Liat Aharoni • Toronto Wedding Photographer

Every year, there seems to be a word that quietly finds me. At some point I just notice it’s been following me around, woven into the way I’ve been moving through the world. This year, that word has been restraint. I’m growing to really love it.

Restraint has looked like not posting here for two months in the middle of my busiest season because I didn’t have the capacity to turn my life and work into content while I was busy actually living it.

It’s looked like noticing the places where I’m used to pushing and asking myself whether anything actually needs to be pushed.

I used to think growth lived mostly in doing more, trying harder, stretching further. Lately I’m finding so much of it in knowing when to stop. Weirdly, restraint has made me feel more expansive (not less!).

I see restraint woven into my photography too. Knowing when to step in and when to stay where I am. When a little direction will help and when it will interrupt something that’s already happening. When to keep making photographs and when to lower my camera for a second and just witness.

There’s a lot of trust in restraint! Trust that I don’t always need to make something happen. Trust that there will be more work, more ideas, more photographs, more time. Trust that sometimes the most respectful thing I can do with a moment is give it room.

So I’ve been quiet here *and* life has been very full! I’ve been photographing so much, learning, travelling, being outside, spending time with people I love, and having a really wonderful summer.

I think restraint has given me more room to actually be inside my own life.

Here is some very non-professional content from a very full summer. Turns out, not everything needs to be optimized ✨