Some sessions come together effortlessly. Others make you earn every single frame.
This client has trusted me with her boudoir photos year after year, and this time I was determined to create something she'd never seen before. The problem? Last year's images were some of my favorite work ever. Topping them felt nearly impossible.
Our first location was a bust. We pulled up, and someone was fishing exactly where we planned to shoot.
So we pivoted.
For about ten minutes, everything was fine... until we heard four-wheelers. They kept getting closer. I grabbed her shirt as fast as I could to cover her up while a group of grown men circled through the area. The entire atmosphere changed. The location suddenly felt wrong. Heavy. Creepy.
I'll be honest—I struggled mentally through the rest of the session. Sometimes photographers carry the weight of keeping their clients safe while also trying to stay creative, and that balancing act isn't easy.
Then I got home.
Scrolling through the images, I stopped on this frame.
Every photo before it is tack sharp. Every photo after it is tack sharp. But this one? A strange, dreamlike blur that almost doesn't look real.
Maybe there's a perfectly logical explanation.
Or maybe this session wanted to leave us with one last mystery... just in time for spooky season.
Some stories write themselves. This one might just be my favorite yet.
