I began photographing my friends at the airport arriving
home with their newly adopted children about a year and a half ago. Now as a fledgling business these micro sessions
hold a valuable place in my business plan for two main reasons. Firstly this is where my two passions
collide, adoption and photography, and I just feel so lucky to be able to have
them mesh. The raw emotion of stepping
off that plane with your child on your home soil for the first time is just
brimming with emotion. I am an adoptive
mom myself and each time I stand as a witness to this event I am moved to tears
of joy for the parents and family. I
have photographed grandparents, siblings and even one father meeting this long
awaited for child in the flesh for the first time. It is truly a gift and honour for me to be
able to point my camera at these events.
I do this service completely voluntarily, only asking for
the $12 to cover my airport parking (darn that parking is expensive!). Even though I don’t gain any financial
compensation from these shoots I do gain amazing referrals. The main reason I
get so many referrals is because almost 99% of the moms first words to me when
they see me is “I wish you had not come, we are a mess!”, even though they
asked me to be there. At this point I
let them know that everyone tells me that, don’t worry, I won’t let that
show. I keep my promise and when they
match up their memory of how they felt with the image they are so
impressed. Honestly they feel a thousand times worse than they really look,
they are actually radiating joy that no makeup or edits could ever hope to
duplicate.
To be fair this is not your typical photo shoot. There is no coordinating outfits, makeup, or
even brushed teeth. At the point I meet
these parents they have survived two weeks isolated in a foreign country with a
child who is old enough to know they are being removed from everything they
have ever known, and then they flew 12-15 hours only to find me on the other
side of the gate with my camera out.
That flight will bring even the most experienced parent to their knees,
there are diaper blow outs, nonstop screaming, sleep deprivation, drool and a host
of other unmentionables that are just part of the journey for these brand
spanking new parents.
If this type of photography interests you here are few tips
to keep in mind:
- A typical airport arrival shoot lasts about 5-20 minutes of shooting time.
Give yourself about an hour to make sure
you are there for the gate exit and check the flight status often though out
the day, one family was about 2 hours early and I almost missed them.
- Try to find the waiting family ahead of time,
they will probably have signs or balloons, or ask for their photos ahead of
time to help you spot them in the crowd.
I introduce myself to everyone waiting with a balloon or teddy
bear. Even if they are not the family I
came for I introduce myself, give them my card and snap a few for them after I
am done with the primary family who requested me.
- Be a fly on the wall. You will likely not get one single posed
shot, this is life style shooting to the extreme. It moves fast, the lighting sucks and you
don’t get a redo.
- Use a zoom lens.
You need to be a witness to this event not an orchestrator.
- Don’t use a flash. Many of these children have never left the
one room orphanage in their entire life.
This airport experience is already traumatic to the extreme so don’t add
to that with a flash in their eyes. Also
you don’t want to give the family a feeling that they are being documented, it
will interfere with the real emotions that are playing out. A flash popping can remind them they are on
film.
- Try to keep your interaction with the child to
the minimum. They are still learning who
mom and dad are and using typical toddler photography tricks like bribes,
treats, or trying to get eye contact with them is inappropriate. I suggest bringing them a flag, this always
gets them looking where I want them to look. I wave it above my head while I get a nice
close up, then I give it to them to play with.
Very patriotic too. I get them in
bulk at the dollar store and send each child home with one as a welcome gift. Mom or dad can also stand behind you to bring
baby’s attention to your direction, if they want, just leave that up to
them. Another trick I use is I speak
Mandarin to them. I only know about 10 words
but they seem to get a kick out of it.
- If you would like to photograph a new family
contact adoption agencies in you area to volunteer or ask an adoptive family to
spread the word for you. You will love
the challenge and the experience!
Just a little reminder to all, if you are going to be passing through Toronto International Airport or it is your final destination, please contact me, I would love to be there for your arrival!
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