In this episode Oh Shoot! podcast, Cassidy Lynne reads through your submissions of photography acts of kindness!
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In this episode, Cassidy Lynne reads through your submissions of the kindest thing that’s ever happened to you while shooting.
Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of oh shoot! I’m your host Cassidy Lynee, welcome back to another episode. We are in the midst of the holiday season, I know it is a very busy time for everyone! I know specifically this time of year we got Christmas, we got new year’s, it just a lot. So if you are tuning this episode during probably your busiest time of the year. I just want to say thank you for being here! Someone submitted into one of my question boxes this week that they discovered the podcast, and it has made them feel less lonely in photography.
I have personally experienced a lot of that loneliness that comes with being a photographer. You know you are just sitting behind your desk all day, editing, working on stuffs and there’s not much people interaction as you’d think so it is a lonely job. So today in this episode we are going over some of you guys’ submissions on acts of kindness you guys have experienced in photography.
Photography Acts Of Kindness Part 1
Submission:
One of my couples eloped at a location that you can’t reserve or prevent people from being there. This is a very popular tourist spot and that day there was easily 75 or more people there, either on the dock where my couple planned to get married or on the surrounding beach area. People were swimming, jumping off the dock, kids and dogs running around, you name it. But when our little group came out for the ceremony, not only did everyone get out of the way, but everyone sat on the beach, quietly watched the ceremony, and then they all clapped and cheered when the couple kissed at the end of the ceremony. I have never had the general public be that courteous and thoughtful, and I don’t generally expect them to in such popular locations. It was such a sweet moment that I will never forget.
Cassidy:
That is really really sweet! Sometimes we expect the worst in society but in moments like that gives me a little bit of hope in humanity. Like obviously you want to have your fun beach day. But like let’s take a minute and just think of other people for a second. Like there’s a wedding going on here, yes, they chose to do it in a public area, but we can still respect that.
I think these people didn’t even have to like not to talk they could have just been quieter than usual and that probably would have been fine. But the fact that everyone was just like attentively watching and being kind that means so much. It actually makes me wonder if this was like in a small-town area rather than like a city because I feel like in potentially like a bigger city people might not be as kind.
Submission:
Kindest thing I’ve ever experienced as a photographer was arriving to the bridal suite and the Bride had a huge goodie bag for me!!! Filled with a clean skin club travel pack, a custom birthstone bracelet, a reusable zipper pouch (i use it for my ssd’s when traveling or film!) and a very thoughtful handwritten note! Literally tied up in another gorgeous reusable bag with a bow!
AND THEN she actually had a fully set vendor table in her reception with name place cards and more custom goodies, and proceeded to thank and shout out her vendors in their welcome toast before dinner 😭 😭 😭 – she was so quick to to post all her sneak peeks and always mentioned in the comment how much her creative team meant to them as a couple, and was SO QUICK to leave me a 3 paragraph 5 star review with photos!! Too good to be true, forever grateful for the clients that go above and beyond to show their love!
Cassidy:
Yes, like how did you just describe everyone’s dream clients right there? Like seriously this bride is every photographer DREAM client. Like the goodie bag, the thoughtful gift, having a table to sit at. Not only that but you getting credit during the wedding. I feel like that is WOW, this client just GETS IT! I refuse to believe this is not every photographer dream client.
Photography Acts of Kindness Part 2
Submission:
I have two: 1. I did a family session when I was first starting out. When they booked with me the mom in this family of four said it would just be them but when we met at the location the grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, etc. pulled up right behind them. It turned into a 20 person session. I died inside because before that I’d only charged two people ever to take their photos. I felt so unprepared! The family was so kind and patient with me. It went SO smoothly and they swooned over the photos. They paid me double what I asked for which could not have happened at a better time in my life. It was a true blessing.
2. I was second shooting a wedding last year… the mother of the groom had apparently had an allergic reaction to the makeup the makeup artist put on her face that morning. Her eyes were swollen shut and it took hours for her face to look normal again. We didn’t get to the wedding venue until about 1 pm. By the time we met her and she was fully ready she looked gorgeous and I couldn’t even tell anything happened. Before we took family photos she asked if she looked okay. I told her she looked beautiful and she teared up and telling me the whole story. She gave me the BIGGEST hug and thanked me to being there and being honest with her. Made my day and hers!
Cassidy:
That’s so kind I feel like a lot of the time when we shoot weddings. We forget that there are other people there and that might just need affirmation and compliments too. I am thinking of a wedding I shot this year, the grandma showed up and she didn’t know she was going to be walked down the aisle. She thought she was just showing up and sitting in the ceremony, and because of that she wore slack and like a nice top.
When I was grabbing pictures of her when she first arrived, she said to me, “I had no idea they were walking me down the aisle and I feel so underdressed” and I was like grandma you look great! You look so good. I could tell she was very self-conscious so every time I took a picture or saw her, I was like grandma you look so good, love your outfit, you are doing great! Because you could tell that she wasn’t feeling it.
Photography Acts of Kindness Part 3
Submission:
The kindest thing I’ve ever experienced was a bride who made me and the venue owner a custom gift basket and gave it to us ON her OWN wedding day. She was the most kind, chill bride, and her generosity and kindness helped get me through the rest of the year!
Cassidy:
I just love that! I love when clients see you as a person rather than just someone that’s there to be a servant for the day. it means a lot, I do think everyone has different love languages, for me I wouldn’t say that gifts are necessarily a love language of mine. But I do love when someone goes out of their way to give me a gift.
Submission:
I was doing a maternity session at the Bonneville salt flats in Utah. The lighting, setting and model were perfect. Towards the end of the session, she was almost completely naked with a wet sheet wrapped around her front and her chest with her belly exposed. The model was pretty thin before pregnancy so she was feeling insecure but a whole crowd gathered around us and watched the last part of the session. Cheering her on, complimenting her and even taking photos and videos of her. Afterwards she said her confidence went up like crazy and she felt so ethereal. The perfect way to end pregnancy before bringing her baby earthside.
Cassidy:
That’s so sweet, another great story of just like humanity being so much greater than we thought. Specifically, if you are someone that shoots a lot of pregnant women, I’m sure you already know this but if you don’t, I feel like pregnancy just makes a lot of people feel insecure. When you are pregnant your body changes so much and that might cause you feeling insecure. So, I think as a photographer if we capture pregnant women make sure to hype them up because you never know how they are feeling.
Photography Acts of Kindness Part 3
Submission:
Last year I was asked to photograph a wish-granting event organized by the Make a Wish Foundation. A little boy with a terminal disease loved nothing more than TRUCKS! So our community (Roseville, CA) rallied every single garbage truck, fire truck, utility truck, oil truck, bus, police car, big rig, back ho… you get the idea! The boy sat on his dad’s lap, laughing and clapping with glee, as each driver roared past with a wave. I loved capturing their pure JOY on a gorgeous afternoon while their friends and family cheered and stacked up boxes and boxes of toy trucks and cars for him to play with back home. It filled me with immense gratitude that I could not only witness their special day but also give them photos that I hope they will always treasure.
Cassidy:
Yeah so, I’m about to cry right now, trying not to cry. That is literally so sweet, I don’t think I would be able to do that. I would be SOBBING if were the photographer, that’s just so cool that the community did that! And then you got to capture, yeah omg. That so amazing!
Submission:
While shooting a proposal in Boston, the couple got engaged and shortly after when they were ready to take photos, two guys walked up to them. They were handing out free roses to people that looked like they needed them. So they gave the couple a beautiful white rose and it made their day even better! I managed to snap a quick photo of the couple being given the rose! Ps love your podcast & all content <3 merry Christmas – Isabel
Cassidy:
That’s really really sweet! Like just handing out free roses is so kind, and like knowing that the couple just got engaged, it’s something that they will remember forever. Like they would say we got engaged that day but also that person gave us a white rose, it just so special! LOVE random act of kindness.
Show Notes:
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