Governor Mitt Romney

Last Wednesday night, I was blessed to be a part of a fund-raising event for the Mitt Romney for President campaign. A lot of my political friends and contacts are very much on the Romney side.

I know that I must have the world's coolest job. For Pete's sake, I get to spend some days with the most precious little babies you've ever seen, some days photographing professional athletes, some days photographing my favorite athletes (my own kids), some days photographing beautiful families, some days photographing our President, some days photographing our Governor and then some days photographing Presidential Candidates.

I learned that Mitt Romney is a very genuine man. He's very likable and kind. He's very warm and friendly. He's also quite the looker. He's got a Presidential look about him. Very aristocratic and "in charge". That touch of grey right around the edges just finishes the photographic package!

I was blessed to get to spend a few moments with Gov. Romney. He called me by name. Always a plus. I really liked him. My camera REALLY liked him.

I love this image. My absolute favorite of the night. Look at his expression! You can see all the movement and activity around him, but he's focused on one person and enjoying their conversation completely. (That's a fellow AFRW lady he's talking with, her name is Ruth.) This image was taken with the new lens. It's wide angle and is very fast. Being able to capture the whole room and Governor Romney be so sharp in the middle of the image made the lens purchase SOOOOOOO worth the money.

He's smart too. Chose that red power tie!

When you are photographing someone at an event like this, you really get to look closely at them. Watching them interact with those around them. Yes, it was a fund-raiser and so he was eager to meet and greet, but in watching him move through the crowd and talk with folks, I got the sense that he really likes doing this.

But what I most admired was the way he would look people right in the eye and talk with them. He truly appeared interested in what they had to say. He wasn't looking to the next person to figure out what he would say to them, he was totally fixed on the person right in front of him.

I'm a political hound. I love the world of politics, mainly because of all the good I see that can come from the law and the freedoms of this country. I'm a news junkie and a talk radio goof. So getting to take images like this is WAAAAAAY cool for this little girl from North Alabama.

I told a friend of mine, when I'm in a crowd like this, surrounded by money and power folks, I always think to myself "these folks have no idea who I am, or they would never let me in!" And then I try to remind myself, we are all just people. People who want the best for our kids, our family and our communities. People who are seeking to make a difference in this old world.
It takes a special or crazy human being to want to run for President. Governor Romney is most certainly one of the special ones.
Best of Luck Governor Romney. God give you strength and courage as you battle your way toward the White House.
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Photography tips for this shoot: Emotion, emotion, emotion. That's what makes a picture pop. Getting the emotion. Posed pictures rarely capture emotion. Get pictures of someone interacting with someone else and you will always get a more relaxed and more personality filled image.