An old friend of mine contacted me a while ago asking if I would take some pictures of her and her husband as part of her adoption process.  She sent me the requirements that her adoption agency had set:

1) 3 nice portraits of the couple together (more posed- you may need to just get someone to come over and take these with a decent camera, please change clothing)
2) 2 portraits of wife (same as above)
3) 2 portraits of husband (same as above)

This seemed easy enough to me, so I told her I’d swing  by one Friday night and we’d knock a few pictures out right there in their backyard.  When I got there, I was waiting for my friend to finish getting dressed and I began to chat with her husband.  I wondered why they were so particular in their request to get photos with different outfits, and that’s when he explained that they were in the beginning of their adoption process and the pictures would be put into a catalog of sorts for pregnant mothers to look through (I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the idea).  Immediately I realized that these were no ordinary pictures they were looking for, but something that would sell them as acceptable parents to the women looking through this catalog.  Someone would actually be parent shopping, and could potentially base their decision on how the couple looked in these pictures.  Now, I set out on every photo shoot to make people look their best and try my hardest to put forth the best quality photos that I can.  But this was quite honestly a responsibility I have never had before, and I had to up the ante a bit to make absolutely sure that this picture would sing.  Everyone who knows my friend could attest that she is oozing sweetness and was made to be a mom, but I needed to make that translate on camera.    As sunset progressed, we filled all the requirements the agency asked for, and saved this couple shot for last.  I hope that whoever is shopping in that catalog stops at this photo and sees exactly what those of us on the other side of the camera see, two amazing parents.