it often is not when I originally deemed it to be. I spend so much time trying to make everything so perfect that its almost as if the perfectness of it is what turns me off of it. In fact, all of my award winning pieces have been “mistakes” or images that were all shot without intention.
There are certain instances in life when we believe we need to wait for the right moment in order to achieve something. But what exactly is a “right moment,” and how do we know once we have gotten there? I have never understood this commonly used phrase and my life experiences have sufficiently proven it to be insignificant to me personally. The “right moment” to me may not be the “right moment” to someone else, and no matter how long I will wait for it I will always find a way to convince myself that it still has not come yet.
This phrase, the “right moment” is one of personal discretion and one that is constantly changing. So, with that being said, I am a non-believer in such a thing as the “right moment.” Take a chance, a leap of faith, and take that shot when you don’t believe you’re prepared to; you might find that the outcome is even more than you could have imagined when dreaming of the “right moment.” Instead, take a chance on the wrong moment and bask in its never-ending glory of life lessons and surprises.
