Brett and Nicholas

When my friend Brett approached me about taking some photos of him and his brother as a Christmas gift for his mom, he openly admitted that he knew nothing about photography.

"We want to frame a huge photo for my mom," he told me. "How will you make the prints? In a dark room?"

Oh, boy.

After giving him a brief overview of the wonders of digital photography and online photo services, we scheduled a photo shoot for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Too bad the forecast called for rain...ALL DAY.

Instead of sticking to our original plan for a sunset shoot, I convinced them to be ready to take photos at 8am.

Somehow, the rain held off just long enough for me to get a few usable shots for their Mom's Christmas gift. This is the photo they chose to have enlarged to 24"x36" canvas print:

Here are some individual photos that I thought their mom might like, as well:

Nicholas

Brett

I'm learning a lot about photography these days. Although I'm used to shooting with a photographer who knows a lot more than I do and is always there to answer my questions, it's important for me to get experience shooting on my own.

It's good for me to make my own mistakes and learn from them.

It's good for me to learn how to make the most of gray skies and wet weather.

It's good for me to tackle obstacles on my own every now and then.

It's never fun being pushed out of my comfort zone, but it's necessary for growth and maturity.

In what areas of your life are you becoming comfortable yet stagnant? Push through your complacency into unknown territory and see how much you'll grow. I dare you :)