Her words, not mine…
An email from a client just hit me in the gut (she asked to stay anonymous)
It's a hard truth to share.
Frankly, I wasn't going to tell you.
But she asked me to pass it along, in case it can help you avoid the mistake she almost made...so here goes:
Elle, some things have happened since our photoshoot together that I think you should know.
I admit that, before hiring you, I was really hesitant about doing a maternity photoshoot.
This is our first baby and I felt so swollen and overweight.
I felt indulgent, even diva-ish to invest in a true, talented photographer to create art for us. Especially when all my friends were OK with pics of waving from a field while clutching their tummy.
With a little prodding from my family, they convinced me that no matter how fat or unworthy I felt...this is a season I should celebrate and remember. Instead of baby shower gifts, they all chipped in to cover the shoot as a "gift of family art that will last a lifetime."
What you created was breathtaking.
True artwork that made me and my husband look incredible and proud to share with everyone we knew.
About 4 weeks after our photoshoot, I gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy.
Tragically, he didn't survive labor.
When my husband and I came home, heartbroken, from the hospital -- your photos were hanging in the hallway to his bedroom.
They're now the only family photos we'll ever have with our son.
While I hope no parents ever have to endure our loss, I hope you'll share our story.
As a reminder -- the seasons and people in our life will pass.
I look at the photos you took for us with so much gratitude. And every day, I wonder...
How devastated would we be, if all we had were some run-of-the-mill shots on an iphone or borrowed Nikon?
How silly and short-sided would we feel, if we tried to save money instead of saving these memories? Whatever we invested for those photos, you can imagine, we'd pay 10,000x that for what they're worth to us now.
And how disappointed in myself would I be, if I'd let self-doubts about my looks or "worthiness" leave us with nothing to look back and cherish, when we got home from the hospital?
However swollen and uncomfortable I might have felt while we were in your studio...you sure made me look amazing. And that glow and the artwork with my son, is all that remains as I walk through his hallway each morning and think of him.
I know this is probably more than you expected to hear from a client you only worked with once.
But the care and attention you gave us -- and the artwork you made for us -- it's a gift we'll cherish forever.
We're so grateful we found you.
Please, share our story. We'd be overjoyed to help anyone else capture this precious window of time with their child, parent, or spouse, before it's too late.
