Couple’s Shoot with Kayla and Kyle
Alright, I gotta set the background for this story… it was the end of April, 2020. By this point, we were not about a month in to the Covid shutdown and I was trying to keep my brand new photography business afloat with new content and money coming in. I had sent out a deal on social media offering couple sessions at a discounted rate, and got some responses! One of them being Kayla and Kyle. They were recently married and wanted some pictures for their home. We set the date for early May.
This is a shoot I was really excited about. It was going to be at the property of a family friend that had a pond and a path through the woods. The day came, and it was unusually hot and sunny for spring time in Oregon. Now, I knew that clouds were usually best for outdoor photos, but I looked forward to some nice warm, spring-time photos.
My vision of how the pictures would turn out quickly shattered once we started the session—the sun was too harsh on my client’s faces and it made their skin tone all off, and they were often squinting due to the brightness. Even in the shade the sun shining through the trees created weird shadows across their faces. Though the location was great, the weather conditions were less than ideal. Not only that, but my frustration with the shadows and harsh sunlight combined with the heat was really getting to me, and I found it really hard to concentrate on being creative and having fun interacting with my clients.
Not trying to be a negative Nelly over here but these were the realities of this session, and I had to find a way to make it work in the moment…
We were nearing the end of the session, and I realized that we hadn’t gotten any pictures of them in the canoe yet! We really saved the best for last, because these pictures turned out far better than the rest! It really saved the session, I think. Kayla and Kyle looked like a dream out there on the water with Kayla in her white sundress, and Kyle holding the paddles. The sun didn’t look as harsh on the water, and we got some great shots in!
Moral of the story: don’t let anything get in the way of your creativity! There were multiple times during this session where I wanted to throw in the towel and reschedule the session. I’m so glad that I didn’t, though. Creativity doesn’t always come easily, and I’m glad I kept fighting through the frustration to get the inspiration I was looking for. Also, Don’t be afraid to be creative out fo fear that it won’t work out the way you want it to. The truth is, sometimes it doesn’t. But, sometimes it’ll be better than you imagined it would.
