I’ll be the first to admit over & over again & don’t have much photography experience with the male species – babies, kids, teens, adults, whatever.  Maybe it’s not in their nature to get their photos taken as much as females – I don’t know.  But I do know that I was stoked that Jake’s mom made him get his senior photos done with me last weekend.

I’ve known Jake for quite a number of years & it’s been a joy to watch him grow in to the man he is now.  He’ll be leaving us for the great state of Texas after he graduates, but I hope he’ll keep in touch.  And Jake, if you do keep in touch, maybe one day my daughters will actually speak to you.

Here’s Jake….

Meet Tyler!  She is my very first senior rep – first of many, hopefully!  I have been wanting to branch out in to the area of senior portraits for a few years now, but haven’t really pursued it too much.  This year I decided to outright ask people to be my senior reps in area schools.  I put out the call, saying, “FREE SENIOR SESSION!!!  LOOK UNIQUE” and Tyler answered.  While I can’t afford to let every single person be a senior rep (they get a lot of perks), I will welcome any seniors for 2011 (or juniors, class of 2012 in the spring) who come to my door.  I especially need boys!!!!  *hint hint*

What is a senior rep?  Well, first they are a senior, or upcoming senior.  I take them out to 1 to 2 locations, allow them up to 3 outfit changes, and basically have a fun few hours letting their true colors shine through (cue music).  I believe senior portraits should be different.  While having the traditional cap & gown is nice, and sometimes required by your school (ugh! – hopefully not for too much longer), a senior in high school is much more than just that.  They may be in to band, or twirling, or drama, or key club, or track, or reading, or debate, or ANY number of things.  High school is usually a time when a lot of kids explore their likes & dislikes & start making decisions about their future & who they want to become.  And it’s my goal, with every senior, to let those ambitions & personality shine through in their photos.

Whew!  Enough babbling!  If YOU want your senior portraits, or you haven’t gotten them done, or you want BETTER ones than you got at school, then contact me now!  I can photograph you now, if you don’t mind the cold, or I can grab you in April when I return from Ethiopia.  Let’s get some portraits done that show the real YOU!  And tell me Tyler sent you – it’ll benefit her & YOU!

Parents:  What’s the bottom line?  Senior Sessions start at $150 for a 3 hour session w/multiple outfit & location changes.  And because I know all kids these days want digital, those will be an option too!

Now on to Tyler…

This evening I had the pleasure of having a quick mini session with Matthew & Rowan.  They are brother & sister with about 9 years between them.  From the 20 minutes I spent with them, they get along great!  I hope my girls will continue to get along that well as they grow.  Rowan was a little shy of me first, so she hid behind her big brother quite a lot.  As time went by, though, she began to giggle & talk as any three year old girl does.  And Matthew – props to you!  He was totally willing to do everything I asked, plus help his little sister cooperate.  Thanks bud!  Here’s the first of my summer mini’s – isn’t it amazing what we can capture in 20 short minutes?  Sign up for your session too!

Tanner is officially my FIRST senior guy session.  So yes, boys, you can start lining up to have me take your photos  now.  I’ve got mad posing skillz – for a boy or a girl!

I don’t know about you, but for me, as a girl in high school, I definitely did NOT feel beautiful.  I struggled with wearing the right clothes, doing my make-up the correct way, staying thin (I still struggle here), and being friends with popular people.  What I’ve come to discover in my almost 29 years is that in the end, none of these things matter – they are like chasing after the wind…it cannot be caught.  Your clothes will go out of style, your physical beauty will fade, & the friends you crave just because they are popular are probably not your true friends at all.

What does last…and I know this sounds cliche…is inner beauty.  And that’s one of the reasons why I LOVE photographing people, & especially seniors.  It gives me the opportunity to find true, lasting beauty in every person I am blessed to capture, and to in turn, show them that beauty from my point of view.  I ADORE when clients…no, friends, tell me they feel their true personality was conveyed in the images I was able to give them.  It makes my day!  I love letting you see you how I see you!

These two senior girls below are nothing short of beautiful both inside & out!  Carly & Lauren are BFF’s (yeah, I did just use lingo that is way cooler than me) & were such a thrill to work with.  We met this past Sunday at Carroll Creek Promenade in Downtown Frederick to take their senior pictures.  It was a gorgeous day with some gorgeous girls & TONS of outfits & shoes!  There’s not much more I can say about these two that you can’t just see through their session.  They rocked!  And if you’re dying to see more, I’m doing something a little different and putting their entire sessions on photo albums on my Facebook Fan page.  So pop on over and see the absolute beauty I saw in them.  Here’s Carly & Lauren….