Apparently, my dear husband has been “promoting” my business across the country (at least the along the east coast). For example…meet Lily. Lily is an aspiring actress. Lily and my husband work for the same company. Last weekend, she and her husband drove down from Washington, D.C. so that I could take some fresh head shots for her portfolio. Washington D.C. is roughly a four to five hour drive away from us, so while I was certainly flattered to take her business…I have to admit, I was also a bit nervous that I would royally screw something up.

I think these nerves are nervous for any professional in their field…whether it be photography, acting, public speaking, etc. These nerves always seems to go away as soon as I take the first photo, but they were definitely there.

Granted…I had beautiful morning light, a gorgeous model and my husband to help take the edge off.  Actually, my husband became a huge help to me last weekend.

For one, he’s the social butterfly between the two of us, which means he can become a comedian on demand. Trust me…this definitely comes in handy.

Often portrait sessions can start out a bit awkward…especially if you’ve never photographed the person standing in front of you. Funny husbands can break the ice and loosen a smile. 

My husband is also an incredible tour guide. I often allow my clients to choose our shooting location in the event that they have something specific in mind. In cases where your client is from out of town, that doesn’t exactly work.

So, I mentioned to my husband that I wanted a combination of urban and open spaces. He knew right where to take us. For example, I am loving the photos we took on N.C. State’s campus…specifically the “free expression tunnel.”

Of course he also wanted to go to the “homeless park.” I felt a little awkward about shooting in someone’s home (so to speak), so I suggested that we go to the capital instead.

Although Sunday morning was relatively quiet in downtown Raleigh, we did manage to run into a segway tour. By this point in our shoot, Lily handled the attention like a pro…she completely rocked the camera!

Wait…did I mention that he was also willing to hold my reflector (I don’t know why I haven’t used that before)? Super helpful! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed today’s preview. To Lily – thank you so much for making the trip to North Carolina. We’ll have to come to you next time. And for anyone else that is interested in coming to see me for a portrait session, just let me know. Happy Friday!