A few months after separating from my ex husband during the summer of 2012 I realized that I had *lots* of pictures of my (at the time 8 year old) daughter, but only had a few (selfie style) pictures of us together, and next to none of myself. Our family was changing and I wanted some good, professional, family pictures to go with our new beginning.
It took me about a year to really get things in motion, but once I did I considered, and rejected several different possible options before deciding I wanted Chris to be our photographer. Some places I considered and immediately rejected. No matter what I may have thought of the quality of their work, they were just plain out of my price range. Of course we could easily have gone to the closest Walmart and had decent pictures taken, but that wasn't what I was wanted. I didn't want to go sit in a studio and get the same set of pictures, in the same poses that millions of other families had done before. No two families are the same, we all have our individual parts that make us whole. I chose Chris because I wanted a photographer that wouldn't just recognize the uniqueness that made up our family dynamic, I wanted a photographer that was going to reflect that recognition in the pictures he took.
Chris and I met to talk about what I wanted out of our pictures before we even talked about setting up a day, time and location for our photo session . He showed me some samples of his past work (his portfolio), sought my input on what I wanted to use the pictures for, whether I had any specific ideas for where I wanted them taken, or even any specific requests for poses or other things I might want included. I don't know whether it made things easier, or harder, but I basically told him that all I really wanted was to make sure that any retouching done to our pictures was minimal, that we were as natural as possible, and that I wanted good shots of us together, and separate, but mostly together. Outside of that, I didn't have anything else in mind. :-)
The day of our session arrived and my daughter and I met Chris at the location he and I had agreed on in our meeting. It was August in ABQ, so it wasn't exactly cool outside, but the spot he picked had both plenty of shade, and enough sunlight to make for a nice setting for the pictures, but not so much as to make it uncomfortable for us to be outside. My daughter had just turned 9 a couple of months before, and in typical only child fashion, was already convinced she knew everything there was to know about taking pictures, including how to pose. For me this meant that every time I (or, it anyone else it seemed), tried to take her picture, she trotted out the pose and (what I saw as) her plastic smile, and, no matter what I said, or did, nothing swayed her from that idea. I don't remember now if I mentioned it to Chris in our initial meeting, but when she started to bring them out that day he both played to, and countered the ideas that had taught her that she was supposed to pose in that particular fashion. He put her, and me, at ease right away and his relaxed, easy style helped keep us relaxed and our smiles fresh throughout our shoot.
Once our session was over Chris promised to have my photos ready within a few days to a week, and we parted ways. I don't remember now what the exact turn around time was, but I do know it was within the promised time, and maybe even sooner. When he gave me my pictures he made me promise to let him know if there was anything I didn't like or wanted him to change, but when I looked at them, I can honestly say I had zero complaints. Our finished product was nothing short of amazing. The pictures of my daughter were spot on, and the photos of us together made me so happy I could almost cry. I even liked the pictures of myself, and that almost never happens, so if the rest of you are anything like me I'm guessing you can relate.
Chris is an incredible photographer, I was lucky to be able to take advantage of his skill, as the price he charged me is far lower than one would expect to have to pay for the quality photos we received. Plus, as a bonus, besides being a genius with the camera, he's also a genuinely nice guy. In fact, as I sit here writing this I think about how much our family has changed since the last time he took pictures for us, and I think I've decided it's time to do it again.
Hopefully this review will help him connect with other families who can also benefit from his ability to see their own unique dynamic through his lens, translating that into pictures they can appreciate and cherish for the rest of their lives. read more