I have a confession. I let one of my best friends drown. Drown in a sea of pictures. The very images I created for her and her family.
The backstory: My dear friend is kind, generous, and quite photogenic. She also enjoys a good photo shoot. Perfect when her photographer friend (me) wants to create new portfolio pictures. We have had an on-going trade in modeling-for-pictures.
Here’s the problem. She now has years and years of pictures. They are pretty good too (had to add). But she is overwhelmed.
This feeling paralyzed her. What should she do with them all? Where should she start? From the beginning of her relationship with her husband? With their first portraits as a blended family? When her first child was the born? Her second? The struggle is real.
Once she finally picks a timeline, then what? Should she make albums? What about decorating her new home? Which image is the right one for that wall? Wait, that photo disc doesn’t work in her new tablet. How will she view all those files? Eek!
This is my fault. I was a “shoot & burn” photographer for a long time. There isn’t anything wrong with that. Loads of digital files seemed like a great idea. However, I had contributed to my friend’s photo paralysis. It was time to make a change.
Luckily, I had all her past sessions backed up on multiple hard drives. First, I loaded all her images up to the cloud, organized into folders. The photo folders were labeled, first by year and then by subject.
Second, we divided and conquered. We worked together to assess her current needs. What was most important and most timely? She decided representing each child and her immediate family together were her priorities. We also identified the spaces screaming for artwork.
Finally, we made a plan. Since they recently became a family of six, we scheduled a new family portrait session. Next, we measured the empty walls and used templates to help her visualize what scale artwork she preferred. I wrote down all the measurements and corresponding pictures/sessions to best fit those spaces. This will help us remember our decisions as we slowly implement her plan.
I’m thrilled to report we have already had success! After guiding her to the best size and product option to fit a prominent wall near her family room, we selected a favorite wedding image. We placed her order and she was holding a gorgeous canvas within a week. Her new artwork compliments her home beautifully!
I’m so excited to help her complete her vision in the next few months. She will finally be able to enjoy and share all those memories with her family and friends.
This is the reason why I offer personal consultations and amazing products to all my clients. No one is going under on my watch again.