This session is one that I know, for certain, I will remember forever! At Bella's session, I experienced a photographer's worst nightmare...

We arrived on a Tuesday for Bella’s senior session, and it was a chilly, breezy fall day. I went through my poses with her, we shot three different outfits, and during her last outfit, I changed memory cards. After the sun had set we walked back over to our cars, I explained how her images would be delivered, when she could expect to see a 'sneak peek’, and when her blog post would go live. Then we drove off!

That night I had a Tuesdays Together meeting, and when I got to the restaurant, I (for some WEIRD reason) looked in my bag to make sure I had all of my memory cards! I honestly don’t know why I did this…I usually don’t, because I always put them into a secure pocket in my camera bag. When I looked, I realized that one of the cards from Bella’s session was missing… cue my FREAK OUT moment!

I drove back over to her session location and searched all over— shout out to my friend Hillary who helped me search for a good half an hour…in a field… in the DARK! We didn’t find it, so with my stomach in knots, I called Bella, and we rescheduled her session for the next afternoon…round two!

I went back to the field the next morning and searched for an hour and STILL couldn’t find the card. Y’all …it still is bugging me, because both Bella and I remember me putting it into that secure pocket!

We had an even more beautiful fall day on Wednesday, and Bella’s second round of senior portraits ended up being some of my favorites of all time!!

This session was what I have nightmares about… me losing something and then disappointing my clients, and from this situation I’ve learned a few things:

Bella and her mom are amazing clients!!! They showed me so much grace, and I am b-e-y-o-n-d thankful!
Moving forward I will always not only double but TRIPLE check that my cards make it safely into their pocket in my bag!
I try so hard to make sure everything goes perfectly for my clients…and I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure I meet and/or go above and beyond my clients’ expectations! I believe that they deserve to be served well, and that means I need to be on my ‘A game’ for every session! But, mistakes happen…even when you really think you’re trying your best! I was beating myself up over this mistake, and I wanted so badly to be able to find the card so that I could make the situation right. Ultimately, the only way to make it right was to reschedule the session (and thankfully Bella and I were both available the next day!), and we ended up with an even more perfect day than her original session!
When you mess up, it is so important that you own up to your mistake & apologize! I think it's human nature to try to find an excuse...find anything that would make the situation not totally your fault. But y'all, as much as I wanted there to be some reason (like a mouse crawling into my bag and grabbing the card, ha!), I knew it was my fault, and I needed to apologize so that I could make things right as soon as possible! I called Bella as soon as I realized that I probably wasn’t going to be able to find the card, and thankfully, we were able to get another session scheduled!
Give grace freely! I cannot help but think that this situation could have been very different had Bella and her mom not been as kind and understanding as they were! They taught me a lesson in grace, and because of their kindness, I was able to breathe and cut myself a little slack, as well! Don’t get me wrong…I am going to do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again, but the grace they showed me made an huge impact, and I will never forget them!

I had a great time with Bella…at her TWO sessions! ;) I found out that she plays soccer, and since I played soccer in school, it was fun to chat about all that has changed…and everything that has stayed the same! Ha! She has such a sweet, bubbly personality, and I’m sure you’ll be able to see that from these photos! And after all of her experience (from her first session), posing was a breeze! ;) Also, I am so envious of her gorgeous curly hair!! I mean, come on!! It’s so beautiful! And just wait until you see her cute outfits…I think the last one is my favorite, and she pulls it off so well!

Here are my favorites from Bella’s fall senior session!