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Sometimes Photo{jenik}: Story Behind the Blog Name



Photogenic: adjective pho·to·ge·nic \ˌfō-tə-ˈje-nik, -ˈjē-\  forming an attractive subject for photography or having features that look well in a 
photograph

When you look on social media, what you are often greeted with are glossy pictures that teem of perfection and beauty. People don't usually post pictures unless they determine that they are photogenic, or worthy of being photographed. 

I, for one, don't consider myself to be particularly photogenic. I have a really hard time not making a funny face when a camera is in front of my face (see pictures above), and a lot of times pictures don't turn out the way I wish they would. I am only sometimes photogenic. 

I think that life is the same way. Social media is the highlight reel of all the photogenic moments of life, but what we don't see is the fight that happened before they took that smiling selfie, the 200 photos they took before posting that one perfect fashion pose, or the dirty kitchen that preceded the picture of that delicious casserole.  

Life really is only sometimes photogenic. Sometimes it's downright ugly and the farthest thing from picture perfect. But there is beauty to be found in all moments, photogenic or not. 

This online space was created to encourage, inspire, and create a community that is not perfect. I want everyone who visits this blog to see that life doesn't always have to be perfect to be good. I want everyone who visits to realize that my life is far from picture perfect, and be inspired to share the lesser photogenic moments of their lives. I want everyone that visits to be encouraged to embrace every moment of their lives whether or not those moments are photogenic. 

One of my favorite quotes says: "The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because compare our behind the scenes with everyone else's highlight reel". - Steven Furtick

The internet falsely promotes a life that is perfect and a beauty that is flawless. It's so easy to fall into the trap of insecurity just by scrolling through Instagram or Facebook. My hope is that when you come to Sometimes Photo{jenik} that you are left encouraged instead of insecure. So many bloggers that I've met are doing spectacular jobs of being real and sharing their less than photogenic moments. Their efforts are making the Internet a place that is more real and it's beautiful to see. 

Sometimes life is photogenic. Sometimes it's not. All of it is valued and worth our time. 

Oh, and one more thing. I spell "photogenic" differently because I married into the Jenik family (it's my last name). Therefore, I myself am Sometimes Photo{jenik}.

What's the story behind your blog name? Leave a link so I can read below? What's your sometimes photo{jenik} story? 

{Linking up with Kiki & The Circle Link-Up}

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18 comments :

  1. I love hearing the story behind blog names and yours is so good. I love how you tied your name into it and your positive attitude! I tied my name nora into Norbly and my new site will be my full name after I get married Nora Conrad - not a super fun story but I love having your name hidden in there :)

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  2. I so totally agree with you that social media is a highlight reel. If we all believed only what Facebook showed us of our friends, then we would probably start to get pretty depressed about our own lives! I try to be real and post the "outtakes", but I'm sure I'm guilty of taking several photos before getting the "right" one of myself! My blog is not fancy, nor does it have pretty, edited photos. I'm ok with that because in real life, I am totally a "what you see is what you get" kind of gal!

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  3. Amen to that! What you see is what you get is perfectly fine by me! I try to post real stuff too but I know I'm often guilty of posting my highlight real. It's hard to post real life sometimes!

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  4. hey I think having your full name is totally cool- I've considered it myself. It's straightforward and it's a blog about you so why not?? :)

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  5. I totally love the story behind your blog name, and I have a special place in my heart for all of the bloggers who bring a little bit of realness to the blogosphere. My blog is pretty much filled with grainy, poorly lit iPhone photos, and I frequently find myself apologizing for them. Then I think to myself, "Why do I even feel the need to apologize for these photos... what is there to be sorry for?! They don't need to be perfect!"


    I typically consider myself a pretty positive and optimistic person. My blog name, "Lemonade Linings", comes from two of my favorite proverbs about positivity. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" and "Every cloud has a silver lining". I mushed the two together, and got Lemonade Linings!


    xoxo
    Kat

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  6. Oh I absolutely love this! You are so right about life being made up of both kinds of moments, and that there's beauty in all the moments. I think it's easy to get caught up in and envious of others' seemingly perfect lives through social media, but you're right, there are so many unseen moments that balance everything out.

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  7. I totally agree- you don't need to apologize it's your space! And I think the first time I found your blog I found where you talk about how you named it and I LOVE the name! Seriously one of my favorites out in the blog world :) and I need to learn from your optimism haha :)

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  8. Yes there totally is a balance and I fully hope that we can all start being more real about that balance- myself included. Thanks for visiting! :)

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  9. So, so true--social media makes everything look polished and ideal, while I'm over here like...let's push 2 full laundry baskets out of the way so i can take this picture. Haha and I haven't written about my blog name--but now I'm inspired to! Also, I am ALL ABOUT funny faces in pictures. My husband and I were goofing off on a camping trip while we were still dating, and his brother took 1038 pictures of us looking ridiculous. My family put them on coasters as gifts at my bridal shower--so everyone knows our level of photogenicness/that we are RIDICULOUS ;)

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  10. I think I remember reading that somewhere on your blog that your family made those coasters... I think that is SO awesome and creative! And I'm glad I'm not the only one having to push last week's laundry out of the way to take the picture :p

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  11. So this makes me fall more in love with you AND your blog. Like times a MILLION.


    I love that you've created this blog from the standpoint that life isn't perfect and that life isn't meant to be perfect. As someone who's always struggled with perfectionism, it's hard for me to get over it. BUT, it's a truth that I need to remember and that's why I'm glad I have you to remind me of that truth!


    Thanks for linking up!

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  12. Okay, so after reading this, I decided I really like your blog name :) I didn't think I knew the whole story, but it totally makes sense and I think it's great. We do compare our lives to someone's highlight reel, and that isn't fair to anyone. Thanks for being so awesome and real... and for coming out of stalker hiding! ;)

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  13. "My hope is that when you come to Sometimes Photo{jenik} that you are left encouraged instead of insecure." YES! That is how I feel about my space as well. Wonderful words in this post. You are so spot on! And I love the creativity of the different spelling. I think you are living up to your intention for this space. :)

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  14. Your name is absolutely perfect, and all your reasons for picking that name are too! This story is the best. :) For awhile I was really determined not to post a photo of myself that wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be - but since I blog about exploring the outdoors, and many of my blog photos are taken underwater, I learned to let it go. Worrying about how I look in pictures is pretty much useless.

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  15. Perfectionism is hard for me too and it probably will always be a work in progress. Thank you for another great linkup!

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  16. Haha well I think all blog names are more meaningful when you know the story but maybe I should have mentioned that. I'm glad to be out of stalker hiding and be having real conversations with all I love you awesome people :)

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  17. Thanks so much Jess! It's always so good to find someone else that shares a similar hope for their space :)

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  18. Gosh I'm still reminding myself to let the perfectionism, especially in photos, go. Sometimes my husband gets frustrated with how many pictures he has to take of me and that's when I know I've gone too far. This letting go thing is a work in progress :)

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