Some weeks I scour through the images I’ve uploaded to my computer looking for something that represents what I’ve been up to, or that sparks some creative impulse in me. Sometimes there is a wealth of material to choose from.

And sometimes? Not so much.  I’m always struggling with that elusive balance of shooting what makes me happy when I make the time for it, or just barely getting by producing work for clients.  Or being a good mother or tackling the dust bunnies and toppling piles of laundry in my house.

Yet I was unexpectedly charmed last week to find these images of some location scouting I did for a recent portrait shoot. My 12 year old daughter often accompanies me so she can be my model but that day she was sick, so I brought Saige along.

She wasn’t always cooperative, but she tried her best.

By the end of the day, she was a little the worse for wear and my daughter indignantly had to do some recovery on her hair and the odd scuff mark where I may have dropped her once.  Or twice.

Aside from the whimsy of location scouting with my daughter’s doll, I love that no matter how much or how little time I have, there is always an opportunity for me to learn. To look at light and location and how different something looks in the background when you have a closer focal point. To realize that even though the time of day and the light may not be optimum, you’ve done your homework and found some options so that if Plan A doesn’t work out on shoot day, you can regroup and try Plan B (and maybe Plan C).  I even wrote down some camera settings so that I wouldn’t be caught fumbling in the moment.

Time well spent, and fun to boot.

cheers,
kim

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