Family photography at Perry's Paddock in Perth

The quote “Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation” by Zig Ziglar lives deep in my beliefs. This last-minute family photography session is a prime example of “opportunity.” The experience I have gained during my years in photography is the “preparation.” You can then tell me if you consider this story a “success”—I sure do.

How It Started

It was a late Friday evening when I got a notification that someone had just posted in one of several Perth Photographer groups on Facebook that I’m a member of. The potential client was looking for a family photography session with two dogs for the very next day.

I hesitated for a second as I knew I had an engagement party late on Saturday, but the prospect of a family photo shoot with dogs sounded like a fun adventure that I didn’t want to miss!

I reached out to my potential client, and after talking for a little while, I learned that earlier that day, their vet had said that one of their paw friends (Vinny) was in poor health due to old age and it was likely that he wouldn’t stay with them for much longer.

My heart sank after reading this and I found myself doubting whether I had what it takes to capture such a critical moment in a family’s life. I reflected and thought about why I do what I do. Why did I become a photographer? Quickly, I recalled one of my core reasons: to preserve family memories.

So I pushed forward with the conversation, and we agreed on the beautiful Perry’s Paddock as the chosen location for this family photography session.

On the Day of the Photoshoot

Saturday was beautiful, with nice warm weather, fresh autumn breeze, full batteries and clear memory cards on both of my cameras. Everyone was in good spirits—we had laughs and some tender moments with the doggos as we talked about life, family and four-legged family members. I loved every minute of our session.

The Delivery of Memories

A few days later I started the post-processing. I edited every single usable image one by one, customised the online gallery with highlights from the day, and then every other image in chronological order. I had such a fun time during the shoot that I was able to capture and deliver way more than the 25-image average agreed in this contract.

Even as an experienced photographer, my work is ultimately subjective to my client’s perception—gallery delivery day is always a tense moment for me. As usual, though, I was worried about nothing. A few minutes after delivery I was surprised with a lovely, heartfelt message from my client.

Closing the Chapter

Sixteen days after our family photography session, the good Vinny passed. But his memory will forever live in the hearts of this family.

My client’s decision to have a last-minute family photography session was spot on. Life is made up of millions of small moments. Photography allows us to freeze some of them in time so we can come back and relive those emotions again.

Let me help you do that for your family.