How often do we sabotage ourselves through rationalization and doubt?  I recently had a photo shoot that was truly fun and creative…and as a result, some really nice shots were produced.  The irony is that the shoot almost did not happen.

I had some yoga shots in mind that I have always wanted to take and for whatever reason the shoot kept getting pushed further and further away.  When the day finally came that everyone was available, the weather was simply not cooperating with sudden downpours and ridiculous wind.  My good friend Chris Baugh, who is an amazing yoga instructor at Yoga Tropics in Encinitas, gave me a call that morning and we talked about rescheduling.  Anyone who is a photographer knows that the more times you reschedule a photo shoot, the less likely it is ever going to happen.   I had all kinds of reasons and rationales as to why we should not take pictures that day and nearing the end of our conversation we had all but resigned to the fact that the photo shoot was going to get cancelled.

The conditions were not perfect for what I had envisioned…and those of you who have worked with me know that I am a bit of a perfectionist.  But putting my anal retentiveness aside, if I have learned one thing as a professional photographer, it is that there are ALWAYS things you cannot control…and you can ALWAYS get a photo worth keeping regardless of circumstance.  Granted, it may not be the images you envisioned, but keepers nonetheless.

Needless to say we decided to shoot and the conditions worked out amazingly well.  Clouds opened and gave us sunshine one moment and then we would have light rain another…and my favorite condition of all, both sun and sprinkles.  We all had a great time and we got shots that we could never have gotten on your typical Southern Californian day.  The day was a total success.

The moral of this story…you’ll never know what could have been unless you give it a go.  It is a life lesson I keep learning over and over again.