Most Important Skill for Photographers: Adaptability
Featuring Our V'Day Giveaway Winners - The Graham Baileys
When Brogan and Lee said the best words to describe their relationship are: "Have you eaten?" we knew this was the winning comment for our Valentine's Day Giveaway.
True love is about caring for each other amidst the chaos or routine of daily life. Grand gestures are always welcome, but understanding the basic needs of each other can sometimes be the most beautiful thing. "Have you eaten?" can translate into:
I know you've had a tough day.
Did you have any time for yourself today?
You are just as important as everything else happening.
You did great, take a break!
I see all the effort you've put in today.
Feeling seen, heard and cared for are universal signs of love that come to surfaces with simple phrases such as "Have you eaten?" With three young children to look after, I can only imagine how valuable this phrase must be in The Graham Baileys' Home. One thing we know for sure is that Brogan and Lee are the coolest parents and their whole family radiates with fun and joy.
Just as partners learn to adapt to each other's needs, so do photographers in relationship with their subjects.
After announcing the couple they had won our V'Day Prize, they wanted to know if the kids could join the session - and of course we turned it into a family day! Although day might be a bit much, as our photoshoot only lasted about 30 minutes. This was significantly less time than what we had planned, but let me tell you why we decided to cut the session so quickly.
When we met in the parking lot of Bradgate Park, everyone was ready for a great time! E & P were especially excited about being the stars of the camera.
As we walked towards the hills, the wind was blowing quite strong. The clouds were also racing on the sky, making it challenging to shoot photos with the sun playing Marco-Polo every other minute.
We always aim to get a variety of static and dynamic shots and get the family interacting and having a laugh together. While Ioana was babysitting the children, we managed to get some images of the parents alone too.
When shooting family sessions especially, our mission in not to direct the next award winning composition, but to capture memories and tell the story of their relationship. And to do that, you need to be able to read people and reactions.
At the start of the session, everyone was hyped and energetic - so we encouraged them to play and move. As their energy started to fade away, we moved towards less demanding poses and decided to quickly end the session once the interest was gone (in the case of the children). Keeping it short and sweet leaves everyone with a happy experience that will make them cherish the final images even more. If we would have dragged the session even 10 minutes longer, it could have turned into a total fiasco.
All in all it was a very quick - get to the point kind of session as we understand kids can lose their patience quickly. We are in love with the images and consider it a huge success for a half an hour session. As the Graham Baileys walked away to go back to their car, we decided to explore the park a little longer, hoping to meet the resident deer. Weather was very moody and for the following hour we were hit by rain, hail, wind and sun shuffling at short intervals.
We were so happy we didn't make the family stay longer as everyone who have gotten soaked and it wasn't the kind of day when you enjoy dancing in the rain.
No matter what you plan for your next photoshoot, remember to always keep your eyes open to any signals you might receive from the people in front of your camera.