The Windorski Family - Aitkin/Deerwood Family Photography

Sometimes, the conditions are absolutely perfect for a portrait shoot: warm outdoor temperatures, sunny skies, lots of shade, lots of bouncing light. Other times, the conditions can be the exact opposite. One of the challenges of being an on location photographer is being able to adapt to whatever the weather is like that day. Because I don't operate out of a studio that is climate controlled with artificial lighting, I arrive at a shoot, assess the environment, and go with what I see. Living in Minnesota makes that even more interesting, because this time of year, outdoor sessions are impossible. Unless the look we're going for is puffy coats, hats, mittens and boots. In that case, bring on the weather outside! But usually, the sessions need to take place indoors, so the window light coming from outside is key for great looking indoor portraits.

The day of the Windorski Family's shoot, the weather was far from favorable. It was raining all day, and so when the temperature dipped below freezing, that meant that water would turn to slush and then to ice. The Windorski's live about 30 minutes from me. Because we live in Minnesota and it gets dark here at about 4:45 pm this time of year, we had a very limited stretch of daylight to work in. Utilizing window light for as long as we could, we hosted a whirlwind family session in record time. I left their home as the last bit of daylight slipped away and my 30 minute commute home turned into an hour of white knuckled, 25 mph driving complete with the slipping and sliding that is common with my non-4 wheel drive car. All was ok though; I arrived safely home, happy to be off the roads, and even happier with the shoot when I uploaded the images to my computer. It was well worth the drive and the weather to spend the evening with the Windorski family.

Windorski's - thank you for inviting me out to your home. I really think our mission was accomplished; everyone felt a little more comfortable being photographed in their own environment. You have the perfect, balanced, beautiful family! xo, Laura