I just called her, D1...

She gonna kill me for that title... but it was fun to razz her anyway.

Wednesday afternoon saw our first ever Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior in the house as the Cougars standout soccer player made the trek.

They had spied us from afar after getting a tip from Aunt Connie who had brought her daughter, Erica Harder (Belle Plaine, '06) here a few years back. Fortunately for me... we turned some heads with our website and Katie was wanting something different than where all her friends go in Cedar Rapids.

So Katie comes in all prepared for awesome images... but what she DIDN'T know, was that I'm a former reporter.

Folks... let me tell you something... blogging EVERY senior we photograph isn't easy. Trying to find an angle... tie it all together... put a bow on it... it takes work... dedication, perseverence, and probably more than anything... an undying requirement to get to know our clients... really know them... and not be afraid to ask questions.

I have fun with it... It helps break the ice... I figure... if I can get 'em talking about themselves... it helps me more accurately bring our their personality in images... and maybe, just maybe... they get comfortable in front of the camera... and it becomes more like just hangin' with an old friend... rather than freaking out and worrying about what they are gonna look like... or if their friends are gonna think their senior pictures are any good.

So, it's usually a covert operation of slipping in question after question to get to the REAL story as the session goes along. Katie here, never brought it up...

But I did.

She brought in her soccer stuff... and for all I knew... she was just another random high school soccer player. But, if you're an athlete... and you're in my studio... I'll find out how good you are... (or aren't... as the case may be) :-)

Katie clearly is pretty dang salty... Drake University doesn't hand out soccer scholarships to just anyone. (her mom, Barb, had to give up that info... cause Katie wouldn't). Miss Helmlinger must of had a sense of WHY NOT to tell me... because from then on out... anytime she lost her balance just a smidge... or wasn't exactly PERFECT... I was like, "C'mon, D1!!?!?!" (short for Division 1 athlete for those of you living in a cave).

Katie was a good sport about it... and those of you that really know her probably won't be surprised to know that she could barely manage to do any serious poses... one exception was the fire image below... (smile clearly won't sell that one)... and I think I had asked her to be serious once over by the purple flocks... and the black and white laughing pose is in the inevitable result.

So we had ourselves tall beauty with a sense of humor who just so happens to be able to kick it around on the pitch a bit. (Kennedy was State Champ her sophomore year... State Cup Champs this past year for the Eastern Iowa United club team). I found it really funny to see Katie eyes (which are about the BLUEST I've ever seen) when I told her we were gonna REALLY light the ball on fire. (you see the Helmlingers had just borrow a new ball from a store in CR and were gonna take it back after the session). She asked if we could just do a "computer effect" instead... But that's not how we roll. REAL fire it was... and a little scarring on the ball was the result. Stewart Photography is now the proud owner of that soccer ball.

Thanks for a great session, Katie... you were a blast.