When I first worked with the Fullarton’s two and half years ago, I was presented with the challenge that one of the little guys had a fear of flashes. He took a while to trust me and my camera, but after a while he was actually asking me to take his photo.
Fast forward to this October. Claudia called me to say that the family is now one bigger, time for a new family session. And, oh yes, we still have a flash fear! Having succeed before, I was confident we could do it again. Once I was face to face with D, I could tell I was really going to have to prove myself to him, to build his trust. I started by demonstrating taking some photos with his big brother. The hesitation started coming down. Then he cuddled with Mum and Dad and kept his eyes closed will I clicked. Gradually, he opened his eyes but faced away from me. At each stage, I showed him the somewhat silly photos on my camera LCD screen. Finally, he was able to look at me, and ultimately smile.
As the session went on, things got a little sillier. Some of the older kids remembered some of the activities that we had done before and requested them again. We got several great images that were “then and now” almost carbon copy images. They will make great layouts in Claudia’s coffee table book, as well as additions to the family wall collage.
