Kickin' Cass and takin' names...

Cassidy capped our week of seniors with a session where I had one request.

"I want stuff that's different."

Granted it's not the first time I've heard that, but in this case I think I understood where she was coming from.

Cassidy's older sis, McKynlie, was JUST in last year as a star member of our class of 2009. McKynlie was a face for some of our advertising and had a rockin' session of her own on top of her modeling work... so we had already shown this family a wide range of what we do... which can be perceived as a negative of sorts to a younger sibling who wants her own unique look.

I told Cass before we even started that I have a brother that's 11 months older than I ... and I knew EXACTLY how she felt and that I assured her that her images would look nothing like big sis's.

I feel like I've gotten to know both gals and Mama Brenda (most knowledgeable Cubs fan around... and come to find out, a big fan of T.I. ~ interesting). And because of this familiarity... we were joking that it was our job to make McKynlie "jealous" of Cassidy's images.

I'm not sure if we've succeeded with that 'goal', but I do feel good about what we came up with. Cass knocked it out... great job young lady! ;-)

Burnin' down the house...

Tuesday was a first for me as we photographed, to my recollection, our first ever senior from North Mahaska High School from New Sharon. Morgan!

It's not THAT far away... we've certainly had some come from further. Mom had been turned to us by someone at work and knew that her daughter had found a photographer to bring out the best image depicting her passion for track.

In fact, this girl trains so much... it's my understanding when she SHOULD have been primping for her 1 p.m. session... she was out squeezing in another mile run. Musta wanted to look extra fab for her session... and if that's the case, the images below tell me she was!

The session was so much fun for her as she was big pimpin' in the H3... sharing SO many laughs with her mom and sophomore friend Maddi "The Crime Dog." The highlight of the day was at the VERY end, however, as I couldn't let her go without a whammy at the end of the session.

As it was mentioned... the crux of her trip was to get a wicked track image. We'd done our series of images and I decided that we should light her shoes on fire as a capper on the day. She, like most seniors, thought that lighting ANYTHING on fire would be cool... so we did it. I coach 'em up... show 'em how it's done... give them all the precautions... assure them that it's safe and we'll be just fine.

Well... you can see from the track image below that we DID get the image... but it was the getting-the-flames-blown-out-part that the girls struggled with. So, Morgan here is holding these two track-shoes-turned-torches and can't get them blown out. Luckily, I still have a little 4x100 speed still in me as I sprinted over... and used my REAL talent (lots of wind) and got those suckers extinguished.

Alas, the studio was saved.

Gettin' a read on Reed

Typically we start out our sessions with a brief once over about where we're headed, a little Q & A... trying to get to know each other a bit... likes and dislikes, etc.

So, we're doing that with Reed and her mother Cindy Monday morning when our senior girl says, "I'm basically being held here against my will."

Uh oh.

She did smile after she said it, and I knew I had at least a crease.

That's all I needed and the rest of the morning was a TON of fun. Reed would be the first to admit that she's a non-conformist... but underneath her facade with all her black clothes and DARK hair, there's a hilarious dry sense of humor that I found to be a delight to be around.

In the end... I think her opinion of getting her portrait taken had to have changed by the time she left.

Winning rules. Thanks for giving me a chance, Reed. ;-)

Jordan's spark

The year was 1996... she was just four years old.

Her uncle was in his senior campaign as perhaps the finest running back in East Marshall history. Her uncle's girlfriend was a senior cheerleader for the Mustangs... and Jordan wanted to be just like her.

So, there she was, in her lil' twirly skirt and makeshift Mustang cheer outfit doing her thing just like the big girls did.

That girlfriend that Jordan looked up to became the running back's wife five years later.... So, you're wondering, where is this guy going with this? The senior cheerleader just so happened to be my wife's sister. And if you're still with me, the gist of things is that we've fast forwarded 13 years, Jordan is now a beautiful young lady, and quite obviously not just another client to our studio.

While it would have been real easy for Jordan to choose one of the myriad of photographers in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area, she thought her uncle's brother-in-law was up to snuff and worth the drive. I'm thankful for that. Great to see Mama Jeri and Grandma Marge for the session as well!

Up in the gym, just workin' on her fitness...

Wednesday afternoon was a special situation for me.

A few weeks ago, I received one of the neatest phone calls I had ever gotten from a gal from Clive, Iowa. She mentioned that she was a photographer in her own right, but felt like she wanted something more for her granddaughter. The story just kept getting more and more fantastic as the lady on the other end of the line admitted she had been following our website and blog religiously for over two years and just could NOT wait to have her daughter's baby girl photographed at our studio. Moreover, it seemed as though she was equally excited just for the opportunity to meet me and watch how we do things.

Flattered beyond words, the ball was rolling towards meeting Taylor from West Branch. We had already seen perhaps the strongest fella from the small school near Iowa City back in June... and I dare say that we have now photographed his female counterpart from across the proverbial weightroom, if you will.

Taylor and her entourage arrived with Grandma Diana, Mama Tracy, Photographer Friend Sandy... and it was on. My help was wondering WHAT IN THE WORLD was going on in the camera room as it was an afternoon chocked full of laughter and stories that only photographers would relate to. It's rare that I get a hug from the client's grandmother on the first meeting just inside the door... but somehow, this time, it felt entirely appropriate.

I had been warned by Grandma that Taylor was a physical specimen that excelled in dance and in four sports and that THAT was the reason she felt it was entirely necessary for going the extra mile.... because those images had to be given justice to the type of strong young lady that Taylor was.

Admittedly, I kinda wondered if it may have just been the rose-colored view that only a grandmother could have... but, folks, take a look at the rock hard legs and arms on this gal... she takes pride in her workouts, and no doubt... it shows.

My only hope is that Taylor had as much fun as I did, because I know there had to be times that she was wondering if she was at her senior session, or a photography seminar. I do know she enjoyed rubbing it in to her boyfriend via cellphone that she got to drive the H3... so if there was any toes stepped on by the shooters babble-fest, it was all forgiven at that point!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much, Team Taylor... you guys were the bomb. In the immortal words of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar: "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!" :-)