On November 24th I received a call from Stuart – he wanted to book a photo session for his family. Luckily I had an opening on the 1st of December and so we booked the date. Stuart’s wife, Kerri, has been in the studio in past having her girls, Brianna and Emma, photographed in the Kidz Portrait Club. Stu went on to say that he would have Kerri call me to discuss the background and look that she wanted. A few days later, I had a call from Kerri and she told me she wanted something on my dark background and wanted me to capture hugs, closeness, fun, laughter. And she went on to say that Stu just didn’t know how to smile for a photo! I assured her that the ‘S’ word is never used in my studio (smile) and I get my clients to react to things I say and do and consequently I always get natural expressions.
When working with young children, you have to work quickly, as their attention span is short. Emma started out very quiet (she’d fallen asleep on the car ride here) but it didn’t take long for to show me her true personality! Since we were only photographing the family and no other groupings, we could concentrate on getting a great image! The session took just 12 minutes!
After they left, I went through the files and picked my favorite 8 images and tweaked them to what my vision was. Kerri came by a few days later to view and place her order. I showed her my favorite image and then this is what she told me….
They had wanted a family portrait, but felt they couldn’t justify the price coming to my studio – so they booked an appointment at a mall studio in Winnipeg. She went on to say that the session at the mall was horrible, and they ended up not ordering any. While walking the malls, they discussed the disaster of the photos – she said she was mad and it was ‘not pleasant’! They didn’t speak the rest of the evening. She said that he left for work the next morning still mad! But then, she went on to say … he ends up doing something that just makes her melt! In her words… “Later on in the morning Stu sent me a text. ‘I have booked Marlene for next Tuesday – call Heather and tell her what you would like!” I was blown away and called Stu with tears/laughing and said ‘can’t I ever just be mad at you!”
She went on to say that … “The photo shoot with Marlene was amazing. Surpassed my expectations. My husband CAN smile and he looks good doing it! I look forward to seeing the portraits on our walls for many years! Marlene really captured the ‘moment’ for us! Thank you!”
No – Thank You, Kerri for giving me the chance to photograph your family. It’s because of people like you that I love my job!
I especially love this last little grouping. When I asked little Emma to give Daddy a kiss – she did it with her whole heart – and the next image is the image right after that! I love it!
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