What is your inspiration for what you do?
My daughter, Sam was the inspiration behind my passion for Senior Portrait Photography. Years ago, when she was a Junior in high school, she decided I should take her senior photos. She knew I had a photography background and didn't feel comfortable with anyone else taking them. I was a little hesitant but agreed. I bought more equipment and learned as much as I could about senior portrait photography.
The Problem... Teenagers are procrastinators, sleep until noon and are very rarely at home. Trying to pin her down for a photo shoot was next to impossible!
Finally, one lazy Sunday morning. The sky was a little overcast and the light was just right. I said to her "Come on, get dressed we are taking some photo's because I at least need the practice." She whined, of course but got up and threw some clothes on, did absolutely nothing with her hair and had no make-up on. We were out for about an hour through the neighborhood laughing the entire time over the silliest things. We had a blast!
When we got home and looked at the photos, I was amazed when I saw how good a lot of them turned out even though we were just goofing around. I loved the natural expressions and cute poses. I suddenly began to bust up laughing because I realized her shirt was on inside/out the whole time and neither one of us noticed. We were both in tears laughing so hard. It was so perfect!
To this day, these are some of my favorite photos of her. Are they the best quality, best posing or best lighting? Nope! They were definitely more beautiful than I thought they would be but mostly I love them so much because we will have this experience to look back on forever.
I have definitely come A LONG way since that day and have learned so much. Every time I have a senior photo session or any session for that matter, I go back to that very first photo shoot with Sam. It inspires me and guides me through to create the best experience possible with tons of laughter. And rest assured, that shoot also taught me about details. No one will ever get a photo with their shirt inside/out...
