I have never been a fan of taking my clients outdoors. There are so many unknowns. Which way will the wind blow? Will the light disappear? Will it be 110 degrees? Will there be bugs? I recently had a couple of photoshoots on Cape Cod and did encounter all those issues (especially the giant New England mosquitoes), but loved the results.

Plan A. I photographed gorgeous Juno, who has transitioned, on Town Beach in Wellfleet (my home away from home). Since I don't work outside very much, I arrived early to scout out the right places. I found a beautifully scratched up green wall under the pier and a fabulous rock for her to sit on like a sea goddess. I went back to my car, sat in the AC and ate a scallop roll feeling prepared. When Juno arrived, we went to the beach to find my locations had been swallowed up by the sea. Oh yeah. Tides. I should have taken that into account.

Plan B. Quick. I photographed Juno first sitting by the harbor and then we ventured out onto the rocks. The rocks looked great, but in order for the wind to blow her hair back the way I wanted, we had to stand in the light the wrong way. So after turning into the wind and trying several poses, we got some beautiful rock photos.

Then we moved town to "Town Beach." It was fun playing with the wind here. But Juno was trying to manipulate a giant tulle cover. In the best of studio circumstances, that thing is heavy and hard to move around in. Juno was a trooper. It keep covering her face and blowing to the heavens.

I love the images with the tulle! Tulle is always a good thing. I tried turning Juno several different ways to get the right combination of light and "tulle struggling." But I'm so please we stuck it out. Just as we started really going, it rained. IT RAINED.

Plan C. We got in our cars and gave it some time. It was one of those Cape days where you can see the sun shining just out of reach, a short-lived little storm. When we got back on the beach, there was a totally different light scenario to deal with. Actually the kind I like, where there is no bright sun, and the world is a giant ball of soft gorgeousness.

So it was an adventure. Trying to get that sweet spot. Even if you went to the same place at the same time the next day it would be different. I am a strong believer in the happy accident! The magic happens when you have a plan, but you get thrown a curveball. You don't have time to reason and logic your way out. You act.

When I was in art school, one of my life drawing professors wouldn't let us use pencils and erasers. We had to use pen. We had to embrace the accident, and this was one of the greatest lessons of my life. Photography is always this way. Even if you are in a comfortable studio, everything goes haywire all the time. It's just that when you are outside, you increase the chance of the accident 100%. But is it an accident? I feel the universe is throwing me certain elements and saying, "you wanted to capture this image, ok do it." To make it work, I have to act on instinct. Just trust myself and keep moving. Trust and move. Trust and move. Trust and move.