Recently I have been going through some files of previous clients, and realized how lucky I was to have made so many great friends through my work. I really wanted to reward those people who had been with me through thick and thin, to say thanks for everything they had done for us. I decided it could be a good idea to do some free holiday mini-sessions for people who had booked with me in the past. I chose the perfect location at Sweet P Farms, made sure the set was looking beautiful, and found myself the perfect Christmas tree to feature in the background.
Everything was going well! Until the wind picked up and the tree I had thought was perfect for the shoot toppled over. I quickly hauled it upright again, but the wind can be surprisingly persistent and it wasn’t long before the tree was once again no longer in the picture. It was time to jerry rig a solution! Normally this wouldn’t be a problem as I usually have some tent pegs in my car, but of course this would be the one day they aren’t there. I did have an assortment of other objects I could repurpose to tame the elements however. Rummaging through my trunk I found a bungee cord which I tied to a quarter inch impact wrench but the tree was still too heavy. I knew I had to up the ante, and reached next for a scissor jack. But the wind proved too strong for them both, and I realized I’d have to change strategies. Eventually I stuck a knife in the ground and tied the bungee to it. That did the trick. I turned my attention back to taking pictures with a newfound confidence having bested the troublesome tree. Turns out this confidence was a little misplaced though, because the wind soon changed and it was a matter of seconds until the tree was once again horizontal.
When I wasn’t busy wrangling trees, I actually got some really good pictures of my clients. It’s really important to me that I provide my clients with a great experience, and that they don’t just walk away from our sessions together with only the pictures. I love nothing more than giving my clients a great time. It’s really easy to lose sight of what’s important in life, and even if it’s just an extra 15-20 minutes of family time I love to make sure my clients are having fun on set with one another. It’s so important to have those moments together for sharing a laugh, a smile, or dodging a falling Christmas tree (just kidding). If there’s one thing I wanted the families to walk away from those mini sessions with, it’s to make sure you take all the moments you can to have fun together. And also to keep tent pegs in your car!
