Sometimes you have a plan and it goes right out the window!
Something I've learned taking photos of families with younger children is that you have to go with the flow, this applies to both shot lists and location! Taking family photos can be so much fun and I love all the families I've had the privilege of capturing, but it hasn't always gone according to plan.
When you show up and your center piece has moved.
Taking a minute to internally freak out and then coming up with a new plan is key...
Going with the flow...
When you've been planning a shoot for weeks or months and you've got your location picked out, a list of shots you want ready to go and a loose plan in your brain, you think everything is perfect and ready to go.... but then you get to the location and there's a curveball.... whether it be the parking lot is closed, there's an event happening, rain decides to show up etc etc..
In this case, the plan involved a lot of being on the lifeguard tower using the ramp and using it as a background piece. When we arrived at the location, the tower had been moved from by the shoreline with the pier perfectly in the background, to as close to the parking lot as you could get without being in the actual lot. Not only that, the ramp had been removed so you could no longer get on to the tower.
Let me tell you I had a mini heart attack. Thank goodness I had my assistant and sanity keeper with me so we were able re-strategize the shoot. Something I've learned over the years is that you have to not be completely set on one specific plan, because often times children have their own plan in mind and you have to be able to go with the flow. This is also one of the main reasons you get to the locations early, before your families. It took us a few minutes but we decided to re-arrange our plan and it ended up being one of my favorite shoots this year.
Improv is the name of the game...
Sometimes things can get stressful but they key is not letting your families know that you're stressed and something isn't or hasn't gone according to whatever plan you had in your head. Going with the flow is a very important part of capturing families and being overly prepared for any situation is never a bad thing! Always be prepared and able to think on your feet.
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