C'est la vie.
Thursday, July 21, 2011 by Maile Wilson 
I'd been planning this shoot for three months. Erin scoured the internet looking for the perfect outfit. I had everything shipped across the country a week ahead of time. Details were thought through and plans were made all the way down to the adorable retro cupcake "prop" truck.
Then the day arrived.
It poured. Except for these shoes, none of the outfits worked in person. The light in the painstakingly selected cabin was overcast gloom. Life was mocking our plans. As life does. Then that magical thing happened. You know, the thing that only happens when you let go of your tightly wound expectations?
Someone happened to have an umbrella. Alli busted out with her adorable green dress that was so versatile it even allowed her do high kicks (the high kicks of an eighteen year old I might add). And the day continued to come together as Erin ripped up some orange tights to widdle up into an impromptu belt. We all couldn't help but have a "C'est la Vie" attitude about everything. And in the end, I think that was the magic of it.
Do you have any perfectly planned photos that went all wrong but then translated into all right? We'd love to see.
Reader Comments (14)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinkerandgiggles/5885390654/
So even through all the non-planned imperfect props it's the perfect shot!
From my archives, this recent image comes to mind. A turtle shot taken in a dark aquarium. ISO pushed all the way 3200. Opening the shot in ACR, was it grainy? Um, yeah. I loved the image though and decided to embrace the grain instead of trying to cover it up. Here's the finished image with an explanation of my post processing:
http://dorisrudddesigns.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/red-eared-slider-turtle-no-2/
http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2011/07/oliver-and-family-maryland-on-location-family-photographer.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50901045@N02/5939810533/in/photostream
Here's one of my not so perfectly planned captures:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2011/7/20/sidekicks.html
http://www.mental-chew.com/2011/07/how-does-your-garden-grow.html
This picture has been in my head for months but as it happens the timing was never right. The weather, other commitments, no time, etc. Every time we would drive by this spot I would sigh, which drove my husband crazy I am sure. Fortunately, one day the stars aligned and I could finally take the picture. So we go get the balloons and soon after we drive off the suckers start popping, they guy inflated them a bit too much. Rats. I assure my husband that it's OK but since he is such a darling he turned around and went back to the store. I went in to buy some more but the guy gave them to me for free. Score. We then get the doll house and head to the spot. Let me preface this by telling you that the winds had been absolutely calm the entire day. My husband had advised that I take the picture earlier since the winds were calm, but nooo, I had to wait for the light to be juuust right, ahem. So we get up the little hill and guess what? SO WINDY all of a sudden! There was cussing. And then what else happened? More balloons popped and the ones that did not pop got all tangled. More cussing. So as I was about to give up, the wind died down and I snapped 10 million pictures. It did not have as many balloons as I wanted but I still like it. At one point I ended laying on the grass on an ant pile or something because my husband says I had tiny bugs crawling on me. I did not feel a thing but he says he saw it but did not dare tell me anything let he distract me. So I got my picture and we head home (all 50 steps away) and then I suddenly realize MY LEGS ARE ON FIRE. When I looked down all I saw were red bumps and OH MY GRAVY they itched. So into the shower I went and some hydrocortisone later I was fine. Fine and happy because this picture was finally out of my head. And because my husband rocks, even if he does not tell me I have bugs on my legs haha ;)
The end.
And the image:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/libertadleal/5629713267
Then, on June 1st, the first day of the class...a tornado ripped through my neighborhood and completely changed things around here. My family, pets and belongings are all safe, but our beautifully wooded neighborhood is a big mess and has forever changed. To say the tornado put a damper on my Picture Color class is an understatement. I was not finding any beauty around me and was totally overwhelmed by the mess. After a couple of weeks I did try to meet some of the daily prompts.
One prompt was called "Nothing But Blue Skies". I brought my daughter outside with her new fuzzy blue fleece coat and she posed for me while sitting on her bicycle. The blue coat was to bring out her beautiful blue eyes. (not that you can tell here). I played around a little and added a Butterscotch Vintage action (The Coffeeshop Blog).
The tornado temporarily took away the beauty of my neighborhood and my Picture Class motivation, but left me with this shot of my daughter which I will always cherish!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29333822@N07/5962904080/