Some of my time in the winter is spent dreaming things up – often
thematic sessions that I would love to do out in the snow. Of course,
few of them are realistic, due to the cold temperatures, but I have
ideas. Being new to the Midwest (and apparently to winter) I
have been surprised to see just how much the weather can make us want to
stay indoors and not to go shooting sessions outside. Living in
Portland there were always rainy days that created challenges, but it
wasn’t so biting cold this time of year.

We have had several big snows already this winter (I know. I know. Relative term, but to me they
were decent sized snow accumulations.) and every single time I felt a
tension in myself as I was waiting for there to be a moment when I could
convince my little girl to go and play in the snow with me (and my
camera with its giant lens attached!). She loves to play in the snow,
but I have had my fill already of photos of her all bundled up like
little Randy from the Christmas Story (Ralphie’s brother). I wanted
photos of her. Of her beauty. Her spirit. Well…. it finally happened.

Now, I will go ahead and give full disclosure here. This session was about 5 minutes long. It consisted of her and me running all over the place. Some
parts of it were me chasing her like a crazy woman and her getting away
from me. The point of that is that she had tons of fun. She thought we
were doing a “Red Riding Hood Super Girl” session.
After taking the
photos we ran back to the warm car and I bundled her in her coat and a
blanket, wondering if I was a crazy mom for letting my kid run around
without a real coat on in the cold snowy weather.

You’re thinking that I
perfectly executed the shot I had been dreaming of, right?
Heck no, I
didn’t. 
What’s funny is that the shots I love the most are
completely not what I wanted. Her making “wings” with her cape turned
out to be the most beautiful image. As a friend pointed out, she looks
like a snow angel Red Riding Hood. I actually remember wondering what in
the world she was doing because I wanted her to keep the cape close to
her for warmth. It didn’t matter what I wanted, but what I got was
priceless. I got her.

I guess this is a good lesson for me (and maybe for us all) in planning out a session.

It helps to have a plan and a willing participant. It helps immensely
to have fun with your “subject.” And in the end, you have to embrace
what is happening in front of your lens. Whatever plays out naturally is
very likely going to exemplify the spirit of your subject(s) much more
than whatever contrived scenario you imagined. My daughter kindly
reminds me of this point all the time. If I just want a cool set up with
a smiling kid (fake cheesy smile, mind you) she can be coerced to do
that any time. If what I want though is a beautiful image that captures
something of her. I have to let her (or any subject) show me that.