I had a senior session last week. She was so pleasant to be around.  I love shooting seniors...with a camera.  I have to add that in, my friend (who is also a photographer), pointed that out. Who knows, the FBI might be monitoring.  So far my senior sessions have been fun and pretty stress free. They are older and take direction well. Also in this day and age, most like getting their picture taken. Hence, all the selfies and duck faces we have on the internet.

I always get nervous before a client shoot. Always.  The butterflies usually start fluttering about an hour before the session.  I start to worry that I will blow the whole shoot. That the sun will be too harsh and I won't compensate well. Or I will miss my focus more than not, or that my direction in posing will not be flattering to the subject.

Sometimes during the shoot I'll get in to a groove and my stomach will settle, and sometimes it doesn't.  My biggest concern is I want my clients to fall in love with what I produce. I want them to feel that I was worth every darn penny. I don't just want satisfaction. I want full on amazement and ooos and aaaahhhs.  I want them to come back.

I have a session coming up this weekend that I'm already nervous about. It's a family session. These make me the most nervous as the posing gets a little more complicated. You have more bodies to turn and position, more faces to light up, and more personalities to learn in such a short time. The personality of a subject can be the hardest to capture, and one of the most important part of the finished product.  Capturing or failing to capture this part of the photo, I believe, will either keep or lose a returning client. It is that important.

This is a tough field. Anyone can buy a camera and take a decent picture. Cameras are more affordable and the information is out there. Cell phones are getting better and better. So I have to offer an experience and expertise. Having a nice camera and few lenses in my bag doesn't make me a professional photographer.  Those things do not make my photos great even though the right tools makes things so much easier.  I do believe God has given me vision and talent, but to keep that I have to stay educated, I have to keep learning, and never stop. I have to connect with people. I need to capture who my clients are not just what they look like.

I do have to say, though, that I hope the nervousness I get before a session doesn't go away. The moment that happens is the moment I need to step back and reevaluate my work. If I don't get a little nervous I need to do an ego check, because if not, that is the day I will fail, and who want's that?