i just want to preface this blog post by saying that it’s my desire to make this blog a place where i not only share the stories behind all of the amazing people that i meet, but also a place to share the lessons i learn along the way =) i really want you all to share this journey with me and i hope to motivate, inspire & encourage my fellow photog friends and followers as i learn from my mistakes and what we’ll refer to as my “adventures”…haha.
so, that being said, here’s my first lesson learned (my 1st adventure)…Do Your Research!
this past weekend, i had the amazing opportunity to meet up with some of the girls from the Me Ra Koh OC Workshop i attended back in April. we decided to all get together out at Crystal Cove and have dinner and just catch up and talk about the things we had learned over the last few months. one of the girls, Christina, contacted me a few weeks before the get together and asked if i would be willing to do a photo shoot with her family prior to the dinner on saturday night. i’ll never forget when i got that email, because i seriously just felt so honored that she even thought to ask me! anyway, to make things easy, we decided to just do the photo shoot in Crystal Cove. that way we would be close to the restaurant and wouldn’t have to worry about meeting any later than we already were, etc. etc.
so, Stephen and i drove out a few hours early and spent some time just scouting the area. we found all of these really cool spots, including a more secluded area of the beach with some awesome rocks, some really cool stairs and a dilapidated, teal colored building with a rugged sign that read “Crystal Cove.” needless to say, we were digging the location (minus the thousands of people there!)
as planned, we met up with Christina, her husband, and her 4 beautiful kids around 6pm. we headed to that more secluded area of the beach with the awesome rocks…and we started taking photos. i had probably taken no more than 15-20 pictures, when a young guy rolls up in his white pickup truck. he explains that we’ve been “flagged” and that we need to leave immediately. apparently, ANYONE taking photos in Crystal Cove MUST have a permit to do so. my stomach literally dropped, and my anxiety kicked in immediately.
you see, i’m a planner. i like to know what’s going on and have at least some sense of control over a situation by planning it out. needless to say, i freaked out a little bit.
lesson #1: always have a backup plan…this doesn’t just apply to situations or locations where you might have bad weather.
Stephen tried to talk to the security guy, who ended up calling his boss. his boss came down to talk with us and told my husband that if we didn’t leave they would have to confiscate all of our equipment and we would have to go to court in order to get it back. that didn’t sound appealing at all.
now, i’ve done a few photo shoots at different beaches so far, namely Newport and Huntington, and never encountered any problems. so it never even crossed my mind to contact Crystal Cove and ask to get a permit to do the photo shoot!
lesson #2: when shooting on location, always research the location first to make sure that photographing is allowed and, if necessary, obtain a permit.
we headed back to the parking lot, trying to figure out what to do next. Stephen is much better at thinking on his feet than i am and, with the help of one of the other girls, we came up with a backup plan…we would head to Heisler Park in Laguna Beach. thank god for our iPhones! we were able to research Heisler Park from the car on our way over =)
by the time we arrived there, it was about 7:30pm, and we only had like 30 minutes of light left! i was still feeling pretty nervous as we started trying to find places that worked for photos. i just could not get over how crowded the beaches were. Christina’s husband wasn’t able to make it back because there was no parking to be found anywhere! so, he and Stephen ended up just driving around while we finished the shoot. at around 7:40pm, i found the spot i wanted to use and just started shooting away. i had the kids do a couple of poses, but mostly just wanted to capture them playing at the beach =)
here are some of my faves so far from that day…i hope you guys enjoy!
Christina’s interaction with her kids totally reminded me of how my mom was with us. they are so goofy and have so much fun…i loved it!
sorry for the long post! i’ll try to keep them shorter in the future, i promise =)
remember: do your research on the location before heading to a photo shoot and always have a backup plan! i’m already practicing…i just talked to the family that i’m doing a photo shoot with this weekend, and they decided they wanted to do it at The Getty in LA. yes, you guessed right…the first phone call i made was to the powers that be at The Getty to make sure that it was ok! lesson learned =) and in case you’re wondering, you CAN take photos at The Getty. can’t wait to share those with you guys in a few days!
xoxo
jess
Ha, ha Jess, lesson learned. Yes, I learned that lesson too that day. I must say I would have never known you were nervous. You handled it very well & it all turned out great. I had fun, the kids had fun (I missed Rich but what can you do). The pictures are A-MAZ-ING and I can not wait to see the rest. Thanks again & I had a blast!! You are an inspiration and Stephen is a great guy too. He really helped keep Rich company…LOL I <3ed meeting him too
Jess, if you ever give up photography…you should be a writer. Great blog! I really enjoyed it…you are amazing, and you’re mine…yay!
thank you to both of you! i really love reading your comments and appreciate the love 🙂
Christina, Steve loved hanging out with Rich 🙂 We should definitely try to get together again sometime soon!
Ha! Great post and images Jess! Thanks for the tip. Christina – you do have a beautiful family. Wish I could have been at the get together!
Love the photos, what an adventure that was! Thanks for letting me join you that day!
diane, we wish you could have been there too! thank you so much 🙂
sara, thanks again! it was great seeing you 🙂 hope to see you again soon!
A permit REALLY! I mean REALLY, just to take photos. Was it clearly posted that one would be required to get a permit when taking photos. I mean without some way to prove that you should have known a permit was required the “confiscating” of equipment quickly becomes someone trying to steal your equipment. Guess it is better to avoid confrontation though.
i know, right?! no, it wasn’t posted anywhere. but i guess i didn’t realize it’s a state park now which would have been my 1st clue! thanks for stopping by =)