I have to admit, after so many weeks of quarantine, I really didn't know what was going to happen when I was finally able to start shooting again. A part of me was worried that people wouldn't want to come out for photos, either for health or financial reasons. I wondered if I would finally be allowed to photograph, and not have any clients booking TO photograph. I'm sure that I'm not the only business owner that was faced with this serious fear. What if the desire for photos just isn't there? What if the remnant fear of the virus still outweighs everything else? These were questions I asked myself, but only briefly. I felt very strongly that I had laid the foundation for growth during the quarantine, and I felt confident, somewhere deep within me, that everything I had done to prepare would pay off.
One sweet blessing I was ever so thankful for in the timing of the restrictions being eased up, was that it was happening right around Mother's day. I had been planning to do in studio Mommy & Me sessions this year, but with the rules, in studio was out for the time being. Fortunately, we were just in the midst of the beautiful Spring bloom! My first plan was to hold the sessions at a local orchard. Blooming fruit trees look divine and so heavenly! But in this roller coaster of life, the very first weekend things were opened up, we were met with some extremely cold and windy weather. Is it difficult trying to schedule multiple sessions last minute, and then have to re-schedule them on the fly? You bet it is. But ultimately, this mini session was about so much more than being able to photograph clients and get back to business.
I wanted the Mommy & Me sessions to be fun, joyful, filled with and showcasing the love a mother shares with her children. Mom's sacrifice SO MUCH for their children, and they have such a strong unconditional love for their children. That love is what I wanted to be seen in these portraits. Let's face it, usually, mom is the one behind the camera, and she NEVER has enough photos with her sweet little angels. I wanted to be able to give the mom's that come to me this precious gift, of genuinely happy, and loving photos of them with their children. To me, that simply wasn't going to happen when the temperatures were super cold and windy, taking us all to Winter like weather instead of Spring.
As much as it killed me to have to wait, I knew to give my clients the experience they deserved, we would have to figure it out together and make it work. The outdoor only restrictions led me to about a week long game of watching the weather and going back and forth with my clients to work out schedules. While the cold and wind took off most of the orchard flowers, I was able to get together with one of my clients in time to take advantage of the blooms. I think the kiddos were as happy as I was to be out, because I couldn't have asked for better behaved little ones!!! The remaining Mommy & Me sessions were relocated to the beautiful Keithan's Bluebird Gardens. The timing was absolutely perfect for this location!!! All the trees and bushes were in their full glorious color, and it made the whole thing so wonderfully special for the mom's and their kiddos who joined me. I was so thrilled, not only to be out photographing all these amazing people and capturing the natural beauty, but also with the outpouring of support from my clients. I felt so incredibly blessed to have so many new and old faces in front of my camera! It truly was everything I had hoped for and so much more.
Sessions like the Mommy & Me minis are exactly why I love this "job" so much. They are so full of joy, love, and genuine, raw emotion. I could do these everyday and not get tired of them. I poured so much energy and joy into each and every session to make it the absolute best, and somehow, I found at the end of each one I felt more invigorated and refreshed than when I started. I was coming home bouncing off the walls in excitement, feeling so completely fulfilled and blessed. Maybe it was because I had waited so long to photograph people, maybe it was because each and every one of my beautiful momma's were so incredibly sweet, tender, and kind, maybe it was because the kiddos were all so willing to have their photo taken with the mom they adored, maybe it was because of all the fabulous landscapes. I think it was a combination of everything.
This is what kept me going all through quarantine. Knowing that sessions just like these were waiting on the other side of all the uncertainty. This is why I pushed myself so hard to educate, practice, and prepare while I couldn't photograph people. And the reward is seeing all the smiling faces and hearing the sweet laughter of some of the kindest, most wonderful people I get to know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to all the momma's who took time out of their busy schedule to get their kiddos and themselves all dressed up and come out to make some memories with me. You are all amazing, and you are the reason I keep doing what I do, and can do it with a smile.
