Portrait Mode

I am always fascinated by the excellent cameras we have on our phones.
Professional photographers use cameras with various lenses.
However, the majority of us are able to take lovely pictures using our phones alone.
Our phone’s camera is ready and accessible at any time.

I remember when cameras were much different.
I remember the flash bulb of the cameras that were used when I was a little girl.
The flash was so bright, there would be spots in my eyes for a while after the picture was taken.
I can remember a distinct smell after the bulb flashed, before it was removed and discarded.

The 35 mm camera was popular and took great pictures.
There was no ability to see the pictures immediately.
Multiple rolls of film were purchased so that you always had extra film on hand.
Some sort of camera bag carried everything you needed.

The finished roll of film was carefully taken out of the camera.
It was placed in a plastic, cylindrical case.
The case was placed in an envelope.
After your information was written on the envelope, the film was sent to be developed.

It took about a week until you got your pictures back.
There was no way of knowing if any of your shots were even good.
It was so frustrating to get your pictures back, only to find that half of them were blurry.
There was no retake or editing of a shot; you were stuck with whatever pictures came out.

Around the time everyone was using a 35mm camera, Polaroid introduced a new camera.
Polaroid used a chemical process to develop the film inside the camera in less than a minute.
People got used to seeing their pictures quickly; photo labs lost business.
When Polaroid stopped making their famous instant film, they took those secrets with them.

In the 1970s and 1980s, point and shoot cameras were widely successful.
This camera made it easy for the amateur to take a good picture.
There was no need to adjust a lens.
The camera did all the work for you.

In the 1980s and 1990s, point and shoot cameras used digital media instead of film.
The picture could be seen instantaneously in the camera’s screen.
A person could see if they got the shot they wanted, right there and then.
Entering the digital age changed everything.

My youngest daughter is an excellent photographer.
I am astounded at the way she sees the world.
Her use of color and imagery is so lovely.
She can capture beauty in the simplest thing.

I am not a photographer.
I see the world around me in a unique way.
However, I am unable to capture what I see with a camera.
I am able to write about it and describe it vividly; but photography is not my gift.

My son and daughter-in-love take wonderful pictures of their little girl.
I notice that they often take the picture in portrait mode.
What I appreciate about the portrait mode is the perspective it gives.
The object is clearly shown in the foreground, while all around it, everything is blurry.

I thought about portrait mode when I was talking to someone at church.
I was always taught to look people in the eye when you speak to them.
Looking them in the eye is equally important as you listen to them as well.
There is nothing worse than talking to someone who is constantly looking around.

The speaker feels unimportant as if the listener wants to be anywhere else but there.
It is a skill to learn to listen well.
We must be intentional to block out all that is going on around us so we can concentrate.
Listening well takes discipline.

I realized, as I was talking to this person in the church foyer, that I was in portrait mode.
I was laser focused on her and what she had to say.
Everything around me was blurred in the background.
Nothing else demanded my attention; only the person with whom I was speaking.

Therefore consider carefully how you listen. (Luke 8:18)

Jesus spoke about listening quite often.
Listening cannot be done if we are looking around.
Listening is not productive if we are distracted.
Listening is not effective if everything else is more important than the speaker.

Go into portrait mode in order to listen well.
Let all that is around you fade away in the background.
Be laser focused on the person who is talking.
It is respectful to listen in such a way.

Do you ever see a young child talking to a distracted parent?
Mommy, listen, the child will say.
Often, they will take their little hands and grab their mother’s face.
They will turn her face towards them.

The portrait mode is imperative if we are to be good listeners.
In that moment, nothing else matters but the person who is in front of us.
Everything around us blurs.
We are able to listen well and the person knows they are being heard.

Helen H. Lemmel, the hymn writer, understood the portrait mode.
She knew that looking to Jesus is the most important thing.
When we truly look in His face, everything else pales in comparison.
It is a holy portrait mode moment that we must practice.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Listen well.
Get into portrait mode when someone is speaking to you.
In that moment, listening to them is the most important thing you can do.
Blur the background and open your eyes and ears.