The best laid plans...

So my friend Crystal asked me if I could take a few photos of her son and their two dogs for a Christmas card this year. I was happy to do it and suggested that we scout out a location at Phoenix South Mountain Park as a great location to shoot.

The conversation went something like this:

"You do realize that I'm pregnant, my son is only a year and a half old and we own bit bulls, right? Oh, and my dogs pant when they are outside in the sun" Crystal said as I related my plans on how I envisioned the shoot going.

"What's panting? Never mind. It will be great, I have the ideal location, we will just hop out of our cars set up and take a few quick photos. We will be done in a half hour." I said confidently as if I knew what I was talking about.

"Ok...but wouldn't it be simpler in your backyard, we would have more control" said Crystal

"No, no this is going to be great, the best Christmas card you ever had!" I said as I hung up the phone.

Let's just say Crystal was right and I was wrong. Trying to control two bit bulls while balancing lighting equipment on the rocks in the middle of a dessert park ain't so easy. And although, Caden, her son, was a trooper, but he wasn't so keen on being left in a toy fire truck under a huge strobe while I confronted him with a menacing camera lens.

Nearby you'll see some out takes from the shoot. Click on them to see larger versions. Crystal's husband Joe, a real firefighter and the reason for the toy truck, tried his best to get things in order but to no avail. Oh, and you'll notice from one of the shots that Crystal's dogs pant when there outside in the sun.

Let's just say we rescheduled the shoot for later in their backyard.