Photography is seriously the best. I love the art of photography, but I’ve also loved having to step out of my comfort zone and just be me with a group of people I may have never met before. I’ve enjoyed both challenges, but sometimes sessions don’t go as smoothly as I think they will.

Poster image for blog post about challenging moments in photography

My most challenging session was a family with young kids (which also happens to be my favorite type of session, ha!). Super cute family, but my camera had some bad effects on these kids. And apparently this happened on a regular basis. As soon as that camera was brought out, BOOM! One kid wouldn’t stop crying, and the other kid wouldn’t stop running around. If I wasn’t panicking on the inside it would’ve been funny. I might’ve even started playing peek-a-boo with my camera just to see what would happen. But since I knew they were counting on me to get some family photos for them, yeah I was panicking a little. And then I slowly started to see Mom and ESPECIALLY Dad get more and more tense, and more and more frustrated with their kids. I knew I had to stop things from going the way they were going and QUICK, or it would not be a fun experience for anyone.

So what did I do?

I might’ve been panicking slightly on the inside, but on the outside I remained cool and calm. I quickly reassured Mom and Dad that there kids were fine, and to not worry about them not wanting to sit still or smile. I told them we would just be playing with the kids, letting them go where they wanted to go, and I would just be snapping along to whatever they wanted to do. The end results were better than I could’ve hoped for! Mom and Dad relaxed, Dad started playing with and chasing the kids, and I was able to grab a couple of good group photos, as well as lots of different combinations. And while they weren’t my usual style, I was still able to get some good ones. Yeah! (I’m flexing my photography muscles right now, just thought you’d like to know.)

On a side note, I feel so flippin happy when I can tell a Dad does NOT want to be there to take pictures (hey, I totally understand) and by the end they’re happy and playing with their kids. Super satisfying.