A Real Realtor | Atlanta Portrait Photographer
My latest session was with the gorgeous Melinda who is a fabulous realtor. She was referred to me by a mutual friend. It’s always a wonderful thing when you have friends who refer people to your business because they trust you and what they do. She had stated that when she put out the call on Facebook for a photographer, Mark (our friend) mentioned me. Because the recommendation came from him, she knew that my work was quality and chose not to investigate the others who were offered up. That is truly a blessing.
Our first contact was when we had our pre-session consultation via phone. Even though it was our first conversation, I felt like I already knew her. She has a very easy and friendly demeanor which I enjoyed. We talked business but also laughed quite a bit as we planned her session.
The session day came and I actually arrived about 30 minutes early. I believe her MUA had just finished up and she was pulling out right after I parked. Melinda greeted me with a beautiful smile and welcomed me into her home. Initially, we were going to go to a friend of her’s home because she loved the stairs that lead up to her double doors. After we talked about it and I mentioned how beautiful her home was, we decided we would do all of the photography at her home. It was a good thing because she wasn’t really feeling the drive there.
I must say, it was rather cold and breezy that day, so I tried to be quick about it. I really hate for my clients to be uncomfortable and of course I don’t like being uncomfortable either. Here is one of the images that I captured outside in front of her garage. We ended up there because the light there was a lot prettier than the light in front of her home. Yeah, photography stuff.
It was a partly sunny day which was not really conducive to what I was trying to do. The sun was peaking out and causing harsh shadows and blown out highlights. So moving her to the garage was a good option. An even better option was when I moved her to her front stoop.
This is one of my absolute favorites from the session. Doesn’t she look like she has something good in store for you? Like, a fantastic new home? Once we finished outside, we moved into the much warmer house. She changed her outfit and we were off to the next set of images. I think I’ve told you before that I photograph via inspiration. Of course, the consultation provides me with the direction of the session but it’s my clients’ energy and personality, along with the environment that inspire me as well. When I walked through her kitchen, I knew I wanted a shot of her at the counter. Her 17-year-old son helped her with this particular outfit and I thought it was adorable. It showed her personality and was quite stylish.
By the way, her jeans were some serious flare-legged pants. I did make sure that she does actually work at the counter because I wanted the images to be authentic. I also captured images of her in her office which was actually a challenge because of her bookcase with the reflective windows. Trying to photograph someone in front of a reflective service without your lighting or yourself showing up in that service. Even though I’m not sharing that image, just know that I was able to achieve my goal. If I can get it right in camera and not have to do extra in Photoshop, I will definitely do that. By the way, you’ll notice she is smiling while she’s working. Want to know why? Because that’s what she’s like when she’s typing up a contract. Who doesn’t smile when they’ve successfully closed a deal?
While in her office, she had these two blue chairs that I absolutely loved. I knew that I had to capture her sitting in one of them and I knew exactly how I wanted her to sit. Because I wanted to move the chair from her office, Melinda had her husband and son move a cabinet from an area so that we could photograph there. Here is what I envisioned that came to fruition.
Such a beautiful shot if I may say so myself. We finished out the session with her headshots. We had such a great time. We talked and laughed the entire session which is actually the norm. My goal is to not only create beautiful images but for it to be a totally enjoyable experience. All work doesn’t have to be stuffy.
“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” ~ Anne Sweeny
