Having a baby is filled with so many emotions. Incredible waves of happiness, some of fear and uncertainty, and others so full of love that words could never properly express. And of course, expenses rise quickly the second that baby is born (and even long before that day).
I wanted great photographs taken of Miles when he was tiny. Of him in my hands... of his tiny little feet sitting in my hands... of his little body all curled up and sleeping... of our family together. (Click here... like these that I took of sweet baby "A.") But we just couldn't afford to splurge and spend hundreds of dollars on them.
So what did I do? While on maternity leave, I set up many informal "photo shoots" on our couch and tiny little Miles was a trooper. And about four months after he was born, I had my dear friend Laura come over and snap some photos of our family together. I researched the shots that I really wanted, and she was able to get us some great shots. Nothing professional, as I just had a plain little camera, but certainly sweet and beautiful photographs that we were hoping for.
Finally, when Miles was about 9 months old, I decided it was time for us to splurge and get some official family photos taken. So we headed to the mall. (I realize that was not the most professional photography option around, as there are many photographers in Austin that do amazing work, but that was all we could afford.)
And we walked into an experience that I honestly hope that no one else ever experiences when they have long-awaited photos taken of their baby. The woman doing our photos had no idea how to position us or take the photos before Miles moved. (I had to take care of those things myself.) We would all be looking and smiling, and she would just hold the camera and wait.
And she had to stop half way through for a smoke break. (?!?!) When she came back, she took another 5-10 shots (some okay, some blinking, etc.) and said, "Okay, we're done... I've taken your 30 shots."
First of all, I had no idea we were being limited to 30 shots, as that was never mentioned. Secondly, half of the 30 shots she took involved one of us blinking, Miles being blurry because he was moving, or someone not even looking at the camera.
To say I was frustrated was an understatement. And then, I had to go and edit/crop the photos myself on the computer in the store. To put it plainly, I would have had better luck asking a friend to come to my house and take photos of our family. So we walked out, feeling very defeated, and having just spent nearly $200 on the sitting fees and the CD of images. (I wanted to have the CD / ownership of images so that I could edit them myself and develop them from there vs. ordering them through that store.) Of the 30 shots that were taken, only 5-10 of them were "keepers" at all. (I didn't know that until after we made the purchase.)
After sitting on my frustration for a few days, I realized that this situation was worthy of a note to the company. So I wrote a very friendly note (really, it was very friendly) and just mentioned my disappointment with the money we spent and the products we received.
They were sweet and had us come back and do a photo shoot with the store's manager. She did a great job with us, and the photos turned out okay. But they were just that... okay. And I once again had to edit them at the store's computer myself and then got the CD of images.
When I walked out that day, my dream and vision for Miles of Smiles Photography became very real to me. And ever since that day, I have worked very hard to create something that provides convenience, timeless photographs, high quality products, and exceptional customer service from start to finish for my clients. I promised myself that no one would leave my photo shoot feeling the way I did that day.
And after countless hours putting together and implementing a business plan, creating my own web site, investing in a great camera and lenses, educating myself on about a thousand things, and about a hundred other things that come along with starting a business, here we are. And I could not be more excited.
It is funny how God uses random situations to build beautiful things. And for that, I am incredibly grateful. The journey has been a lot of work, but every minute has been worth it, as I truly love capturing special moments and seeing and hearing my clients' reactions when they see exactly what we captured. I look forward to seeing where this road leads.
