Cumming Family
Session
But First… Check the Dam Schedule
During a long day of location scouting, I found this spot that I LOVED by the Chattahoochee.
As always before using a new location, I checked it out beforehand (and at the right time of day) to be certain of how and where the light and shadows would fall.
What I neglected to check was the dam schedule.😳
This family originally came to me as a repeat family, because we had done several sessions in the past. As a group they are fun, funny, and they genuinely like each other, so they are a lot of fun to photograph.
We did our design consultation over the phone. (This is usually not my preference, but since I’ve been lucky enough to work with this family a few times before it was perfect.)
We talked through some of their likes and dislikes, what mom & dad wanted to get out of the session, and what they wanted to do with their images (a new wall canvas 🥰). And we were done!
Everything was smooth sailing on the day of the session. I arrived about 30 minutes early to do a last quick scout of site, make sure my planned spots weren’t overrun by people (luckily, since there were quite a few fishers that day!), and I set up lights and equipment. All was well.
A Missing Piece: The Dam Effect
But of course there is a “rest of the story”…. within a few minutes of this fun, gorgeous family arriving, the water began to rise, and quickly, into our shooting area. I turned around after our first location to pose the three boys on a giant rock, and it was GONE. Completely submerged. I’m not proud to admit it, but my first thought was, who moved my rock?!?
At one point my studio manager (shown here on the aforementioned dissappearing rock) was solely in charge of watching feet to make sure the water didn’t get close enough to get anyone’s shoes wet!
Luckily 10 years of experience can teach you a thing or two, (and having the right equipment doesn’t hurt) and I’d like to think I made Spencer Johnson proud.
I inched back from the rising water between each pose. I switched to wider angle lenses to compensate for the lost depth. And there *may* have been some crawling around in the joro-infested bushes to keep as much distance as possible bewteen me and the family. Because that’s how you get all the pretty, blurry bokeh in the background, and that’s just a must have for an outdoor family session!
If nothing else, I learned one more prep step… when you shoot near water, check the dam schedule!
Client thoughts
I always love getting client feedback on our sessions, but my favorite thing that these parents said was actually on the way out after our Ordering Appointment. After we had finished viewing their gallery, picking out their favorites, and deciding on a piece for their wall, Jen turned to me and said, “I really like how you do this, that was fun!” Be still my heart, mission accomplished!
So if the words “Ordering Appointment” give you visions of the worst of the worst used car sales stereotypes… think again! The purpose of the ordering appointment is to make selecting your images and artwork easy and enjoyable, and I’m happy when YOU’RE happy with what you’ve picked and what you’ve invested. Plus we have snacks 🙂
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