I've always strongly believed that even the most technically perfect portrait photographer is USELESS if they don't connect with their clients. You can be the best there is at knowing the SCIENCE of photography, but if you can't get your clients to interact with you and feel happy and comfortable, you might as well throw your degree in the garbage - that is, if you intend to be a portrait photographer. If you only shoot landscape or inanimate objects, you're good. They don't have to interact with you at all. :-) (Perhaps that is bold to say, but keep in mind, that is just my opinion and this is my blog...so I am entitled to share it here. LOL!)
In most sincere humility, I feel that where I lack in technical expertise, I make up for a billion fold in connecting with my clients. We have FUN on our shoots. I am so pleased to have been referred to recently as "The photographer that makes family pictures a HAPPY memory!" Love that. Stealing that for my business logo for sure....fabulous! I am fast, I am fun and I get my clients to relax and interact with me, to create the best and most natural shots.
I am also not a big fan of "photoshopping" other than just color effects and brightening. I want my clients to LOOK LIKE WHO THEY REALLY ARE. Instead of photoshopping afterwards, I use lighting and angles to bring out the best in my clients......so that when they receive their photos, they see just how beautiful they are IN REAL LIFE...with little to no editing and "photoshopping." And so far, it's working. Every shoot with me ends on happy note...even from the perspective of the dads. And THAT, is quite a compliment. :-) Happy day!
I have always been a HUGE fan of Bill Engvall. One of my favorite comedy skits he does is about golf.....
"I love golf, until I get stuck with a "TV golfer," you know, the guy who just wants to help.you.out.....He knows all the golf lingo. You know..You hit your ball, he's like "there's a golf shot. That's a golf shot." Well of course it's a golf shot; I just hit a golf ball. You don't see Gretzky skating around going "there's a hockey shot, that's a hockey shot." So finally, on about the fifteenth tee, I hit the drive of my life. And any of you people who play golf, you know the drive I'm talking about. The minute you hit it, you just drop your club."
Well folks, if photography was GOLF, this shoot would have been the "drive of my life" - a moment when I would have simply DROPPED. MY. CLUB. And I have to say, I knew it would be, even in the process of the shoot. I could feel it.
Even though I am able to connect well on just about every single shoot I do, every now and again, there is a shoot that is MAGIC. What I mean is (and this may sound really funny), that there is complete CHEMISTRY between me and my clients. It's amazing. The chemistry is so awesome...I feel I am at my very best and my clients respond and interact to perfection. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. THIS was one of those shoots. It was MAGIC.
Because of the amazing connection this couple has WITH EACH OTHER and the chemistry they had with me, their photographer, they were so completely comfortable, that it was literally as if they were just there, being completely IN LOVE...and I was there, a bystander, fortunate enough to witness it and catch it all on "film." I can confidently say that this shoot, is my "Piece de Resistance."
What I love even more, is that this was the first time I had ever met this gorgeous couple...and yet, had you been there during this shoot, you would have thought that we had been friends for years. It's easy to have chemistry with friends and family that you know well. It's a little more difficult to have INSTANT chemistry with "strangers," though that is something that I am happy to say that I think I do very well. :-) This shoot was proof that there are simply some connections that happen instantly between people that don't require TIME and HISTORY together. What a BLAST this shoot was!!!
I love being able to capture moments like this for people. Oh how I LOVE my job!!! This couple was so in love that my own heart could feel it. It was intoxicating. SUCH a beautiful thing and very literally an HONOR for me to witness it. I am even a little emotional just remembering how awesome it felt to witness that. As you can see, as someone who has become known for her "kissing shots," it was NO PROBLEM getting this cute couple to share kisses. :-) Loved catching those tender moments for them.
We even managed to get some FISH KISSES! LOL! LOVE IT!
I also love noticing little things that they do often and trying to capture those on film as well. For example, I noticed that there was a certain laugh that this husband would have when he looked in his beautiful wife's eyes and he would bite his tongue while he laughed. Funny...love that! SO THRILLED when I was managed to catch one of those on camera, as you can see below! So fun!
Until this breathtaking Strasburg couple is able to look through all of the images from their shoot and choose the 10 images that THEY would like for me to edit, I thought it would be fun to choose a "few" of my favorites to edit and post as a little sneak peek for them. As you can see, a "few" very quickly became a "bazillion." I couldn't stop myself.... LOVE this shoot!!!
Many many thanks to Jill and Dave for giving me the amazing opportunity to be your photographer and capture some pretty amazing moments. It was such an honor to meet you both. You have such an amazing energy and spirit and being able to witness the love you share was such a blessing for me. I hope that you are as pleased with these proofs as I am. I will have a proofing CD ready for your within the next few days and will look forward to seeing what YOUR faves are! Sure love you both already!
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