OK... Now that it's finished, I have to admit, I was sooooo nervous about this "Session"!
Shhh... honestly, I get nervous before every session!
(Yes, even awesome repeat clients like Miss C -
whose 6 Month portraits you will get a sneak peek at in a few days, by the way!)
But this was no ordinary session... I had committed to photograph over 50 kids in 1 day! Was I CraZy?? I was the sick-to-my-stomach, couldn't-eat-dinner-or-breakfast, almost literally shaking all over kind of nervous!! I had no idea how we were going to pull this off, but their amazing Super-Director (& my sweet friend), Julie Reynolds, kept assuring me it would work out fine. And then, my incredible sister, Alex Knight offered to come long to help! Suddenly, I thought, maybe we CAN do this!!
Guess what?...
It was soooooooo much FUN!!!
I could not believe how well it went! Julie had each kid & class scheduled, and Alex was there to think (and almost breathe!) for me! So I just got to play with some really Cool Kids & go crazy shooting! IT WAS AWESOME!!!
We took a group of about 4-5 kids and brought them out to the front of the school where we had a bench set up with Spring flowers and took some shots there while we told jokes and talked about the kids' favorite toys, movies, or shows. Then we photographed them in front of the columns, (or trees later on - the sun got too bright in front of the school!) THEN, we went to the playground!! And I just followed them with my camera as they'd yell "Look at me!" and "Take a picture of me!!"
We took a group of about 4-5 kids and brought them out to the front of the school where we had a bench set up with Spring flowers and took some shots there while we told jokes and talked about the kids' favorite toys, movies, or shows. Then we photographed them in front of the columns, (or trees later on - the sun got too bright in front of the school!) THEN, we went to the playground!! And I just followed them with my camera as they'd yell "Look at me!" and "Take a picture of me!!"
Overall, it was such a great experience! And I learned so much from this as my first "school portraits" shoot. As nervous as I was, I'm glad I went through with it. It was the best-learn-as-you go experience ever. My wonderful photography mentor & friend Joy Wilson told me that the best way to learn photography was just to shoot, shoot, shoot, as much as you can. That's why I accepted the job. Never learn if you never try, right? Yep, Joy was right, again! (as with everything she's taught me about photography ;) Did I make some mistakes? Yep. And those families are being compensated. But did I get it right, some, too? I think so. This adorable family was happy with their proofs.... take a look:
So I guess the moral of this story is to Go For It! Whatever your dream, aspiration or goals, just GO FOR IT! You'll never succeed f you never try. And failing is part of the learning process. (I'm toying with the idea of posting some of my "fails". Because I learn SO much more from those than I do the "right" ones. Let me know what you think...) But if I had let fear hold me back (because when she first asked me, I really did tell her "I have to think about it!" and I almost told her I just could not do it.) But then I would have missed out on meeting these 3 A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E BOYS! and all the rest of the precious kids at DECS Childcare!!! And I would still be without all the amazing stuff I learned while on the shoot that no text book or lecture could ever have taught me. I'm grateful my husband encouraged me to do it, and I'm grateful for Julie taking a chance on me and allowing me to do it.
Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our Picture Day! There may be more to come... (depending on parents' ok) Till then...
GO CHASE YOUR DREAMS.... and remember to FOCUS ON MOMENTS during the ride!
