A VIP Client Event
What’s a gift that keeps on giving? Well, it’s not Uncle Eddie’s response to a one year subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club, “Clark: that’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.” But there is a gift that gains value as the time goes by, and becomes more treasured the longer you have it: family portraits.
In July, Anna-Catherine Lake, a real estate agent at Beran Group: Shaheen, Ruth, Martin & Fonville (SRMF) asked me if I would be willing to put together mini-sessions for a VIP Client Day in the fall. What a great idea! I wrote a winning proposal, visited their office by the Midlothian Trader Joe’s and we sat down to work out the details. The date was set for the afternoon of Saturday, October 14. We decided to do the mini-sessions outdoors at their office; October is a gorgeous month for outdoor photos.
It was going to be amazing! I was pumped! I was already picturing gorgeous family photos with soft autumn light and bold colors in the background.
Invitations went out, the date was inked on my calendar, and everything went as planned… until 10 days before the event. The weather forecast was grim. It never rains in October, except in 2023: it rained every weekend for 6 straight weeks. That really put a wrench in several of my shoots, this one being the biggest.
We kept holding out for a break in the weather, but every time I looked, it got worse. It wasn’t just going to be cloudy and cool. It was going to be a steady, drenching rain in the cold. It was so dismal, even our rainy-day plan to do the photos on a covered porch succumbed to soggy the admission that no one was taking pictures outside that day.
What to do?
I stopped by the office the week before to take a look inside their office, hoping we could move the shoot indoors. They had the space in a conference room to set up a backdrop, bring in lights, and all the necessary accessories to stage indoor studio mini-sessions. It was going to be a very different look than sessions done outside, but on the plus side: the lighting was flattering, the temperature was warm, and the smiles were genuine. It turned out every session was spot-on. In fact, they far exceeded my expectations!
Just about everyone braved the miserable weather to come to the SRMF office and brought their best smiles with them! We did the expected formal shots, but the smiles really came out when we had a chance to have some fun and throw in some silly shots—my personal favorites.
Hope you enjoy some of the shots from the SRME mini-sessions!
Each family got to choose 3 digital images from their own personal, online gallery. What a special gift! Wouldn’t you love to do this for your clients?