I never knew how they really worked until I was a senior in high school, and even then I thought it was a requirement to have them taken in a studio with props and backdrops. Nope. Definitely not the case! I learned this when I saw some of my friends' photos that were outside and just damn beautiful. Nothing compares to natural lighting.
Over the past few years, I've done many photo shoots, and only one of them has been indoors. Other than professional softboxes and ramps in a photo studio, I have an extremely hard time feeling good about photos I take indoors. Natural lighting amazes me every time I do a professional shoot outside.
I mentioned the mass amounts of anxiety that was consuming me the other night in anticipation for today's shoot, and waking up this morning it was still slightly present. Confession: I have a crippling fear of disappointing people I care about. The woman for whom I was doing photos of her daughter for has been my friend for about six years now. I've worked with her and gotten to know her and I've seen her go through ups and downs; she's nothing short of fantastic. Even though she's not someone that I consider extremely close to me (of those there are truly just a handful), our friendship means a lot to me, and the last thing I wanted to do was charge someone for me to disappoint them.
Honestly, I don't charge nearly enough for the work I produce and the effort I put into it, but I have a different belief than most photographers when it comes to shoots and the final product. Photography does not provide my living; I don't depend on gigs and shoots to pay my bills, but I pick up my camera because I enjoy it and there is something about composing a photo and capturing that specific moment in time that will never happen again that is intriguing to me. I also like making people feel wonderful about themselves, and sometimes (mostly for girls) a photo shoot complete with hair and make-up and favorite outfits do the trick. All the shoots I've done, especially senior portraits, I overshoot and choose the best ones after. I do put a cap on how many I'll make drastic edits to (sepia, black and white, etc), however, when I burn the disc, every photo I took (minus any with eyes shut or that are really just not great) goes on the disc. What am I going to do with them? The parents and the models all give me permission to use the photos on my site, and I obviously archive the files, so why not let them enjoy every piece of the day as well? So some of them won't be digitally mastered like the others, but as a parent, they're all going to be beautiful photos. That's their baby, and, chances are, there are some dorky bloopers from light testing that turn out to be adorable photos anyway.
Over lunch (at which I had the BEST beer of my life- regrettably since it's now giving me massive side pains) my friend told me about some other friends of hers that own a photography company, and offered to do the whole package for her - announcements, thank-you cards, invitations, etc. They asked her why she didn't choose them, and she enlightened them. I was the better option because she trusts me, she's comfortable with me, and there is a no-pressure open communication with me. If they had an idea they wanted to try, they both felt that they could tell me and ask me if we can do that, and likewise, there were a few times walking between locations that I'd see a spur of the moment shot, ask her to turn around and snap the shot. Those were some of the best. I was also the better option because she knows she can always come back to me and ask me if I'd design announcements or invitations or send photos out to be professionally printed, and she didn't have to make the decisions on the spot. I suppose this is an extremely terrible business model for me, but it's not a business, so it all works out. Plus, I'm getting referrals out of this and have another senior portrait shoot lined up for two years from now when her youngest graduates high school. SWEEEEEEET.
A few hundred bucks for a few hours of fun? Totally worth it. After writing that it sounds a little dirty, but I promise I'm talking about clean photo shoots, people!
Oh yeah, and happy Star Wars day! May the 4th be with you! (The Catholic school girl in me always wants to say "and also with you" like we did at Peace in Mass every single Friday. Ugh.)
I might post photos. I haven't quite decided yet. What I DO know is that I'm hopping into bed! I had a nice bubble bath with candles and wine, and now this girl needs some sleep! See y'all later!
xoxo
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