Oh these images make me smile :)  Last fall Taylor and myself (along with Taylor’s bestie and Mom) drove around the tiny village of Willshire for her session.  I grew up in that tiny village and it still feels a little like home.  I think we literally ran into at least two of my family members while walking around!  Taylor’s dad grew up here too so it was fun to make random stops here and there, starting at her dad’s barn outside of town and making our way to her Grandparents place just down the road from my childhood home.

I remember the day being very overcast and breezy….not a bad combination for a girl with a killer smile and gorgeous hair!  Taylor was a natural and we chatted the night away with only one minor mishap along the way….Dad’s beloved car wouldn’t start that night so we couldn’t take it to the location Taylor wanted for images.  More on that in a minute!

Loved her in this red dress…such a pretty color for her!  And she worked it like a rock star for me :)

You may remember this car from Kylee and Luke’s Wedding….you guessed it.  Small towns where everyone knows everyone and is more than likely connected ;)  Since we couldn’t get the car to come to us…we decided to go to the car and make it work!  I think it was a blessing in disguise that we had to do so :)

Thank you, thank you, Taylor for the adventure :)  Enjoy your last few days as a high school student–and have a fabulous summer!!!!!

Kyle’s session included a drive to Snow Lake in Fremont, Indiana.  It was an early wake up call to take advantage of the sun rising over the water.  Shooting in a completely unfamiliar area is always fun as everything is new.  During the drive, I was taking note of some potential locations all while trying to pay attention to my GPS ;)  The first place we headed was just down the road from their lake house and I considered it a lucky find…a very tiny field of grapevines just off the road!  We then headed back to the house and continued to shoot the rest of the session literally in their back yard.  We may have wandered slightly onto the neighbors property as well, but I was assured they wouldn’t mind ;)

Thanks to Kyle and his mom, Dawn, for inviting me into their home and sharing their slice of the lake with me :)

Justin’s session is one that I’m really proud of.  Mostly because I knew Justin was not looking forward to seeing me at all….and I love a good challenge :)

When I first talked to his mom, I think she started with the above warning.  It helped that I knew Justin already as I’d photographed him as a younger kid.  I knew him to be very quiet.  Mom and I discussed locations, outfits, and things that would make Justin as comfortable as possible as he was photographed.  Mom’s next comment was, “He wears a lot of black.”   My reply:  Then let him wear black.  That’s who he is and exactly what we want his images to reflect.  Dressing him up in clothes he deemed ridiculous would no doubt look the same way.

Justin endured a few clothing changes for us and although I knew he was hating every minute, he was wonderful!!!!  We didn’t force the smiles but instead let him relax and occasionally, I said something completely stupid so he would have no choice but to laugh at my absurdity.  No worries, I have lots of practice doing the same thing to my husband ;)

Mom has told me since that they were happy with their images because they were “perfectly Justin.”  As a photographer, I cannot think of a greater compliment.  Thanks Justin for being you…your session will always be a favorite of mine!