A Little Touch of Magic...
- Michelle
- Apr 13, 2016
- 3 min read
It's been awhile since I've sat down to write anything; sometimes writing like this, to an audience outside of my family, is difficult for me. I don't necessarily struggle with coming up with topics I want to write about, instead, it's how to write in such a way that is true to myself. Problem is, my sister is a pretty witty writer and thus I must live up to that wittiness in my posts. Alas, I may be a bit of a goofball in person, but in writing...well, I don't hold a candle to my twin sister so I won't try. The truth is, I'm quite the nerd (or a dork as my husband so lovingly calls me). I love learning new things, which really, is a great for our clients as we're always pushing ourselves to be better, be current but not so trendy that you look back on your images and think, "what in the world was I thinking?!?" Now, does that mean that we won't take requests from our clients and fans? Absolutely not! Like I said, I love to learn and sometimes fresh ideas can help push you...teach you. This need to learn extends beyond what a client might see in person, but to new editing techniques, lighting, gear, etc.
Every session I try to go into it with something new I'd like to try and I walk away having grown as a photographer. Recently, we've had some amazing sessions that were not only fun, but different in their own ways. First, we had the cutest set of siblings in the studio as a payment for my portion of a product swap (remember the beautiful dresses from my "Photographers' Kids Are The Worst!" post?!?). This was the FIRST time we had ever done a product swap and to say I was hesitant and anxious was an understatement. When I received my and my daughter's custom matching dresses I had a sigh of relief as they were PERFECT. But the anxiety then spiked...would I live up to the high bar that had been set in how beautiful these gowns were in what I could produce for this vendor?!? See, no matter how long you've been in the industry, I think that if a photographer says that they don't have just the slightest twinge of anxiety is lying. We're artists and we put a lot of self worth in how others receive our art.
Then, I met the vendor's (Markoos Modern Design...go look them up...amazing!) children and they were just the sweetest set of kiddos. So patient, followed direction, a true dream to photograph. And then the art flowed:
And it gets even better when the not even one year-old poses for you:
I came away with resolve to work on building new and reinforcing current relationships with other vendors. Be it props, wedding industry or art products, relationships in this industry is a must and I MUST get past my hesitation with other amazing vendors (I get shy when meeting others I look up to...surprising isn't it?!?).
Most recently, I had a lovely first birthday photo shoot/cake smash with some dear friends. Again, anxiety... The day, while surprisingly warm for March, was not the most ideal. First, re ran into a tree FULL of bees. Seriously...you could hear the buzzing from 50 yards away. But, we kept mutual distance and managed some great images:
Then, after the cake smash and the kiddo was simply DONE with being photographed (I think mom was done too) but mom had her heart set on having her baby boy in the "UP" inspired basket with lots of balloons and I could see there was disappointment in her eyes. But, I thought, what a great time to break in my new editing tablet (yup, nerding out here) and create something for her:
This is why we tell our clients to not get discouraged if the conditions aren't perfect or their kiddos aren't either (who is and seriously...my kids are the WORST)...we can add a bit of magic to an already magical moment.
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