This past Sunday I received a phone call just as my husband, my boys and I were pulling out of the driveway to meet my brother in-law and father-in law for our annual trip to the Houston Boat Show. Poor mama was crushed. Her family had scheduled a photo session for her as a Christmas present. They had young kids ready to go and had family members in from out of town, but when it came time for the shoot, the photographer did not show up. Oh man, I understand the difficulty of coordinating schedules of several families. It is ESPECIALLY difficult with small children AND then you add to that having family come in from out of town. Sheesh!
When I heard the bind this family was in, my heart sank. The timing of the call could not have been better though. Since we had not yet left the neighborhood, I was able to run back to the house and plug in my camera battery…hmm may be time for me to suck it up and spend $50 on a backup battery. Looking at these photos makes me even more happy that we were able to make this shoot happen. This family has small children and kids change so quickly that waiting a few months to reschedule meant that they would have missed out on documenting the preciousness of a two year old, four year old, and fourteen year old.
Oh how I am a sucker for a two year old! Some photographers run from the challenge, but not me! A photo shoot just isn’t quite as fun without a little action packed bribery! I had a blast chasing this little guy down and bribing him with a quick airplane flight in order to get him back with the family for the group shot. And a little turn and jump to get a smile out of a kid….no problem! I am over the moon thrilled we made this shoot happen! Two is oh so special! It’s the time where you get to still see a little bit of little baby while at the same time get to see the big boy face that is coming. When kiddos hit three, the baby face is just barely still in there and four, bye bye baby face hello big kid face.
Oh four! (OK, so I am sucker for all kids! This would be why I want family photography to be the area in which I specialize.) Four, of four! The innocence you hold! It’s magical! Kids are just beginning to understand the world around them. They are becoming more independent, but still adore their mommy and daddy. This sweet four year old girl filled my heart with happy as I watched her interact with her mommy. Nose kisses and mommy/ daughter secrets. The twinkly eyes and giants smiles that are evidence of the love these kids have for their mommies gets me every time!
Fourteen, let’s talk about fourteen. This pretty lady was as sweet as could be, followed every direction and was incredibly patient, but let’s face it, after a while all the posing isn’t so fun. A little game of serious face cured that. The super serious, you’re crazy lady face that I got from this sweet girl still makes me laugh! How lucky we were to photograph fourteen! She too will look much different in the blink of an eye. Fourteen is like two. You still see a little bit of the young girl while getting a little glimpse of full fledged teenager! The thought of my boys at fourteen tugs on my heart! I feel like I’ll be pleading, please stay a little while longer sweet young boy!
Ok so no more flashing forward 9 years! Back to this sweet family. Man, was this photographer’s loss my gain! This family was so great to work with! They were sweet, interesting and fun! Don’t even get me started on their beautiful property where we shot! Bayou, fields, trees! Yes, please! A photographer’s playground. Not too shabby for a 13 year old helper either! He thought this session was EXTRA fun because we got to ride through mud on a supped up golf cart!
I do have to admit though, even though this family was incredibly kind from the start, I, from the start, was INCREDIBLY nervous! I like to scope out locations before hand and and know as much information as possible about a client before I show up. I had no idea where I was going, no idea what the light would be like and didn’t even know the ages of whom I was shooting. Oh and we had about 30 minutes less than I would have liked. Add to that the fact that I was told the fee of the no show-tographer. EEK! Nearly double what I charge! You should have felt my hand as I pulled into the driveway! I was practically shaking!
These pictures may or may not be at Mr. No Show’s level, but I am extremely excited about how this session turned out! These photos look great for someone who was a mess on the inside. It really is good feeling to know that I am trucking along nicely on my mastery of photographic concepts like light, depth of field, skin tones, and posing. YAY for my business plan of babysteps and slow progress! I’ve come a long way since last January and am so excited for what 2016 holds!
Now, check out this photogenic family! I love all these photos, but some make my all-time favorite list!
