I work with the city government of my home town to capture images that communicate the life and energy of our community. One of my recent assignments had a simple instruction:

“Someone playing the piano in Shain Park (if possible)”

Every year, the Public Arts Board decorates a donated piano and takes it to the park near the city’s center for the enjoyment of passerby. We needed a shot of someone playing the piano.

I could have waited around for someone to come up and start playing, but part of my job is to remove as many variables as possible to get a finished image. And though an afternoon hanging around in the park might have been relaxing, I just don’t have that kind of time lying around.

Fortunately, I’m good friends with a musician who has adorable kids; so I leveraged the opportunity to get our families together on a pretty summer evening just as the sun was setting. It started simply enough, first with the piano itself and then with dad and daughter in moments of tinkering round on the keys.

But then her brother and my daughter joined in to dance to the music…

And then, in the dancing, there was the sublime moment where all feet were off the ground in that space of inexpressible joy that can only come from a child…

The dancing got a little exuberant and led to a skinned knee and a few tears, but we were able to recover quickly and ultimately get the rest of the shots we needed.

But then everything stopped when I mentioned ice cream! The whole shoot took 20 minutes and the light and energy were fantastic. The client loved the images, saying they made her day.

In the end, everybody won. I saved the time of having to hunt for someone off the street, the client got more images with great energy, the families got some great time to connect and the kids got to refuel from their dancing with a treat just before bed.