Personal and work life merge constantly when you’re a photographer. I’m not just talking about the erratic office hours or how difficult it is to turn of your work mind and enjoy your personal life. (That’s probably a struggle for most business owners). I’m talking about the way clients become friends and, in this case, how friends become clients.
Heather showed up at my door two years ago to answer a “roomate wanted” ad. I was the only one of the housemates home to interview her, and I remember having the gut feeling that said “She’s the one!”. We talked about the way I was redecorating the house and she helped me move the couches… and as she left I told her she had the room and she could move in whenever she wanted. (Isn’t sharing a house in your 20’s such a weird thing? Trusting complete strangers to live in the room next to you.)
Anyway, my first impression was spot on, and Heather was a great roomate (they call them flatmates in New Zealand) and became an awesome friend. She’s dedicated to whatever she puts her mind to – which includes loyalty to her friends. She’s thoughtful and funny and beautiful and I had been begging her to get in front of my camera for months! That’s the other personal/work crossover… when I find something I cherish in my personal life, all I want to do is photograph it and show the rest of the world how much it (or she) means to me.
As my March 2019 return to California loomed ahead, I had pretty much given up on getting to photograph this girl… and then we were talking one night and she said “Hey, when are we going to do this photo thing? Do you still want me to sit for you?”
“Um…yes!! This week?”
“Works for me”
And so, we settled on Cornwall Park at sunset in the middle of the week – a location I had also given up hope on photographing before I left.
Auckland weather is never predictable, but the sunset was gorgeous that night and the whole shoot was better than anything I could ever have hoped for. We even found a magical little forest area with a sunbeam to twirl around in.
I can’t imagine a world in which these photos don’t exist, and I’m so thankful that I got to create images that show just how beautiful this woman is to me. <3
