Tale of a horrible glamour session ... that changed my life forever

I’m just going to say this from the start, I am not even going to try to get through this blog post without tears, and I’m going to warn you now about the length and that this is going to be a multi part post.

This week I have been reminded over and over and over again how blessed I am to have such amazing women in my life.  Women that love, encourage and support me in all that I do, and who point me to Christ daily.  As I have begun to passionately pursue glamour and boudoir photography again this week, one particular client has been on my heart and mind every step.  This week has been hard because my dear sweet friend who helped me begin this journey is not physically here anymore, but the impact she made on my heart, my spiritual life, and my business over the last three years has forever changed who I am.

I set out on a journey 3 years ago to begin shooting women.  It was purely a business move at that point.  The market was saturated with family and children’s photographers and I wanted to be different.  I had absolutely no idea what the Lord had in store for me.  I posted a status on Facebook and asked for models, having absolutely no idea what i was doing other than a few things i had learned at a Glamour workshop. My Hair and makeup skills were next to NONE.  My Backdrops were crappy and falling apart, and my photography could still use a lot of work, but I thought this is the way to go and I’m going to start a new trend and make lots of money… What i didn’t realize was the Lord was going to bless me, not with a booming glamour business, but with one amazing client.  God had a plan that I had no clue of the extent of, and how he was going to use me to bless the lives of so many through this one woman.
I got a response back on my post where a friend of mine had tagged this girl and said that she might be interested. A few hours later i got a message, the name Heather Cole sounded familiar but i had no idea who she was, but I could tell from her picture she sent me that she would be perfect for what I was looking for.

I knew that she had just gotten engaged and I could tell by her smile that she had an amazing personality, and so when i messaged her back i threw in a quick line about have you had your engagement pictures done?  To be quite honest I was thinking about building clients and thinking about booking sessions and weddings, but Oh did God have so much more in store for me.
Heather showed up at my home studio the day of her session and i was an insecure wreck.  I had promised to do hair and makeup and create beautiful pictures of this girl, and she looked better with no makeup and in a white tank top than I did after a while of putting myself together.  I had looked through most of her pictures on facebook the night before and had talked myself into a frenzy that I would never be able to make her happy with what i would be able to do.  As she sat down in my studio for hair and makeup we began to talk.  Conversation flowed easily and naturally and standing behind her she couldn’t see that i was a nervous wreck curling her hair
 I kept walking around the front looking saying that just doesn’t look right, but she just kept talking… Next came makeup, the same thing happened i must have done her makeup for an hour and a half… I kept fixing and fixing and it’s a wonder she didn’t come out looking like a clown,  I kept praying God, please help me make this sweet girl not look less beautiful than she already is.    So in the almost 2 and a half hours it took me to do hair and makeup Heather and I had had an opportunity to have a conversation about nearly every topic in the book.  Its a good thing she was a talker… because if not I would have been in trouble, because i was so worried about her session.  I finally handed her the mirror and with a few stray straight pieces of hair dangling and more makeup than she had probably ever worn in her life she looked at me sweetly and said I LOVE IT …

That was just Heathers way… She never wanted to make anyone feel bad.  She always wanted to encourage those around her, and she never wanted anyone to frown.  We shot images inside and outside over the next hour and as she left i felt so insecure about the images I had gotten, My lighting had been off, my camera settings were messed up, I wasn’t seeing details in posing that I as a photographer should have fixed, and I was just sure that she was going to hate them.  After a few days of editing I finally sent the images to her and sat back and waited… first I gave her the wrong link… then I gave her the wrong password.  And I am thinking at this point this girl probably does not trust a word I say anymore when it comes to photography because i cant get anything right.

A few days later, I realized I could not keep up with all the shoots and weddings on my own and i needed a second shooter, and Heather was the first person to respond. We scheduled a meeting for a few days later over ice cream and after talking for a few hours I realized this lady was so much more than a pretty face.  She was an amazing woman and not only was she the Perfect client but she would make a phenomenal assistant and second shooter. At this point I was still thinking business, but I knew we would be fast friends too.
That summer Heather shot 4 weddings with me, and there is nothing better to build a friendship than shooting a wedding together.  She had an amazing eye for photography but she didn’t see her talent.  She loved capturing moments and emotion and her infectious spirit kept me going on those long wedding days.  The very first wedding we shot together I had been sick and very stressed.  I hadn’t eaten that morning, and had pushed myself way too hard in the hot sun, and all but passed out. Heather stepped right in, no insecurities, no questions, no complaints.  She handled that wedding party like a pro, but what amazed me that night was the texts she kept sending me to make sure i was okay until she knew i was home.
The next few months an amazing friendship was built.  She became one of my dearest friends.  She was an encourager, an amazing listener, and a shoulder to cry on.   She was the most thoughtful person I have ever met.  She taught me so much about myself, about dependence on the Lord, and about just living life with Joy.   I felt blessed to be apart of her life.  To meet the people she loved, and to learn so much from her every time we talked.
There was a theme though… Every time we talked she talked about this guy.  This guy who stole her heart and wouldn’t give it back  This guy who loved and protected her.  This guy who could look at her and her heart would melt.   This guy who encouraged her dreams, and cherished her heart.  Her eyes lit up every time she said his name, and I knew that was what true love was.  I thought if only I could capture that love, and God gave me the chance to do just that.  I walked with Heather through the wedding process, from going to scout out the venue, to watching her cry over cookies at her surprise bridal shower ( That’s a story for  another time  )…

That day, I met some other amazing people who would be apart of my life for years to come.   Over the next few weeks our friendship grew even stronger, and it was time to do bridal portraits… and love Heather to death, and she was one of the most organized people I ever met in my life, but sometimes…  Lets just say in the stress of getting everything together for her bridal portraits and having her hair and makeup done that she forgot to bring her wedding dress  …. So once we finally got to the farm, WITH THE DRESS  Heather proceeds to tell me she is going to put her wedding dress on in her car.  I am trying so hard not to laugh because this is not a small dress… but somehow she and Haley managed to get the dress on and Heather came out looking perfect, not one hair out of place  … That day was my dream bridal session, everything was just PERFECT… The colors in the sky, the farm ( which was a last minute change in plans), her sweet sister being apart of her session with her, and a stunning bride who was so in love and happier than anyone I had ever met.

  Heather usually trusted my judgement, not sure why, after that first session we had but there were a couple of moments she looked at me like i was insane during her session.  One was when there were ducks walking down the road … I think she thought they were going to get her, but she just turned and sweetly smiled, I told her i said you’ll want to remember the ducks one day.

Heather radiated beauty and Love …. that day …. well always… and she would be so upset to know that I was even calling all this attention to her  … that’s just who she was.   I knew her wedding day would be a day to never be forgotten.  And I felt so absolutely blessed to be apart of it.     A few days before the wedding we finally got around to doing engagement portraits.  I had met Justin a few times, but that day watching them interact, it was so glaringly obvious how much love they had for each other.  It was so much more than just high school sweet hearts.  They truly were best friends.  Most couples need coaching in engagement sessions, its not that they don’t love each other they just don’t know how to express it  in front of the camera.  That was not a problem with these two.  Their love was real, it was genuine, it was sweet, and they just naturally fell into the perfect posing.  That day i didn’t have to work as a photographer.  I got to capture LOVE!!!

Heather and Justin’s wedding day finally arrived  IT POURED!!!! I have never seen it rain so much on a brides wedding day in the entire time I had been shooting.  I knew Heather well enough to know she was stressed, from having to move the ceremony inside to worrying about how to get from point A to point  B in the rain, but she didn’t let it show.  It didn’t matter if it was raining… Her family and friends were there and she was marrying the Love of her life in front of them and God, and that was all that mattered.

IF this was the only impact Heather McCarson ever made on my life it was life changing …. but it wasn’t … read part 2 …. 5  life lessons i learned from a loving client ( to be posted tomorrow)