Taylor’s session was in August, so it felt like worlds away when I reviewed the pictures again with her and her mom. You can tell that Taylor is smart and artistic and intentional. I was excited for her that she had the experience of seeing herself in a new light and with my perspective. She is gorgeous and I want her to just soak that in. I am hoping she’ll join me in the studio as her busy schedule slows down and she can get more of a chance to grow her creativity and interest in photography as well.

Kaylyn wanted to have her session at the Arboretum where her sister had had hers taken by me, a couple years ago. I loved revisiting the place where I had shot so many of my seniors in previous years and loved the opportunity it brought me to capture things I had always wanted to. At the Arboretum there are these smaller but fantastic trees I’ve always wanted to use in such a way. Kaylyn, was game and willing to try anything and I loved that it gave me such creative freedom. Also, I totally loved hearing about her plans for next fall and how she discovered her talent and strength…amazing opportunities will open up for this one I can just feel it!

To me Sarah is well beyond her years. Just the way she looked at me with total sincerity and asked me how I was to me spoke volumes of who she is as a person. Incredible. Thank you Sarah. I love her picture with the Harry Potter book it’s one of my favorites of her. Her session started in daylight as the sun was crusting and ended in a dramatic way at night. I loved her shots, she is gorgeous!

I loved Madeline’s session, you can tell her mom and her had such careful attention to detail regarding her outfits. They were all about the shoes and the fun sparkly jewelry and specifically all the peace signs. Lots of her clothes and accessories were brought home with love by her mom, due to her frequent trips to Paris. Lucky girl! Maddie is clearly a girl who is by her mother, the two of them together were a pair. Maddie’s mom Michelle showed me her fabulous packing abilities since she is on the road or in the air a lot with her work. I’ve never before had some one bring a rolling suitcase and it worked!

Kristy had amazing eyes in her session, and perfect hair. I could not get over how much she reminded me of a friend I had in high school. Such a beautiful girl! You can tell this girl has so many experiences from travels and trips with her family, sounds like such fun adventures and bonding times. Those times will really be such tools in her  back pocket of life. I loved her pants especially from the trip that she wanted to get photographed in and you can certainly tell, beyond that souvenir that she is bring home such happy memories. I love when families instill in their kids a love for travel!

Do you not just love this amazing ballerina in front of you… and then there is that perfect girl below her in the pale pink headband and the women below her in the long dress below. Emily is quite the fashionista! I was so excited for her session, I knew we’d have to take her to my favorite new open field to just set her so perfectly in her tutu. I love her classic look. And don’t you just love her hair…simply gorgeous and divine. Promise I don’t really use the word divine all that much but there was something so sweet about her whole look the word divine just comes to mind. This is a girl who loves sparkle and shine and all things pink, she is smart, she is savy, chic, and totally fashionista. Miss Emily you are gorgeous!!

I remember writing Carrie’s name on our newly designed brochures just after we first got them, so shooting her was so fun because I felt like I had known her for awhile. Carrie loves peanut butter which I think is adorable. And I was told when I asked about her that she is known for being sarcastic, which I never saw, but I can see that in some of my favorite pictures of her that they each allude to that emotion in someway. Part of my job is to ask questions, to discover the whole person in front of me and capture her as she is. Certainly, every artist adds their own perspective to it, I’ve heard it said before that every piece is almost a self portrait, which I really do get. All this to say, with Carrie, I totally loved that opportunity I had to really find out about her, to exit in a fashionable way from myself for a few moments and really focus on her. I think I love her pictures so much because there is that little sarcastic piece to it… and I know for sure it’s not from me, cause I don’t even know how to be sarcastic, it is completely Carrie, so completely her… what a cool girl she is… the future is bright… and luckily for Carrie there are lots of ways to use peanut butter.

Kylie works for Oberwise and though that is not all that we talked about I really enjoyed hearing about her job and her life. It’s super interesting to me, especially cause I love their chocolate peanut butter ice-cream, there is none like it. It’s also interesting particular to hear about the kinds of calls her answers in her work of customer service… fascinating to me. In a sense I learned from her and you can tell she will have mad skills managing people, requests, do lists, schedules and calendars in college and beyond. Very cool. Kylie’s session was relaxed and some much like an outing with a friend, Kylie is very real, very fun and that made it amazing. I love each image from her session but I know there is just something about that beautiful purple sweatshirt that she and I just love.

I photographed Paige’s sister Jessica two years early and am so excited to get to meet their whole family one at a time until I get to Halle of whom I already know is a big fan. Go Halle! I loved ridding in their car and hearing all about Paige’s fun personality. Her silly side, the way she scrunches up her nose when she is smiling and having fun. I loved her outfits, loved her country girl look and her sparkly little black dress.  Lovely Paige, truly an amazing girl no wonder she comes from an incredible family.

Briana was a delight, her realness ( I know she gets that from her mom) and her energy just was happy and confident and very accepting. Her mom whom I love because she is so real and right away spoke to me like I was her long time friend, just enjoyed the session by spending some needed down time in Starbucks, ( I get that, I love that, I can’t think of a better way to take care  ) while Briana and her friend and I soaked in the days sun before it went down for the night. We literally ran about downtown Naperville, and ran into some fun random things that bonded our trio in such a way that we will always laugh about. Briana, is a runner and totally blessed with that little runners body I was running after when I was in cross country, I tried in vain to get such a figure. Also Briana’s red spikes are about the cutest pair I’ve ever seen which is why I love the picture so much where she is holding them out in front of her. There is a ton of pride I have for her, because I think cross country is a tough tough sport. ( Even though I totally ran cross country for the guy that I liked who was on the boys team, I still had to run all the races even though I didn’t push myself in the least to place ) Ha. Just a little tidbit. Okay then this image of Briana spinning in her dress… it’s amazing. Not to mention the first image of her in that beautiful stripped sweater. I think Briana is going to do some amazing things in life… and I could tell there was something just honest and so true and real about her when I met her. She is very respectful, very appreciative of life, she really meets you where you are in the moment and I think is just really solid. I have to applaud her mother, it’s just an awesome thing to witness such a team. Briana, go get em girl!!