Where there's a helpful smile...

I couldn't quite put my finger on it... but I had a feeling...

Jean Larkin and her daughter Laura walked in one day back in July. They were out doing some shopping around for senior pictures for Laura. I looked at Jean kinda cross-ways and thought... "do i know you?"

It had been twelve years since I had seen her with daughter number two (Abbey, MHS '99) and FIFTEEN since Marie (MHS '96)!! Some have told me that, pun intended, I have a photographic memory... so I was glad that I wasn't going nuts... and I DID remember mom, in this case.

I had actually seen Laura before as well as part of Miss Kimi's Dance Konnection picture day. Quiet and unassuming, Laura would probably be the first to tell ya that she prefers it that way... but we were about to change all of that.

I evidently did enough to convince the Lady Larkins to come on back to us and they left our studio and went home to check their schedule for a day from school that would accommodate them best in the fall.

Friday was that day, as Marshalltown was not in session, and in walked Miss Larkin.

Whoa...

Cute outfits and hair all done up professionally... the quiet gal from dance class was ready to make a big splash.

And after just completing a session with nary a smile... I had to, on occasion, tell Laura NOT to smile... just to mix it up a bit!

I think we can all agree that she has an awesome smile and I found it funny that she told me that she works at Hy-Vee in Marshalltown... One check of Laura's facebook page and she jokingly proclaims: "I'm the helpful smile in every aisle!"

Indeed, Miss Laura. Indeed.

Thanks for a GREAT session, gals. And for coming back after all these years.

Trying to minimize the torture...

It was written all over his face when he walked in...

Slouched in the leather chair out front... 8 a.m.... it was SUPPOSED to be his day off from school.

I have NO doubt he'd rather have been sleepin' in.

But, as it were, his mother and I had schemed to ruin his day off, and make him (*gasp*) take his senior images.

:)

Cody really wasn't that different than a lot of guy. Probably not their absolute favorite thing to do... especially early in the morning... especially on a day that he penciled in for a day to sleep until noon. But he was here... so was Mama Penny... and I told him this...

"I'll try to minimize your torture.

I can't be for sure... but I think he WANTED to crack a smile... maybe on the inside, anyway.

There were no smiles forthcoming on the outside, however, but that's ok. He wanted that edgy look and that's what I tried to get him.

The session was quick by our standards... but I did take him on the road a bit to make sure he got something different than his brother that we had photographed just a few years prior.

I've joked for years that if I can get the senior guy to leave and tell mom on the way home that "it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," then I've done my job.

I'm not sure whether that happened in this case, but maybe after seeing his images... he'll think it was worth it in the end.

Danielle: It's all Jenna's fault...

I never know exactly HOW people end up at my studio... it's unscientific sometimes... Through our website...Through a mailer... Through an ad they saw... Maybe they saw something on facebook they liked...

But more than any other method... the way that MOST have come to us over the years... is through word of mouth.

Most veteran photographers, and heck, business owners in general, will swear that THAT method is what keeps us all afloat... and I won't argue with that...

Case and point? Danielle.

Danielle was our Wednesday afternoon senior and when she and her mom walked in... I saw the CULPRIT trailing behind them!

East Marshall Class of 2001 senior Jenna Foulk was to blame for this happening. ;-)

Mama Sharon explained that Jenna was Danielle's "big sister" and I knew then that THAT's how the Propst's were steered in our direction.

The pressure was on as Sharon explained that they just loved Jenna and that they trusted her opinion and that if Jenna said I was "The Man" than that was good enough for them.

Of course, not wanting to make Jenna look bad... we were off and running.

The fun thing to me was seeing how much Jenna has come out of her shell in the last decade. Always really quiet and reserved in high school... she kept Danielle on her toes the ENTIRE session with one razzing after another... and I'm not gonna lie... the girl was dang funny and heck... I got to take a session off, so to speak, in the entertainment department! ;-)

The girls had done their homework and had some specific requests about certain poses they wanted... and the one that made me laugh the hardest was the merry-go-round shot you see here....

It had rained that morning and everything was still wet around town... including the merry-go-round... It was dry on the edges.. but there was some standing water in the center. Not thinking much of it... Danielle sat on the outside of it and I gave it a spin. We got the totally fun shot you see here with her hair whipping out to the side... Mission accomplished, right?

Well Danielle got up... and we had a problem. Of course there's a little something called centrifugal force that pulls everything towards the outside of a spinning circle like that.....

Including the aforementioned standing water.

Let's just say that Danielle looked like she had needed to "go" and not gotten to the bathroom in time.

Let me tell ya... Jenna let her HAVE IT about THAT! ;-)

Danielle changed from khakis to jeans to complete that outfit and disaster was averted...

Never a dull moment around this place! Special thanks to Miss Foulk and all of our loyal clients that love to blab on our behalf! :)

Sometimes you dodge the bullet.... sometimes you don't...

Tuesday was one of THOSE days....

Rain on the way... not sure WHEN it was gonna hit...how long it was gonna last... should I call them and have 'em come early? Wait until later?

Tessa's mom, Brenda called and we talked it over... and we decided to get a jump on it and see what happened.

What happened was that the Dinsdales drove through a torrential downpour to get here and spent the greater part of 3 hours with me shooting indoor only.

Just about when we were about ready to give up and reschedule the outdoor for another day... the skies dried up and we were back in business!

So, in THIS case... we dodged the bullet.

However, during the indoor portion... I learned about a case where Tessa wasn't so lucky.

Our young lady here is the goal keeper for Gladbrook-Reinbeck's soccer team.

Last spring, with just two weeks remaining in the regular season... disaster struck.

As a parent, I'm not quite sure how I could've handled what happened to Tessa... and talking to Brenda... I could tell it still bothered her.

Long story short, Tess took either a foot or a knee to the mouth against Independence, and from what the ladies tell me... it was insane gory.

She lost her center and later incisors and the roof of her mouth collapsed... only oral surgery could fix the damage.

I'm happy to report that, while she has a partial... and is awaiting eventual implants, Tessa's smile on this day, could not be more beautiful. Even more importantly, she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the out as she continued what I've found to be a larger-than-ever contingent of young senior Christians that are not afraid to show their faith by bringing in their Bibles and wanting that shown in image and verse.

Something that was as traumatic as this was could really be devastating to some 17 year olds. Especially in today's society that puts so much stock in appearance and our Earthly bodies. I found Tess to be refreshing of how she's taken it all in stride. She even playfully had me take an image or two with her partial taken out. And while she preferred I didn't share it with the world wide web... she probably won't have an issue having a laugh or two with ya if you ask to see her previews.

Neat gal, all around.... and while I wouldn't have minded seeing Tessa and her mom again if we had to reschedule... I was glad we dodged the bullet this time around. ;-)

Talk to the FOOT!

Dylan wouldn't let my week come to a close without some kickin' images...

Literally.

I knew the Van Zee's a little bit from our work with Dylan's lil' sis, Kinze, who dances for Dance Konnection in Marshalltown.... But I hadn't met Dylan but for just a brief moment when he and his mom, Sherry came in to book the session a while back.

When they returned Friday... it was clear that I had two things to accomplish...

Aside from the regular senior images... I had to photograph Dylan's HUGE boxer mix dog, Zoey.... and THEN... it was Taekwondo time.

So we cranked out our solid images and then, after patiently waiting by Sherry's side for 45 minutes or so... it was showtime for the EXCITABLE Zoey. They told me she was "harmless," but when they let her go and she charged over to me and gave me a threatening bark at point blank range.... not gonna lie... it was almost time to get back into life... with Depends. ;-)

Zoey spared me and with some coaxing with treats... we got her to sit still just long enough.

After one more "regular" outfit... we cracked out the Taekwondo gear and I learned about the belt progression (Dylan's a brown belt... basically a belt and a half from attaining his black belt). He's been a member of Master Jim Shaw's program in Marshalltown for the greater part of a decade now and even though it's not something I have any intimate knowledge of... I wanted to make sure that we did his craft justice, and I think we did. My favorite image was the LAST one we did on the day... If anyone was driving along Highway T-47 and saw a crazy photographer and a dude in a white robe last Friday... that was us.